Men’s Bulky Socks
Knitted Flat, with a Side Seam
Materials Required: Approximately 8 oz 4-ply knitting worsted weight yarn
Gauge: 5 sts, 7 rows = 1″
Tension: Approximately 3, or whatever is necessary to obtain gauge. There are several different bulky/chunky machines. Each of them will require a different tension dial setting. Start at T 3, and adjust up or down as needed.
Cuff: Bring forward 45 needles and arrange for K1, P1 ribbing. T 0/0. Make zigzag row, hang comb and weights. K 3 circular rows. T 1/1, or as tight as machine will knit without floating sts. RC 000. K even to RC 18. Transfer all sts to main bed.
Leg: T 3. Dec 1 st. 44 sts remain, 22L – 22R. K even to RC 70 for a 12″ long sock. Adjust here as desired, but make a note if you change the number of rows.
Heel: RC 000. T 2. COR. Place all sts L of center 0 into HP. Set carriage to hold. SR heel shaping. *Bring first needle next to carriage out to HP, K 1 row. Repeat from * 11 more times. 10 sts remain in WP, and COR. Manually knit the first HP st next to the carriage; there are now 11 sts in WP. ** Push first holding st on side opposite carriage back to UWP, K 1 row. Repeat from ** until all heel sts are back in WP. Keep heel section well weighted to prevent dropped sts. It also helps to pull down on the point of the heel with the nonknitting hand.
Foot: T 3. RC 000. K even to RC 49 for foot length of 10 1/2 – 11″, approximately men’s shoe size 9-10. NOTE: This is only an average RC length; different brands of yarn, and different dye lots have differing amounts of stretch, and it may be necessary to adjust length by several rows, either more or less. I find it easier to knit 1 sock, baste it together, and try it on the recipient to check length. Alter the number of rows actually used between heel and toe shaping, and make a note. Be prepared to do this with every change of yarn, or live with a slightly different size sock.
Toe: Work as for heel, but decrease until only 6 sts remain. When all sts are back in WP, remove each side separately on WY. Kitchener st (graft) toe sts. Whip stitch side seam, taking just the outside loop of each stitch for a flat seam.
For second sock, begin heel after RC 71, with COL, to reverse the placement of side seam. Heel and toe will be worked on the L side, rather than the R side.
This is a pattern I wrote for machine knitting classes in 1979. It was uploaded to the original Clearwater Knits website and copyrighted in 1997.