No show socks are a fun way to experiment. Instead of working on your own and concentrating on your feet, you can work on the rest of your feet! No show socks are a great way to learn how some people work on the foot and how others work on the hands.
Many people make them by overlaying half the heel with hot water soles and doing only one round of instep removal. Then, they add some soft, flexible rubber or cushioning around the base of each foot to create the shape of a sock. The beauty is in looking at the different legs that are lifted off the floor as you walk.
How Does No Show Sock Make Your Foot Look?
The main benefit of no show socks is getting rid of shine on your feet. When shoes look shiny, people feel more confident in front of them.
Contents:
Find the right size needle
When first making no show socks, try a medium size needle. If the socks are very tight, you may need a large needle to allow for more space between the toe and heel.
Once you have your no show socks prepped, it is time to start knitting! First, pick one color and begin working through the pattern. Try not to work more than one row in one color per row in the next — that would be cutting down your length.
Second, join new yarn and start working through the back of the sock as soon as you gain enough tension on the old yarn. This will prevent pullthrough issues, which can be annoying.
Third, when looking down at your foot to check whether or not they are sitting right, they should be able to slide right on without any help! This is because of how much new yarn is covering up the old.
Find a pattern that you like
Once you have your pattern, it is time to create your No Show Socks. First, pick a color scheme for your socks. There are many options such as black, red, teal, and fun colors like causal yet cool neutrals like gray and hot pink. Then, pick your favorite material. There are many ways to make a sock, including using a natural fiber such as wool or LunaSoft Superabsorbant Elastomer (Suede) Fiber.
Finally, decide whether you want soft or stiff socks and build those up!
How to Make No Show Socks: Build up the top of the sock first by adding some heel flaps of sock yarn or by picking up stitches in the pattern. Then add some resistance against movement by working more socks on one foot than the other.
Buy the materials needed for the pattern
When knitting no show socks, you will need to buy some materials that are not seen when the sock is on. These include a solid or light sock buffer, a pattern repeat marker, and a provisional cast on.
The pattern repeat marker is used when joining two pieces of yarn together to create the base of the sock. The toe is joined, and then the leg is joined next. This must be done before casting on the second leg of the sock.
The solid or light sock buffer is used when joining two different thicknesses of yarn together to create the no show socks. The one using this material should know how to use it!
The provisional cast on is used when starting a new project with no previous experience needed.
Check the yarn for snags or imperfections
When knitting no show socks, you will need to maintain a distance between your thumb and forefinger when working. This is because the pattern depends on the amount of yarn left on the needle.
In order to prevent being snared by an untimely shard of yarn, let go of the needle and take a moment to check the yarn for any imperfections or snags. If there is none, put enough yarn to make a sock and start kniting!
Curiously, no show socks do not require a break at all- they are simply left to grow in length as they are knitted. Once they are long enough, they can be taken off!
This is due to two factors. First, when taking a break, your foot has to let the bones grow together so that they can be wiggled into place. Second, when knitting without taking a break, your work gets carried away and the piece grows longer as it stretches. This can result in overworking the fabric and being on top of taking breaks.
Wash and dry the socks before using them
When wearing no show socks, it is important to remember that they must be dry before every other step in making your own.
Wet no show socks will result in wet feet and/or dry feet because of the heat of the washing process. This is not good if you want to wear your socks several times!
Dry no show socks at the same time as regular shoes to ensure they are completely dry. If you have a very fast pace of life, this is likely to be a problem for you.
To make sure your feet are truly happy with the sock, try one more pair of normal shoes before replacing them with these second pair of shoes! This way you have full confidence that you made a good choice in how to make your new sock.
Find a comfortable position
When you stand up to put on your socks, place your feet approximately the same distance away from one another. This allows your feet to relax and breathe while you are wearing the shoes.
If you have to walk a long distance before wearing the socks, place the first few inches of the sock on first and then add the rest of the sock. Once that is done, take your time going through all four corners to make sure they are nice and secure.
This way, when you do need to take them off, they will be smooth and soft. If you over-tighten them, they will break apart easier!
These shoes are called heel-clamp flip-flops. They are extremely popular on social media due to their easy removal and re-positioning. They also look really cute with just a little bit of padding around the front of the foot to protect the bottom of the shoe from rough surfaces.
Make sure your hands are clean
When making no show socks, you must make sure your hands are clean. If you have finger or nail polish on them, dust or wipe it off before making the sock.
You can use soap and water or a dry washcloth to remove polish. If you have lotion on your hands and feet, wash those off before making the sock.
If you have oil, grease, or flour on your hands and/or feet, let them dry before making the sock.
Make sure there are no holes in the sock where it meets the leg. If there are, let them be! No one will ever know if you make a quick fix for them.
Finally, make sure that any hair is cut out of the way is dried completely! This includes removing any remaining oil or grease to make room for the new sock to fit comfortably in place.
Use a sharp needle
When knitting no show socks, you will need a needle that is very short but with a thick cable-like pattern. This needs to be created when the foot is sewn on.
If you have a longer needle, use that instead. If not, use one of the short needles found above to create the no show effect!
To create the sock heel, pull up a loop on one needle and take another needle and draw it through both loops. Then pull up a loop on one needle and take another. To create the toe, draw one end of the short needle through one round of knitting and then leave it out! Repeat until you have one toe per foot.