There's nothing like a pair of handknit socks. You can use gorgeous sock yarn, choose your stitch pattern, and take them with you wherever you go.

One thing I've learned over the years is how to customize socks to fit my feet. Here's how I do it:

• I wear a women's size 7 shoe, so my socks are fairly small. I always start trying on my socks when they're about 3.5" from the heel (or toe, if I'm knitting them toe-up) to make sure they're not going to be too long. 
• I like a smooth, close-fitting foot, so I usually go down a needle size for the foot section of the sock. I always knit the entire foot in stockinette stitch, now matter what the pattern says!
• A rounded toe is important for me because my feet are fairly straight across the toes, and a pointy toe just ends up flopping around empty. 

Kelley likes a rounded toe, too, and she's developed a recipe for making them for her toe-up socks. She creates her rounded toe by spreading out the increases, separating them with a growing number of knit rounds in-between.

The Kaika Socks, from The Best of Knit Purl Hunter,
knit with Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20

Kelley's Rounded-Toe Pattern

Kelley talks about the rounded toe (and a great garter-stitch heel) in a recent broadcast of Technique Tuesday on Facebook Live.

For all sizes, use Judy’s Magic Cast-On to cast on 10 (12,12) stitches on each needle (20, 24, 24 stitches total). When knitting the toe, use a stitch marker to indicate the front of the socks.

Round 1: Knit across round.

Round 2: * K1, Kfb, knit to last three stitches on needle one, Kfb, K2.* Repeat for second needle.

Round 3: Repeat round 2 until you have 22 (24, 26) stitches per needle which is a total stitch count of 44 (48, 52).

Round 4-5: Repeat round 1.

Round 6: Repeat round 2.

Round 7-8: Repeat round 1.

Round 9: Repeat round 2.

Round 10-12: Repeat round 1.

Round 13: Repeat round 2. You should now have 56 (60, 64) stitches.

We hope this helps those of you who, like Kelley and me, are "flat-toed"!

Cheers,