They say necessity is the mother of invention.

When the US sock manufacturers decide that most men’s feet are size 13 or smaller, finding good looking socks that fit larger feet can be a challenge… unless of course there’s a knitter in the house. Zingiber was born out of necessity—an upcoming trip to the East Coast and the need for some warm, custom fit socks while away. So with limited time to knit a pair of XXL socks, why not make the challenge even greater by adding the design element into the mix? Sometimes I’m crazy like that.

The original Zingibers are XXL, large enough to fit a man’s US size 14/15 foot comfortably.  The stitch pattern is a stretchy 2x2 rib with twisted knit stitches and a cinch every now and then to keep the pattern from becoming boring. There’s a traveling stitch cable panel that runs down the sides of the leg and foot, framing the main stitch pattern. Choose from 2 options for the toe, a traditional stockinette toe as shown in the XXL brown sock, or a Zingiber Toe as shown in the M blue sock.

Oh and yes, the socks were finished in time and were much appreciated during and after the trip. Hand knit socks. Nothing beats them.

SIZE
M [L, XL, XXL]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Foot circumference: 9[9.5, 10, 10.5] inches, slightly stretched; 6.75[7.5, 8, 8.5] inches, unstretched
Foot length: Adjustable to fit.

MATERIALS
Yarn
Louet Gems Fingering Weight [100% superwash merino; 185yds/169m per 50g skein]; color: M shown in Neptune, XXL shown in Ginger; 2[2, 3, 3] skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 set US #1.5/2.5mm double-point needles
OR
1 US #1.5/2.5mm long circular needle for magic loop method
OR
2 US #1.5/2.5mm circular needles for two-circulars method

Notions
Yarn needle
2 stitch markers

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Slip sts as if to purl unless otherwise instructed.

Cinch: Sl1 as if to knit, k1, yo, pass slipped st over both the knit st and the yo.

Right Twist (RT): K2tog and leave both sts on the left needle, knit the first st on the left needle, remove both sts from the left needle.

Left Twist (LT): Approaching from the back, knit the second st tbl and leave it on the left needle, knit the first and second sts together tbl and remove both sts from the left needle.

Sl1kw: Slip 1 st as if to knit.

Sl1wyif: Slip 1 st as if to purl with yarn held in front of work.

DIRECTIONS

Ribbing Round: [K2 tbl, p2] around.
Repeat Ribbing Round until work measures 1[1, 1.25, 1.25] inches.

LEG
Leg rnd: Work Chart A row twice across round, paying attention to repeats within chart.
Work until you have completed 4[4, 5, 5] full repeats of Chart A.

Note: If you change the length of the leg, end the leg after completing a round that contains row 6 or 12 of Chart A. Make note of the last row worked.

HEEL FLAP
Set-up: Remove start of round marker, k2 tbl, p2, k2 tbl, (k1, sl1kw) 13[15, 17, 19] times, k2 tbl, k1. Put next 32[36, 40, 44] sts on hold for instep. Turn.

Note: The heel flap is worked flat across 32[36, 40, 44] sts which may be consolidated onto one needle.  32[36, 40, 44] sts are held for instep.

Row 1 [WS]: Sl1wyif, p2 tbl, p26[30, 34, 38], p2 tbl, k1. Turn work.
Row 2 [RS]: Sl1wyif, k2 tbl, (sl1kw, k1) 13[15, 17, 19] times, k2 tbl, k1. Turn work.
Row 3 [WS]: Sl1wyif, p2 tbl, p26[30, 34, 38], p2 tbl, k1. Turn work.
Row 4 [RS]: Sl1wyif, k2 tbl, (k1, sl1kw) 13[15, 17, 19] times, k2 tbl, k1. Turn work.

Repeat last 4 rows 6[6, 7, 7] more times, work Rows 1 and 2 0[1, 0, 1] more time, and Row 1 once more.
30[32, 34, 36] Heel Flap rows worked, including the set-up row.

Note: If you have a large instep, you may wish to work a longer heel flap to add height to the foot of the sock. If you do this, be sure to pick up more gusset sts and work more gusset decrease rounds accordingly.

Turn heel:
Row 1 [RS]: Sl1, k18[20, 22,  24], SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 2 [WS]: Sl1, p7, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Row 3 [RS]: Sl1, k8, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 4 [WS]: Sl1, p9, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Row 5 [RS]: Sl1, k10, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 6 [WS]: Sl1, p11, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Row 7 [RS]: Sl1, k12, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 8 [WS]: Sl1, p13, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Row 9 [RS]: Sl1, k14, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 10 [WS]: Sl1, p15, p2tog, p1. Turn.
Row 11 [RS]: Sl1, k16, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 12 [WS]: Sl1, p17, p2tog, p1. Turn.

L, XL, and XXL sizes only:
Row 13 [RS]: Sl1, k18, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 14 [WS]: Sl1, p19, p2tog, p1. Turn.

XL, and XXL sizes only:
Row 15 [RS]: Sl1, k20, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 16 [WS]: Sl1, p21, p2tog, p1. Turn.

XXL size only:
Row 17 [RS]: Sl1, k22, SSK, k1. Turn.
Row 18 [WS]: Sl1, p23, p2tog, p1. Turn.

All sizes:
20[22, 24, 26] heel sts remain.

Round 1: Sl1, k19[21, 23, 25], pick up and knit 17[18, 19, 20] sts along the side of the heel flap; pm for instep, work 32[36, 40, 44]instep sts from Chart B (refer to table above for which row to work); pick up and knit 17[18, 19, 20] sts along the side of the heel flap, k10[11, 12, 13], pm for beg of rnd.
Sole/gusset: 54[58, 62, 66] sts; instep: 32[36, 40, 44]sts. 86[94, 102, 110] sts total.

Round 2: K until there are 3 sts before the instep marker, k2tog, k1, work 32[36, 40, 44]sts in established pattern from Chart B, k1, SSK, k to end of rnd. 2 sts decreased.

Round 3: K to the instep marker, work 32[36, 40, 44]sts in established pattern from Chart B, k to end of rnd.

Repeat Rounds 2 and 3 until 32[36, 40, 44] sole sts remain. 64[72, 80, 88] sts total.

FOOT
Foot round: K to the instep marker, work 32[36, 40, 44] sts in established pattern from Chart B, k to end of rnd.
Repeat Foot round until foot is approximately 2[2.25, 2.5, 2.625] inches shorter than desired length.

Round 1: K1, SSK, k26[30, 34, 38], k2tog, k1, pm for center of round, k1, SSK, k until there are 3 unworked sts in the rnd, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.

Round 2: K all sts.

Round 3: K1, SSK, until there are 3 unworked sts before the center marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, SSK, k until there are 3 unworked sts in the rnd, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.

Repeat Rounds 2 and 3 9[11, 12, 13] more times until 20[20, 24, 28] sts remain.

Graft the toe closed.

Option 2: Zingiber Toe (as shown in M/Neptune blue - photo above)
Remove beg of rnd marker, knit to the instep marker. This is the new beg of rnd. Place a marker or rearrange your sts as you desire. 32[36, 40, 44]instep sts and 32[36, 40, 44]sole sts, 64[72, 80, 88] sts total.

Note: In this pattern, “work even” means to continue to work in the pattern established from Chart B while keeping the columns of ktbl and purl sts lined up. If you’d like to leave out the cinch stitches and work the toe in a k2 tbl x p2 rib, then ktbl the ktbl sts and the decrease sts and purl the purl sts.

Round 1: P1, k1tbl, k2togtbl, work next 24[28, 32, 36] sts even in pattern as established, sl1, sl1 as if to ptbl, return slipped sts to left needle, k2tog, ktbl, p1, pm for center of round, k1, SSK, k until there are 3 unworked sts in the rnd, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.

Round 2: Work even in pattern as established.

Round 3: P1, k1tbl, k2togtbl, work even in pattern as established until there are 4 unworked sts before the center marker, sl1, sl 1 as if to ptbl, return slipped sts to left needle, k2tog, ktbl, p1, slip marker, k1, SSK, k until there are 3 unworked sts in the rnd, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.

Repeat Rounds 2 and 3 7[9, 10, 11] more times until 28[28, 32, 36] sts remain.

Round 4: K all sts.

Round 5: K1, SSK, until there are 3 unworked sts before the center marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, k1, SSK, k until there are 3 unworked sts in the rnd, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.

Repeat Rounds 4 and 5 1 more time. 20[20, 24, 28] sts remain.

Graft the toe closed.

FINISHING
Weave in ends, block if desired.

Janice knits, spins, and dyes fiber in her home in Northern California. In her spare time she also sings backup in a band—her fellow band members often see her knitting during down time at rehearsal and soundcheck. You can follow Janice on her blog, view her projects and patterns on Ravelry, and her hand-dyed fiber in the 24x7 Fiber store.