This is an adaptation of the lace pattern in Cookie A.’s Monkey socks, re-engineered for toe-up construction. I believe this solves the toe-up lace conversion quite nicely and offer it in the spirit of sharing, as others have expressed interest in a toe-up version of the lace. Please make sure to give all credit for the fantastic sock pattern to Cookie.

This pattern allows you to work the Monkey socks fully in reverse, from the toe up, without inverting the finished appearance of the lace pattern. It also retains the purl stitches of Cookie’s original.

My chart assumes you already know the basics of how to convert a sock pattern from top-down to toe-up. If not, check out Jennifer O’Sullivan’s ¡Los Monos Locos! – The Crazy Monkeys!, which is a very fine modification for knitting the Monkeys from the toe-up, two-at-once, on magic loop. She also replaces Cookie’s heel stitch with Eye of Partridge, but her lace treatment reverses the original and eliminates the purls. If you use O’Sullivan’s pattern, you can easily just swap out her lace chart for the one here.

If you plan to convert Cookie’s Monkey to toe-up yourself and want some guidance, Wendy Johnson and Amy Swenson each have made helpful patterns available online for free. You might also try Kristin Bellehumeur’s online tutorial for knitting two toe-up socks at once.