King Kong Cable Footies (revised with correct abbreviations)

This is the pair of socks I designed for my brother Caleb for Christmas, named as much for the fat cable that runs down the foot, as for his set of huge feet. He prefers short socks, which worked out for me. When knitting for such big feet, it’s nice to be able to cut corners on the ankle length!

This sock is constructed with a traditional heel flap. I enjoy knitting this part of it. I feel like the heel flap reinforced slipped stitch “rib” helps to make the heel a little more rugged, and turning the heel feels like magic every time.

I used the German Round Toe for the same reason. As much as I love to graft stitches (Kitchner stitch is so fun – you should try it sometime!), this toe needed to be able to stand up to some abuse. My brother is not the most careful person. As it turns out, this toe looks nice too! Have fun knitting these up, and please let me know if there are any mistakes in the pattern, so I can correct it (this is my first that I’ve written up).


King Kong Cable Footies

SIZE: Mens 11

MATERIALS
Regia sock yarn 100grams (1 ball) - any fingering weight can be substituted
double-pointed needles (dpn) size 1 (2.5mm)
Stitch markers

GAUGE
30 sts and 38 rnds = 4"/10 cm in St st. TO SAVE TIME, TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE.

ABBREVIATIONS:
Sts: stitches
K: knit
P: purl
Sl1: slip one stitch purlwise
Ssk: slip 2 stitches knit wise. Insert tip of left needle back through front of both stitches, and knit them together.
P2tog: purl 2 stitches together.
K2tog: knit 2 stitches together.
Dec: decrease
N1, N2, N3: needles 1, 2 and 3

SOCKS
CO 72 stitches and divide evenly over 3 dpns. Place marker, join and work 2" in k2, p2 rib. Work 1/2” in stockinet stitch.

Divide for Heel:
K next 36 stitches onto first dpn for heel, place remaining stitches on another needle to hold until heel stitches are all worked. Turn; working back and forth on heel sts only, p across.
Row 1: (RS) Sl1, *k1, sl1, rep from *.
Row 2: Sl1, purl.
Rep Rows 1 and 2 18 times (to get 18 loops on either side and in every “rib”) ending with a row 2.

Turn heel (still working on 36 sts of first dpn)
Row 1: (RS) Sl 1, k20, ssk, k1, turn.
Row 2: Sl 1, p6, p2tog, P1, turn.
Row 3: Sl 1, k7, ssk, k1, turn.
Row 4 Sl 1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn.
Cont to dec in same way, working 1 st more between decs on each row until all of the stitches have been worked.
Knit back across, ssk at end. 20 heel stitches will remain.

GUSSET
Rearrange stitches as follows: Pick up and k18 sts along side of heel and sl to first dpn; with 2nd dpn work across 33 (35) sts of instep in stockinet (knit all stitches); with 3rd dpn, pick up and k18 sts along other side of heel, then k first 10 heel sts from first dpn 92 sts.

Beginning of round is at center of heel.
Rnd 1: N1, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; N2, k1, ssk, k10, p2, k8, p2, k10 k2tog; N3, k1, ssk, k to end-4 sts dec.
Rnds 2&3: N1k to end; N2, k12,p2,k8,p2,k12; N3, k to end

Continue in this manner, decreasing 4 stitches every 3rd round and maintaining cable (every 10th row, cbl8f) on instep until 72 stitches remain.

Rearrange stitches on needles as follows: N1, 18; N2, 36; N3, 18.
Work underside of foot in stockinet and continue to maintain cable on instep.

Continue until foot measures 2 inches less than however long you want it to be.

TOE
Row 1: N1, K to last 3 stitches k2tog, k1; N2, k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1; N3, k1, k2tog, k to end. (4 sts dec.)
Rows 2, 3 and 4: knit all stitches (do not continue to maintain cable).
Row 5: 4 sts dec as in row 1.
Row 6 and 7: Knit all stitches.
Row 8: 4 sts dec as established.
Rows 9 and 10: Knit all stitches.
Row 11: 4 sts dec.
Row 12: Knit all stitches.
Row 13: 4 sts dec.
Row 14: Knit all stitches.
Row 15: 4 sts dec.
Row 16: Knit all stitches.
Row 17: 4 sts dec.
Row 18: Knit all stitches.
Rows 19-26: 4 sts dec every row.

End with 12 sts. Break yarn, leaving a tail of about 10”. Thread a blunt tapestry needle, from right to left, pick up the 12 live sts off the needles and fasten them tightly, creating a small ring. Now, with the sock off needles, still from the right side, insert the tapestry needle once again through the sts around the small ring, pull the tail tightly. Finally, insert the yarn tail to inside through the center of the ring. Darn the end weaving it from inside.

COPYRIGHT 2006, Faith A D
This pattern is protected by copyright and available for personal use only. It is not available for sale or distribution without the author's express permission.