Worsted Weight Socks

I got a pair of tiny 9" knitting needles in size 8, so I went looking for patterns that I could use them with. I decided that a pair of socks was just the thing. I found one pattern which had me cast on 40 stitches and had a heel flap heel. I started at the top and knit the leg and it seemed like it might be too big. I tried it on and wasn't sure, so I worked the heel and part of the foot. I then tried it on again and it was definitely too big.

My original attempt

I also didn't like the look of the heel flap, so I did a search for a short row heel sock made with worsted weight yarn. I didn't find anything that I liked, so I decided to figure out my own pattern. In the process of looking for a sock pattern, I learned about Shadow/Twin Stitch Short Rows for heels from this video:

This is what I did for my socks:

1. Cast On 32.

2. K1 P1 for 8 rows (~1") 

3. Knit even for 20 rows (until top of sock measures ~5 1/2")

4. Knit 7, make Twin Stitch Knit (TSK). Switch to new needle and slide TSK       onto it. Turn
5. Purl 14, Twin Stitch Purl (TSP). turn
6. * K to 1 before TSK, make TSK, turn, Purl to 1 before TSP, make TSP, turn *
7. Repeat * to * until there are 5 Twin Stitches on each side and 6 regular stitches in the middle.
8. < K to TS, Knit TS as 1 stitch, make next TS into a Triplet (same as a Twin Stitch, only now there are 3 loops), Turn. Purl to TS, Purl TS as 1 stitch, make next TS into Triplet. Turn >
9. Repeat < > until there is 1 TS on each end. Switch back to 9" needle. Slide TS back onto it.
10. Knit 7 stitches, Place Marker. Continue knitting around back to marker, treating TS as 1 stitch.
11. Knit even for 20 rows (~6" from back of heel)
12. Remove marker. Knit 8. Switch to magic loop needle (I lost one of the 9" needles).
13. K1, SSK, K 10, K2tog, K1, Pull loop to move to back of sock. K1, SSK, K to 3 from end, K2tog, K1
14. (K1, SSK, K to 3 from end, K2tog, K1) Repeat on both sides of sock
15. Knit even
16. Repeat rows 14 and 15 until there are 4 stitches left on each side. Kitchener stitch to bind off.

One somehow ended up longer than the other!

These socks fit better than the ones I had started with, but were still a little big, so I started with 28 stitches and they fit just right, except I'm not 100% satisfied with the toe. I may alter the pattern to fix that, so stay tuned.

1. Cast On 28.

2. K1 P1 for 8 rows (~1") 

3. Knit even for 20 rows (until top of sock measures ~5 1/2")

4. Knit 6, make Twin Stitch Knit (TSK). Switch to new needle and slide TSK  onto it. Turn
5. Purl 12, Twin Stitch Purl (TSP). turn
6. * K to 1 before TSK, make TSK, turn, Purl to 1 before TSP, make TSP, turn *
7. Repeat * to * until there are 5 Twin Stitches on each side and 4 regular stitches in the middle.
8. < K to TS, Knit TS as 1 stitch, make next TS into a Triplet (same as a Twin Stitch, only now there are 3 loops), Turn. Purl to TS, Purl TS as 1 stitch, make next TS into Triplet. Turn >
9. Repeat < > until there is 1 TS on each end. Switch back to 9" needle. Slide TS back onto it.
10. Knit 6 stitches, Place Marker. Continue knitting around back to marker, treating TS as 1 stitch.
11. Knit even for 25 rows (~6" from back of heel)
12. Remove marker. Knit 7. Switch to magic loop needle.
13. K1, SSK, K 8, K2tog, K1, Pull loop to move to back of sock. K1, SSK, K to 3 from end, K2tog, K1
14. (K1, SSK, K to 3 from end, K2tog, K1) Repeat on both sides of sock
15. Knit even
16. Repeat rows 14 and 15 until there are 4 stitches left on each side. Kitchener stitch to bind off.