Making a Knee Sock

I happened to have a question from a knitter about converting a regular ankle-length sock pattern to  a knee high sock pattern for an adult woman, and at the same time.

Whether you're working with a circular sock machine (as in my book, The Happy Cranker), or with a standard gauge knitting machine (that book is Making Socks on the Standard Machine, the modification is pretty simple.  

You need to add 12” above the ankle and below the cuff with a somewhat looser tension, and I'll call that the "calf area."  

For the circular sock machine and the "Diana's Favorite Sock" pattern, I take the yarn off the heel spring on the upper tension unit, and that loosens up the tension just for that calf area.  I put it back on for the top cuff, which tightens it, back to normal.  That pattern has ribs up the top and front of the sock, and those ribs make it fit better on wide feet, narrow feet, and wide and narrow calves.  I put a 3" top cuff on and prefer the sewn selvedge I show in The Happy Cranker, because it looks good and is stretchy enough to pull over my calves.

These fit me, and they also fit my friend who is an inch taller and wears a size 2.  She has very slim legs, and narrow feet, and I have side calves and wide feet.  

If you're working with a standard gauge machine, turn the tension up on about 2 tensions on the dial, make a swatch, and figure out the rows to add for the calf area.  Then tighten back up to make a knit 1, purl 1 top cuff that’s about 3” long.  

I like the long top cuff because I fold it over and it stays up!   In a pinch, you could fold it over and sew it, adding elastic, but I haven't had to do that and would prefer not to do it that way.