Happy Socktober! We’re back for sock knitting season with our favorite methods for folding hand knit socks. There are at least a dozen ways to fold regular socks, but hand knit socks require a little extra care. For one, most sock folding instructions usually involve stretching the ribbed cuff to hold the bulk of your folded sock together. We want to maintain the integrity of our ribbed cuffs, so none of these methods stretch the cuff to contain your sock.

Before we get started, remember to bookmark the rest of our Socktober library! We have lots of resources for sock knitters:

• 10 Tips for Knitting Socks
• 9 Care Tips for Hand Knit Socks
• 7 Sock Patterns for Socktober

The Roll Fold

The Roll Fold is probably the simplest method for folding socks. However, it’s also the fold that is most likely to come apart in your sock drawer, so it’s best for knitters who store their hand knit socks in shallow drawers, or drawers with dedicated inserts. The more hand knit socks you make, the more likely you are to become one of these knitters! It’s a very attractive way to display hand knit socks:

To Roll Fold:

1. Place socks on top of each other
2. Roll tightly from the toe up to the cuff

The Fold, Stack, & Tuck

The Fold, Stack, & Tuck method is nice for showing off the cuff of your sock. If you have a fun cuff, consider using it!

To Fold, Stack, & Tuck:

1. Lay socks flat, side by side, toes up and cuffs at the bottom.
2. Take one sock and fold the cuff up towards the center. Then, fold the toe back down over the cuff.
3. Place the folded sock centered over the second sock.
4. Bring the cuff of the second sock up over the top of the folded sock.
5. Bring the toe of the second sock down over the top of its cuff.
6. Gently tuck the toe of the second sock into its cuff.

The Military Fold

Buckle up, because the Military Fold requires a little extra attention to accomplish. It’s not complicated; there are just more steps than all of the other methods on this list. It’s a very neat and tidy fold, however, and none of its tucks touch the cuffs, so it maintains your cuff’s elasticity.

To Military Fold:

1. Lay one sock on top of the other in a “t” shape. The top sock should orient vertically and the bottom sock horizontally.
2. Fold the cuff of the bottom sock across and towards the center.
3. Fold the toe of the bottom sock across the center, drawing it past the width of the other sock (see the image at the very top right corner above).
4. Flip the sock over, holding your folds in place, and draw the toe you just folded around the sock so it is now crossed over the other side (see the image in the middle, on the left).
5. Draw the bottom sock’s cuff up towards the center.
6. Tuck this cuff into the folded sock underneath it (see the image in the middle, on the right)
7. Fold the toe of the bottom sock down over the top of the sock bundle, tucking it into one of the folds you’ve created.

Origami Fold

The Origami Fold is a fairly easy sock folding method, and it only involves one tuck at the very end to keep everything tidy.

To Origami Fold:

• Lay one sock on top of the other in a “t” shape. The top sock should orient vertically and the bottom sock horizontally.
• Fold the cuff of the bottom horizontal sock over the middle.
• Fold the cuff of the top vertical sock up over the middle.
• Fold the toe of the bottom horizontal sock over the middle.
• Fold the toe of the top vertical sock down over the middle, drawing the tip of the toe slightly past the bulk of the center.
• Tuck this toe into the folds created by your efforts.

The Simple Fold & Tuck

We started with an easy one, and we’re finishing with an easy one. The Simple Fold & Tuck is great for socks knit with thicker yarns because there are fewer folds involved, which reduces the bulk of the overall sock bundle. The socks shown above were knit with Prairie Spun DK!

To Simple Fold & Tuck:

• Lay one sock flat on top of the other sock.
• Fold both cuffs down towards the center.
• Fold both toes up towards the center.
• Tuck the toes into the topmost cuff.

We hope these sock folding tips help you keep your Socktober socks neat and tidy in your sock drawer! How do you fold your socks? Join us in the Brown Sheep Company Crafters group to share your sock folding techniques and sock knitting tips!

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