How to Knit a Star Toe (Toe Up and Cuff Down)

The star toe is a great toe style for knitters whose middle toes are longer than their big toe. This is also a useful technique for knitters who don’t enjoy grafting stitches together at the end of the wedge toe, because this method decreases to just a few stitches and then the tail is drawn through those remaining stitches just like the top of a hat.

In this blog post, I’ll share my formulas for how to work this toe cuff-down and toe-up so that whatever method you want to use for your sock knitting, you can still use this toe shape.

Cuff-Down Star Toe

This toe starts out being worked across a multiple of four stitches. If your total number of stitches is already evenly divisible by four, work a set-up round by knitting all stitches in that round.

If your total number of stitches is not divisible by four, work a set-up round that includes evenly-spaced decreases to take your total number of stitches down to the next number that is divisible by four.

Then work the following steps:

1. Divide the stitches for your sock into four even sections.
2. *K to two stitches before the end of the first quarter, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round.
3. Knit to end of round.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have decreased to half the original number of stitches in your sock.
5. Repeat step 2 until you have eight total stitches remaining.
6. Thread yarn through remaining stitches, draw closed, and secure.

Toe-Up Star Toe

Cast on eight stitches using the magic ring method.

1. Divide the stitches for your sock into four even sections.
2. *K to one stitch before the end of the first quarter, kfb, repeat from * to end of round.
3. Repeat step 2 until you have about half the intended final number of stitches on your needles (e.g., if your sock will have 60 stitches, at this point you’ll have 28).
4. Knit all stitches in the round.
5. *K to one stitch before the end of the first quarter, kfb, repeat from * to end of round.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have the intended final number of stitches on your needles.
7. Thread yarn through remaining stitches, draw closed, and secure.