I started these socks right before heading out to a conference and managed to finish all of the knitting on the last day of the conference! I decided to name these FSOC(ks) because Free-Space Optical Communications (FSOC) was the topic of a few sessions at the conference.
I had about 50 grams left of the Go To Sock yarn in the October colorway. I knew I wanted to do ankle socks and had seen socks that had the little tab at the back. I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn for each sock, so I split up the 50 grams into 2 25 gram balls and decided to knit toe-up.
The contrast toe & heel are Magpie Fibers Swanky Sock in Tupelo Honey. The inside of the cuff is Swanky Sock in Velvet Underground.
I didn’t follow any pattern, and I think it shows. My toe on the first sock is a bit too pointy and there’s a handful of other execution flops. But I’m still really happy with the result!
The heel tab was constructed with German short rows. I started the short rows by stopping two stitches before the last stitch / last mds for a smaller slope. I did this for about 8 rows. I then for the last 4 rows, I knit to one stitch before the mds.
For the folded cuff, I did it slightly different for each sock. For the first sock, I knit a row (k1, yo) the whole round on the outside about 6 rounds before the fold. On the next round, I dropped the yo stitches, which created a round of loose tension. After 6 rows of the inside part of the cuff, I picked up these loose stitches and k2tog to secure the inside of the cuff.
For the second sock, I (yo,k1) and then k2tog the yo & knit stitches on the next round. This created a line of bars at that row on the outside. I secured the inside of the folded cuff the same as the first sock and finished each sock with a k2togtbl bind off for some stretch.
I still need to weave in ends, but I’ll wait till I’m home.
04-07-2025
I weaved in ends and wore these to work. The fit on the instep and heel is great, but closer to the toe, I probably could have gone a bit tighter.
Recap of what I knit up (for the second sock)
Cast on 8 stitches with Emily Ocker’s Cast On.
Toe:
R1: knit all stitches
R2: (k1, yo) - 16 stitches
R3: (knit, ktbl) - ktbl the yo from the previous round
R4: (k2, yo) - 24 stitches
R5: (l2, ktbl)
R6: (k3, yo) - 32 st
R7: (k3, ktbl)
R8: knit all
R9: (k4, yo) - 40 st
R10: (k4, ktbl)
R11-12: knit all
R13: (k5, yo) - 48 st
R14: (k5, ktbl)
R15-16: knit all
R17:(k4, yo) - 60 st
R18: (k4, ktbl)
R19-21: knit all
R22: (k15, yo)
R23: (k15, ktbl)
R24-25: knit
I then changed colors and knit the foot
Foot:
R1-40: knit
With markers at BOR and halfway (after stitch 32)
R41: k2, yo, knit until 2 stitches before marker, yo, k2
R42-43: Knit (when encountering yo, twist knit to make either m1r at BOR or m1l at midpoint)
Repeat those three rounds until round 76 (12 increase round, 24 increased stitches, 88 stitches in total)
Heel:
Slip first 12 stitches. K32 in heel color
Short rows for 14 rows: knit till 1 stitch before mds, turn
Row 15: knit, resolve all mds. At last mds, knit together with the next stitch (gusset stitch)
Row 16: turn, slip stitch. Purl across, resolving mds until last one. Purl together with next stitch
Rows 17-38: knit/purl to 1 stitch before gap, knit/purl the last stitch with stitch after gap
Heel complete, cuff:
R1-4: knit in main color
R5: (yo, k1)
R6: (k2tbl)
R7-12: knit
Heel tab:
K32, turn
Mds, knit until 2 stitches from the first stitch, turn
Continue knitting/purling until 2 stitches from last mds, turn for a total of 12 rows.
Rows 13-16, knit/purl until last stitch before mds, turn
Then knit till end of round in main color, resolving mds encountered
Switch to contrast color. Knit 1 round, resolving any mds
Then do the short rows in the opposite direction, increases stitches each row.
After 14 rows of short rows, knit 6 rounds
Pick up backs of stitches from (k1,yo) round and knit together with live stitches
Cast off with stretchy cast off
When weaving in ends, tack down the inner cuff.
Things I’d update:
- Fewer stitches near the toe (56 stitches likely)
- Fewer rounds on the leg (about 6 rounds shorter)
- I wouldn’t bother with the silly k1, yo round on the cuff or picking up stitches to knit together with the inner cuff. I would just seam down
I could probably reduce the rest of the stitches by about 4, so instead ending up at 88 stitches, end up at 84 stitches. That would mean 14 increase rounds, so knit 28 rounds, start increase rounds for 42 rounds and a total of 70 rounds on the foot.
I’ll see how they fit after a washer/dryer cycle. They might tighten up just enough like some of my previous superwash socks.
fiberopticknits notebook 
projects
handspun
stash
queue
favorites
friends
groups & events
needles & hooks
library
blog posts
Project
stashed
