I love to knit socks. One of my favorite socks that I have knit is a pair of knee socks. However, I found that I initially couldn’t wear them because they didn’t stay up on my leg. It was quite frustrating and likely due to two factors – 1) I used yarn that had a significant amount of bamboo in it which is a fiber that does not stretch. 2) The ribbing is P1 K1tbl (knit one through back loop) which is a pretty stitch but much less stretchy than a standard P1 K1 rib. I solved the problem by adding crocheted elastic to the inside of the cuff. I recently had someone on Ravelry ask me how I did it, so I thought I would share.

Start with a slip knot of elastic on a crochet hook. There are a lot of different options for what kind of elastic to use, and many should work. Any elastic that you would use to bead a necklace or use as a bobbin for sewing smocking will work fine. You should be able to find thin elastic at a craft store or fabric store or bead store.

Put the crochet hook under a ribbed row.

You will not able to see the crochet hook on the right side if you have inserted it correctly.

Wrap the elastic around the hook once.

Pull the elastic and the hook through the knit stitch.

Pull the elastic and the hook through the slip knot.

Now you have a single crochet chain through one of your knit stitches and a single loop of elastic on your crochet hook. Repeat the process all the way around your sock.

Here you can see in black three chains of black elastic. For the black elastic (and the white) I chained into every-other knit rib. You’ll want to experiment with how tightly to pull your stitches (not too tight!) and how frequently to make the chains as it will vary depending upon how tight you need the sock to be, how stretchy your elastic is, how large your crochet hook is, and how wide your ribbing is.

I recommend chaining more than one ring of elastic so that the pressure of the elastic is distributed onto more than one point on your calf.