Flip Flop Sock

I know that there are people who cling to a small-minded aesthetic opinion against the wearing of socks with sandals. I imagine such people live in warm climates and have hearty circulatory systems. Or maybe they were scarred with mortification in their childhood years when their fathers wore black dress socks at the beach, with sandals made from old tire tread and black leather. Perhaps I am just a fashion permissive.

I'm not the only sock lover on the internet, knitting for sandals. At any rate, my latest work in the sock genre is this flip flop sock which I made for Vigo. To find out how to make them, click on "Continue Reading."

I'm first going to give the pattern for the exact socks that I made for Vigo and then a general recipe which can be adapted to any size. Both of these instructions assume that you have already knit a basic sock before. For example, instead of describing how to turn the heel, I just write "Turn heel." For instructions on how to turn a heel, check out the basic sock recipe.
Child's size 8-9 flip-flop sock
Use 6 size 0 dpns
lightweight yarn.
1. Cast on 56 sts
2. Double Rib 11 rows
3. Knit 20 rows
4. Seperate half of the stitches onto one needle and the other half onto another needle. One set will be the heel, the other will be the instep. Keep the instep sts on the same needle until the sock is finished.
5. Knit a square for the heel.
6. Turn the heel. The last row of the heel should be knit, not purl.
7. Pick up every ohter stitch on the right side, knit across instep, pick up every other stitch on the left side. Knit around one time.
8. Decrease for the gusset. Decrease every round, not every other round.
9. Double rib 22 rows.
10. Knit 3 rows.
11. Begin decreases on left side for left sock or right side for right sock. Knit two rounds, decreasing on only one side each time.
12. Seperate the big toe stitches from the rest of the other toe stitches.
On the right side of the left sock or the left side of the right sock, take 8 sts from the insole needle and place them on a new needle? Take 8 sts from the sole needle and place them on their own needle.
13. Starting from the end of the 8 insole big toe sts, pick up one st, cast on 6 sts, then pick up another st right before the first of the 8 sole-side big toe sts.
14. Knit around the big toe 7 or 8 rows. Begin decreases on both sides of the big toe. When you get down to 2 or 3 sts on each needle, close the hole like a simple hat.
15. Tie on yarn inside the sock on the insole side, near the big tos/other toe seperation point. Use this yarn to knit around, continuing the decrease on the side. (the last three needles on the insole side k2tog, k. first three sts on sole side k, slk2)
16. When you get around to the big toe, knit the hole together, pick up six stitches along the between-toe, close the hole on the other side, and knit around.
17. Now, decrease on the side only every other round.
18. Knit 7 rounds
19. Begin decreases also on the center of the between-toe part.
20. Continue decrease until there or only 2 or 3 sts left on the between-toe needle.
21. Close toe.
General Recipe
Knit the top of the sock and the heel normally. Decrease for the gusset.
Knit around one row.
The sock has a ribbed foot, to help it stay up better. Start your double ribbing now. Continue the ribbing until the sock foot reaches just under the ball of your big toe.
Knit around until the sock foot reaches about a quarter inch below the in-between of your big toe and the next toe. Begin to make decreases on the little-toe side of the sock.
Knit until the sock foot length reaches the between-toe.
Look at your foot and estimate how much of your toe-width is your big toe. If it is a third, take a third of your instep stitches and a third of your heel stitches to make the big toe. If it is a quarter, take a quarter of the stitches, and so on.
Cast on for the betwee-toe as many stitches as are on each of the other big toe needles.
Knit around until the big toe holder is almost as long as your big toe. Begin decreases and close like a simple hat.
Tie yarn onto the inside of the sock on the instep side, at the toe divider.
Use that yarn to knit around. Continue decreases on the pinky-toe side only every other round.
Pick up sts on the between-toe and knit around the rest of the toes. When you get almost to the top of the toes, begin to decrease at the center of the between-toe, to make a nice, rounded shape.
Close toe.