While tube socks will never achieve the precise fit of shaped socks, they have the advantage of being quick and easy plus they fit for a good long while as feet grow and it’s easy to guess at a size. The ribbing in this version makes for a much tidier fit than most tube socks offer. These pull in very dramatically so, when in doubt of a size, choose the larger of the two under consideration.

YARN, GAUGE, SIZE & MACHINE
Use any #1 sock yarn. I prefer those that have a little bit of stretchy fiber added. The stretchy fiber may be called lycra, spandex, elastane, polyamide or nylon depending on where it was manufactured. The stretchy fiber is not essential to the pattern but it does make sock fabric that holds its shape well. There are many such yarns and the machine handles them just fine. It’s best to rewind the yarn into center pull balls before knitting it. This is true even if it comes in center pull balls. The issue is that manufacturers wind it rather tightly and for the machine to feed it evenly without jerking, a looser center is helpful. Of course, if you have a cone winder, that is even better.

Swatch in knit 1, purl 1 ribbing and adjust the stitch sizes on both carriages to get a balanced fabric that, when relaxed, is 12 stitches/10 rows per inch. When measuring, keep in mind that half of the stitches are on the side of the fabric that you cannot see. So only 6 of the 12 that should be in an inch will be visible to you.

Any standard gauge machine with ribber or true double bed machine may be used. This includes Japanese made machines with 4.5 needle spacing and European machines with 5 mm needle spacing. Both count as standard gauge and both will make excellent socks.

A bonus file has been added. The original pattern remains the same. The bonus file compares settings for many machines for these stitches: stockinette, tuck, slip, tubular knitting. This is a great pattern to use to get comfortable with all kinds of machines.