If you’re like me, you might be trying to figure out whether it’s time to try a new sock technique. Maybe you’ve never knit socks before at all, and are trying to decide what method to start with.
This post isn’t geared toward telling you which sock construction method is the objective best, because I don’t believe there is an objective best. What it can do, though, is help you sift through some of the pros and cons of each technique. That’ll help you decide which one meets your needs.
Toe Up Sock Use Scraps Effectively
When you knit scrappy, striped socks from the toe up, you don’t have to worry about running out of yarn before you finish the sock. As long as you have enough to knit the foot through the heel, you can finish with a cuff and cast-off as soon as you run out of yarn.
A lot of cuff-down sock patterns have a wedge toe with grafting at the end, and a lot of people really dislike grafting. It can be fiddly, and the instructions can be hard to remember. Grafting isn’t something I struggle with, but I struggle with multi-step processes generally, so I get it. But if you work your sock from the toe-up, there’s no grafting involved. Instead, you cast on at the toe, work your way to the cuff, and then cast off.
It's harder (though not impossible) to work a heel flap and gusset, since you're approaching from the opposite direction. The cast on can also be quite fiddly. Lastly, you'll need a stretchy bind off, so the cuff isn't too tight or too loose.
Cuff Down Socks have an Easier Cast On
Because you’re casting on more stitches and doing so in a loop, the cast-on for a pair of cuff-down socks is a bit easier than the cast-on for toe-up socks, where you are casting on a small number of stitches in a straight line and then growing a loop outward. I use the trusty old long-tail cast-on for my cuff-down socks, but just about any cast-on method will work.
On a cuff-down sock, the heel flap really is a flap. You just work rows back and forth across one half of your sock for a specific number of rows. That makes it a little more straightforward than the construction methods for a toe-up sock.
I end up with a LOT of leftovers for my cuff-down socks, because my feet aren't very big. It can also be hard to estimate yardage. Additionally, most cuff-down socks feature a wedge toe, which means you'll need to graft the stitches. Cuff down socks are also traditional, so if you chafe at doing things the same way everyone else does, or are interested in showing off a new technique, cuff-down socks probably aren’t going to be the style for you.