Last year I knit a pair of winter socks for Munchkin’s tiny little baby feet. This year my toddler-Munchkin is running around with much bigger feet. He doesn’t need thick socks to keep his feet warm in the baby swing so much, but he does need them to help him keep his winter boots on. His I-don’t-mind-these-getting-muddy hand-me-down shoes are also a bit too big, and I was getting tired of him walking out of his shoes and getting his socks wet and muddy. (Although whenever he did, he just carried his shoe over to me, sat down, and waited for me to put it back on, so it was pretty adorable.)
I decided to just update the baby socks pattern for a larger size, keeping the same simplicity. The heel is done in short rows, but there are no wrapped stitches, and the toe is decreased in simple k2togs with no Kitchener stitch. The non-wrapped heel stitches do leave little holes in the sides of the heels, which you can see from the photos, but since these are thick socks to go over regular socks, it doesn’t bother me.
For the baby pair, I used a cotton-blend yarn, which was very soft but stretched out at the ankle. For this toddler pair, I used worsted-weight acrylic yarn—something I could throw in the laundry with his other clothes without worrying about, and that I knew would rebound better at the ankle than the cotton had.
Munchkin is too squirmy to get a clear modeled photo, but the socks have been a success. He hasn’t been stepping out of his shoes, and in these colder temperatures, his little feet have been much warmer.
What you’ll need:
- Worsted weight acrylic yarn–I used Loops and Threads Impeccable yarn in Taupe from my stash, and it doesn’t take much
- Size 8 double pointed needles
- Yarn needle for finishing
Skills you’ll need:
- The basics: casting on, knit stitch, purl stitch
- Knitting in the round on double pointed needles
- k2tog (knit two together)
Size: fits with a size 5-6 toddler shoe
Gauge: 4 stitches per inch
This pattern is also available as an inexpensive ad-free PDF from Ravelry.
Cast on 26 evenly over 3 double pointed needles. Join into a circle, being careful not to twist the stitches. Mark the beginning of your round.
First 10 rounds: k1, p1, repeat to end
Next 10 rounds: knit
Turn heel:
Starting at marker, k6, turn work
Row 1: p to marker, p6, turn work
Row 2: k to marker, k5, turn work
Row 3: p to marker, p5, turn work
Row 4: k to marker, k4, turn work
Row 5: p to marker, p4, turn work
Row 6: k to marker, k3, turn work
Row 7: p to marker, p3, turn work
Row 8: k to marker, k4, turn work
Row 9: p to marker, p4, turn work
Row 10: k to marker, k5, turn work
Row 11: p to marker, p5, turn work
The next row is where you start knitting in the round again. There is a gap between the heel stitches you were just working and the rest of the stitches on your needles. This is where you’ll pick up stitches.
Row 12: k to marker, k6, pick up and knit 2 sts in gap, k to 6 from end, pick up and knit 2 sts in gap, k to end
Row 13: k5, k2tog, k2tog, k to 9 from end, k2tog, k2tog, k5
You should be back to 26 stitches now, since you picked up 2 stitches on either side in Row 12 and you decreased twice on either side in Row 13.
Next 19 rounds: knit
Next round: k2tog, repeat to end
Next round: k2tog, repeat to last stitch, k1
Cut yarn about 6 inches from last stitch. Thread tail through remaining 7 stitches, pull snug. Sew ends under.
What is your favorite pattern for little feet?
Have a little friend that refuses to wear anything on her feet. I figured it try these and see if she’d wear them. Since they came from me, she might!