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Pattern overview
The Orchid Socks are so soft and cozy!
These socks are made with fingering weight yarn. They are knitted in the round from the cuff down. The cuff is worked in twisted rib stitch.
The socks have a heel flap and a gusset, and a wedge toe. The heel flap is worked in a slip-stitch pattern to strengthen the heel.
The socks feature a cable and lace panel worked down the center of the instep.
The right and left socks are identical and can be knit two at a time.
You will find the knitting instructions below.
Size: Women’s medium. The length of the foot is customizable.
Gauge: 28 stitches x 42 rows = 10 x 10cm (4 x 4″ ) in stockinette stitch after blocking.
Be sure to check out my other sock knitting patterns.
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Supplies
To knit these socks you will need the following supplies:
- Yarn: ~70g (2.5 oz) super fine weight yarn (category #1). I used Heritage from Cascade Yarns in the color Strawberry Cream (5648).
If you don’t have the mentioned yarn at hand, here are similar yarn options:
Abbreviations
CO – cast on
St (s) – stitch (es)
K – knit
Ktbl – Knit through the back loop
P – purl
K2tog – knit 2 stitches together
Ssk – slip, slip, knit 2 stitches together
C2B – Slip 1 stitch onto cable needle and leave at back of work. Knit the next stitch, then knit the stitch from the cable needle.
C2F – Slip 1 stitch onto cable needle and leave at front of work. Knit the next stitch, then knit the stitch from the cable needle.
Sl wyif – slip st purlwise with yarn in front
Sl wyib – slip st purlwise with yarn in back
Yo – yarn over
* * – repeat from * to * until the end of the row or the stated amount of times
THE ORCHID SOCKS KNITTING PATTERN
Cuff
Cast on 60 sts using the Long Tail Cast On method or the one you prefer.
TIP: Cast stitches onto 2 needles – this way the ribbing will be more elastic or go up a needle size.
Divide the stitches evenly between 4 needles (you will have 15 stitches on each needle). Be careful not to twist the stitches starting the first round.
Round 1: *K1tbl, P1*.
Repeat Round 1 until the piece measures approximately 4cm/1.5″ (or your desired length).
TIP: When working the 1st row knit the first 2 stitches using 2 strands of yarn (yarn from the ball and the tail) to avoid a gap. Also, knit the last and the first stitch on a needle a little tighter than the rest of the stitches.
Leg
Round 1: K1, P2, C2B, C2F, P2, K2tog, Yo, P2, C2B, C2F, P2, Yo, Ssk, P2, C2B, C2F, P2, K to end.
Round 2: K1, *P2, K4, P2, K2* one more time, P2, K4, P2, K to end.
Round 3: K1, P2, C2F, C2B, P2, Yo, Ssk, P2, C2F, C2B, P2, K2tog, Yo, P2, C2F, C2B, P2, K to end.
Round 4: K1, *P2, K4, P2, K2* one more time, P2, K4, P2, K to end.
If you want the leg to be longer/shorter knit more/fewer rows.
Heel flap
The heel flap is worked flat (back and forth) on half the total number of all stitches in a slip-stitch pattern.
You will be working on needles 3 and 4 only – on 30 stitches (15 stitches on each needle). You can combine them onto one needle for the ease of knitting.
Row 1 (WS): S1 purlwise wyif, P to end of row, Turn.
Row 2 (RS): S1 purlwise wyib, *K1, S1 purlwise wyib* fourteen times, K1, Turn.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 fourteen more times. You will knit a total of 30 rows.
Heel turn
Row 1 (WS): S1 purlwise wyif, P18, P2tog, Turn.
Row 2 (RS): S1 purlwise wyib, K8, Ssk, Turn.
Row 3 (WS): S1 purlwise wyif, P8, P2tog, Turn.
Row 4 (RS): S1 purlwise wyib, K8, Ssk, Turn.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until you have 10 stitches left.
Heel gusset
Resume working in the round.
With the needle holding 10 heel stitches pick up 15 slipped stitches along the edge of the heel flap and 1 extra stitch between the heel flap and the instep to avoid a gap – you will pick up 16 stitches. This will be the first needle now.
Needle 2 and 3 (the instep): Knit in the established pattern.
With a free needle – this will be needle 4 – pick up 1 extra stitch between the heel flap and the instep to avoid a gap and 15 stitches along the edge of the heel flap – you will pick up 16 stitches. With the same needle knit the first 5 stitches from the first needle. This will be the new beginning of the round – in the center of the heel.
Now you have the following number of stitches on each needle:
Needle 1: 21 stitches.
Needle 2: 15 stitches.
Needle 3: 15 stitches.
Needle 4: 21 stitches.
Heel decrease
You will decrease the heel stitches on needles 1 and 4 from 21 stitches to 15 stitches on each needle.
Round 1:
Needle 1: K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1.
Needles 2 and 3: Knit in the established pattern.
Needle 4: K1, Ssk, K to end.
Round 2:
Needle 1: K end.
Needles 2 and 3: Knit in the established pattern.
Needle 4: K to end.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until you have 15 stitches on each needle again.
Foot
Continue knitting in the round until the foot of the sock is 5.5cm (2.2 inches) shorter than the desired foot length.
Toe decrease
You are going to decrease in every other round until you will have approximately half of the stitches left, and then – in every round.
Round 1:
Needle 1: K to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 2: K1, Ssk, K to end of needle.
Needle 3: K to 3 last stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 4: K1, Ssk, K to end of needle.
Round 2: Knit across.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 six more times (you will have 32 stitches left).
Now decrease in every round until you have 16 stitches left:
Needle 1: Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 2: K1, Ssk, Knit to end of needle.
Needle 3: Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Needle 4: K1, Ssk, Knit to end of needle.
Knit all stitches (4 stitches) on needle 1 and graft the toe stitches using Kitchener Stitch.
Finishing
Weave in all loose ends.
I always wet block the finished item, this process transforms the stitches, making them look smoother and neater.
Simply soak the knitted item in lukewarm water with some soak wash for 10-15 minutes. Lift it from the water and gently squeeze the excess water out. Next, lay it on a clean towel, and roll it up to remove moisture.
Use sock blockers or lay them on a clean and dry towel (make sure it doesn’t transfer color) and let them dry. Your knitting will look much better after this.
I hope you enjoyed this sock knitting pattern, be sure to check out my other knitting patterns!
Thank you for stopping by,
Mirella.
Hi! First I wanted to say your Basic Sock Pattern with detailed photos was the first sock I ever knit! I’ve made several variations since then based on that recipe.
My question is, when deciding stitches to CO for this pattern, what % of negative ease should I factor? How much tighter (or lack of stretch) does the cable stitch make the sock? Hope that makes sense! Thanks, Sarah
Hi Sarah, I’m glad to hear the basic sock pattern was useful! Typically, there is a negative ease of 10% calculated into the patterns. Yes, cables do pull in the fabric, but this varies from pattern to pattern, and depends on cable types. In case of Orchid socks the combination of cables and lace stripes is located only on the instep and is quite stretchy, so it doesn’t really affect the stitch count that much.