Baseball Socks

by Meredith Davey
April 04, 2008

This is a great knitting project for the ultimate baseball fan. These socks can be knit in two sizes: a larger size for a woman who wears a size 8 shoe or a child who wears a size 6 shoe (with a foot approximately 9 3/4 inches long) and a smaller size for a woman who wears a size 5 1/2 shoe or a child who wears a size 4 shoe (with a foot approximately 8 1/2 inches long).

There are two ways to knit this sock. The first uses a stranded-knitting style and is perfect for the intermediate knitter. The second uses a more complicated technique called "festive knitting" (in which you knit backwards with two colors over small intervals), which is great for the more advanced, adventurous knitter, and has the advantage of creating a stretchier sock that will fit a larger range of feet. Here, I will give directions for both. There are also directions for socks with and without pinstripes, depending on the team's uniform.

NOTE: Because this pattern can be knit four ways, read through the directions before you start knitting and highlight the areas that apply to your sock. Each of the four types of socks — stranded knitting without pinstripes, stranded knitting with pinstripes, festive knitting without pinstripes, and festive knitting with pinstripes — have been labeled with separate symbols. This should make the pattern easier to follow.

Provided you are knitting with the correct gauge (discussed below), the directions are the same for both the smaller and the larger sizes. For the stranded-knitting socks, I will be knitting a San Francisco Giants pattern. (For examples of stranded-knitting pinstriped socks, I will show you a previously-knit New York Yankees sock.) For the festive knitting socks, I will be knitting a Colorado Rockies pattern. This should help you tell them apart. In cases where all styles of sock are knit in the same way, I will use the Giants sock for demonstration.

I have included stitch patterns for 26 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams. (They are shown at the end.) Unfortunately, the logos for the Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Houston Astros are too complex to fit into a 10x14-stitch space. You will note that all of the logos are upside down; this is deliberate. This is a top-down sock pattern, so you will follow the chart from bottom to top (this will make sense once you start knitting). I have also included a blank grid, in case you would like to design and knit the logo of your favorite minor league or little league team. (Just remember to design the logo upside down.)

Here is a list of the materials you will need for all four types:

MATERIALS:

• Sock yarn(fingering weight) in the your team colors. Get sock yarn specifically — it typically knits at about 30 stitches/4 inches, and is about 75% wool and 25% nylon. You will need approximately 400 yards (2-50 gram skeins) of your main color (MC), 400 yards (2-50 gram skeins) of your contrast color (CC), and 400 yards (2-50 gram skeins) of your second contrast color (CC2), if your team's sock has three colors. The list of team yarn colors is as follows:

• Chicago Cubs: (MC)-White, (CC)-Blue, (CC2)-Red
• New York Mets: (MC)-White, (CC)-Bright Blue, (CC2)-Orange
• Philadelphia Phillies: (MC)-White, (CC)-Red
• *Colorado Rockies: (MC)-White, (CC)-Purple (as shown by the festive knitting with pinstripes example sock)
• Minnesota Twins: (MC)-White, (CC) Dark Blue, (CC2)-Red
• *New York Yankees: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue (as shown by the stranded knitting with pinstripes example sock)
• Chicago White Sox: (MC)-White, (CC)-Black
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue, (CC2)-Red
• Oakland Athletics: (MC)-Gold, (CC)-Green
• Toronto Blue Jays: (MC)-White, (CC)-Blue
• Atlanta Braves: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue, (CC2)-Red
• Milwaukee Brewers: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue
• St. Louis Cardinals: (MC)-White, (CC)-Red
• Arizona Diamondbacks: (MC)-Black, (CC)-Dark Red
• Los Angeles Dodgers: (MC)-White, (CC)-Blue
• *San Francisco Giants: (MC)-Orange, (CC)-Black (as shown by the stranded knitting without pinstripes example sock)
• Cleveland Indians: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue, (CC2)-Red
• Washington Nationals: (MC)-White, (CC)-Red
• Baltimore Orioles: (MC)-Orange, (CC)-Black
• San Diego Padres: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue, (CC2)-Taupe
• Pittsburgh Pirates: (MC)-Gold, (CC)-Black
• Texas Rangers: (MC)-White, (CC)-Blue, (CC2)-Red
• Boston Red Sox: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue, (CC2)-Red
• Cincinnati Reds: (MC)-White, (CC)-Red
• Kansas City Royals: (MC)-White, (CC)-Blue
• Detroit Tigers: (MC)-White, (CC)-Dark Blue



• A set of five double-pointed (DP) needles You will need Size 0 (2 mm) for the larger size and size 000 (1.5 mm) for the smaller size, or the size necessary to obtain the proper gauge. (The gauge is discussed below.)
• Four stitch markers for marking stitches along needles
• One detachable stitch marker to mark the beginning of your row. I often use a paper clip or a safety pin for this.
• Waste yarn for knitting the heel flap and testing sock size
• Blunt tapestry needle (not shown)
• Size 1 (2.75 mm) crochet hook (not shown) (for pinstriped festive knit socks only)

Stitch gauge:

Using the long-tail cast-on (or whichever cast-on you prefer), cast on 30 stitches and knit a swatch at least 2" long. Measure the number of stitches in two inches. You should have 20 stitches/2 inches for the larger size, or 22 stitches/2 inches for the smaller size. If there are too few stitches, tear out the swatch and knit it again with smaller needles; if you have too many stitches, tear out the swatch and knit it again with larger needles. The correct gauge is very important for a proper fit, particularly with the stranded-knitting socks. (Note: you should also get a vertical gauge of about 26 rows/2 inches for the larger size or 29 rows/2 inches for the smaller size, but this is more forgiving.)

Meredith finishes this detailed instructional in a PDF, which can be downloaded here.

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