Vanilla Socks on 9″ Circulars

by Kay Litton (Crazy Sock Lady Designs), rewritten as Chris's project tracker

🧦 Sock 2 in progress · sock 1 done: leg 59 rounds, foot 60 rounds

Sock size — every number on this page updates

The plan

A plain stockinette sock, cuff down, on a 9″ circular needle: ribbed cuff → straight leg → slip-stitch heel flap worked flat → heel turn → gusset → foot → toe on Magic Loop → graft shut. The designer's full video tutorial walks every section; the ▶ links below jump straight to the right minute.

Yarn: 100 g / 463 yd fingering-weight sock yarn (75/25 merino-nylon blends wear best).
Needles: US 1 / 2.25 mm — the 9″ circular for the body, plus DPNs or a long circular (Magic Loop) for the toe.
Notions: beginning-of-round marker + 2 side markers, tapestry needle.
Gauge: about 8 stitches per inch in stockinette.
Fit: pick the size 1–2″ smaller than the actual foot circumference (negative ease); length is knit to fit.

My gauge check

Knit your swatch, wash it, lay it flat and relaxed, and measure over 4 in. Enter what you actually get — it saves with the project, and the verdict updates live.

Stitches I get
Rows I get (optional)

Your numbers, Chris: sock 1 came out at 59 leg rounds (the pattern's written count) and 60 foot rounds before the toe. The counters below carry those targets so sock 2 comes out identical — no measuring against sock 1 on the sofa arm required.

Row counter

General-purpose counter, plus targeted ones in each section below. Everything on this page saves to the project — phone at the armchair, laptop at the desk, same place kept.

Cuff ▶ 1:38

Cast on stitches on the 9″ circular (long-tail cast on). Place the beginning-of-round (BOR) marker and join to knit in the round — check nothing is twisted. Round 1: [ K1, P1 ] across the first stitches, place the side marker (different from BOR — it marks the halfway point), then [ K1, P1 ] to the end of the round. Rounds 2–20: [ K1, P1 ] rib around.

Leg ▶ 13:13

Rounds 1–59: knit every round, slipping the markers as you come to them. Round 60 (a half-round): knit across to the side marker only. You're now positioned to work the heel flap across the back half of the sock.

Heel flap ▶ on 9″: 15:22 · ▶ on DPNs: 32:30

Worked flat (back and forth) on the back stitches; the front (instep) waits. The slipped stitches make a dense, hard-wearing pad. If the 9″ circular feels cramped here, the designer's DPN trick (video above) works on two double-points.

After the first row, swap the BOR marker on the cable for one matching the side marker — the beginning of round moves during the gusset and comes back later. Row 1 (right side): [ slip 1 purlwise with yarn in back, K1 ] across. Row 2 (wrong side): slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front, purl across. Work this pair of rows times in total — heel-flap rows.

Heel turn ▶ on 9″: 24:34 · ▶ on DPNs: 39:07

Short rows cup the flap into a heel. The landmark is the gap: each turn leaves a little visible gap in the row below — you work to one stitch before it, decrease across it, and turn. Trust the gap more than counting.

Row 1 (right side): slip 1 (yarn in back) · K · slip-slip-knit (SSK) · K1 · turn. Row 2 (wrong side): slip 1 (yarn in front) · P3 · P2tog · P1 · turn. Row 3: slip 1 · knit to 1 stitch before the gap · SSK (closing the gap) · K1 · turn. Row 4: slip 1 · purl to 1 stitch before the gap · P2tog · P1 · turn. Repeat rows 3–4 until every heel stitch has been worked, ending with a wrong-side row. On the very last purl row, don't slip the first stitch — purl it. heel stitches remain

Gusset ▶ 46:58

The pick-up round: knit the first heel stitches · place the BOR marker (temporary home) · knit the remaining heel stitches · pick up and knit stitches along the flap edge · lift the ladder strand from the row below and knit it through the back loop (closes the corner gap) · slip marker · knit the instep stitches · slip marker · another ladder through the back loop · pick up along the other flap edge · knit back to the marker.

Typo alert (verified against the stitch math): the original PDF says "knit across the 8(8,10) stitches" at the end of this round — the middle number should be 9: the heel's remaining stitches split evenly as .

Decrease rounds: Round 1: knit to 3 before the side marker · K2tog · K1 · slip marker · knit the instep stitches · slip marker · K1 · SSK · knit to end. Round 2: knit. Repeat the pair until you're back to stitches — that's decrease rounds. Move the beginning of round home: remove the BOR marker, knit to the first side marker, and swap that one for the BOR marker. Back to normal.

Foot

Knit plain rounds until the foot is ″ shorter than the finished foot length. For this pair: sock 1 was 60 rounds — knit 60 and stop.

Toe ▶ 1:05:12

Move the stitches off the 9″ circular onto Magic Loop (or DPNs) — per needle: needle 1 is the sole, needle 2 the instep. Round 1 (on each needle): K1 · SSK · knit to last 3 · K2tog · K1. Round 2: knit. Repeat the pair until stitches remain per needle. Then work Round 1 every round until 8 stitches remain per needle. Graft the toe shut with Kitchener stitch ▶ 1:12:45 — the video is the best teacher for this one. Weave in ends. ▶ 1:19:25 Two socks. One pair. 🎉 Take a photo below.

Project photos

Progress shots and the finished pair — photos upload straight from your phone and stay with the project.

Page settings

Checking sync…

Clears every checkbox and counter — handy when you cast on the next pair. Photos are kept (delete those individually with the ✕).

Original pattern: Vanilla Socks on 9″ Circulars © Kay Litton, Crazy Sock Lady Designs — free pattern with video tutorial.
Tracker rewrite for Chris's second sock (and every pair after).

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