In helping a fellow knitter with smaller feet, I've managed to work out the following to make a smaller "foot" portion of the sock.
Specifically, johussion measured her foot and got to a completed toe that is made up of 52 stitches. Looking at the STR pattern, there's an approximately 25% increase in stitch count from toe to foot to compensate for the rib and the smaller needle gage. Doing some simple math gets us to a target of 64 stitches all around for the foot (52 stitches plus 25%).
Here's the hard part - given the [p1, k2] rib on the instep and the [p2, k2] rib on the sole, it take a little fiddling to work it out. Also, the set-up row is done in groups of 7 and 8.
Using the "new math", I ended up with this for the next two rows:
Set-up round: P1, [k2, p1, k1, kfb] 5 times - 31 instep stitches. K1, kfb, [k2, p2, k1, kfb, p1] 3 times, k2, p1 - 30 sole stitches, 61 total stitches
Round 1: [P1, k2] 12 times, [p2, k2] 6 times, p1
Now, the instep will have 10 k2 ribs and the sole will have 8 k2 ribs. Knit away and turn the heel a little later - likely at 1.5" from the heel rather than 1.75", given that we're working with a smaller number of stitches overall.
Last part of the pattern is for the leg and it's worked in repeats of 24. That means trouble. We've got 61 stitches coming off the toe - and that's 13 more than two repeats and 11 less than three repeats (standard pattern has 3 repeats). Should you will fill the gaps with purl stitches? Increase around the leg to get up to 72? I really don't know. I suspect johussion and I will figure this out when she turns the heel. It's all about the sizing, you know.
Progress is being made ...
It's been three days since I received my sock yarn and I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I haven't had any large blocks of time to work on it, but it's still satisfying to see that there will be a pair of socks one day!
From some of the other knitters, I've seen some cool "pooling" of colors. Specifically, here's the first one I saw with cool "teeth" and "points". My socks, on the other hand, are looking more like ordinary "self-striping" yarns.
I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and convince myself that this color pattern is cooler than everyone else's - and also that things may be very different with the second sock! Others have advised to rewind the ball in the opposite direction (that would pose a problem with the twist of the yarn) and heck - I don't WANT to rewind the ball! It looks so good ...
Nope - I'll march on. I'll knit on (and purl on and W&T on) and see how the sock comes out. I expect to finish one of the two w/in the next day or so. Tomorrow's a vacation day from work and I'm looking forward to some concentrated knitting. It is therapy, after all.
From some of the other knitters, I've seen some cool "pooling" of colors. Specifically, here's the first one I saw with cool "teeth" and "points". My socks, on the other hand, are looking more like ordinary "self-striping" yarns.
I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and convince myself that this color pattern is cooler than everyone else's - and also that things may be very different with the second sock! Others have advised to rewind the ball in the opposite direction (that would pose a problem with the twist of the yarn) and heck - I don't WANT to rewind the ball! It looks so good ...
Nope - I'll march on. I'll knit on (and purl on and W&T on) and see how the sock comes out. I expect to finish one of the two w/in the next day or so. Tomorrow's a vacation day from work and I'm looking forward to some concentrated knitting. It is therapy, after all.
Sizing The Sock
When trying to size the sock to fit my feet, the big thing to worry about is the size of the toe. For the February sock pattern, the toe is created by casting on stitches and then using the wrap and turn technique to create the toe. It's not a true "toe-up" pattern - it's more like a "toe around" pattern.
Measuring to confirm the size of the toe starts by figuring out how wide the toe box should be. That's accomplished by measuring across the base of the toe, as shown in this picture:
From the picture, you can see that the correct width is 4". Double that to 8" and that's the "circumference" of the toe box. Here's a picture of the finished toe (and the start of the foot):
Changing the sizing for the foot itself is a little more difficult as it requires understanding the pattern repeat. The instep is a 2 x 1 (3 stitch) repeat and the sole is a 2 x x (4 stitch) repeat. I'll talk about that when I have time later tonight.
Measuring to confirm the size of the toe starts by figuring out how wide the toe box should be. That's accomplished by measuring across the base of the toe, as shown in this picture:
From the picture, you can see that the correct width is 4". Double that to 8" and that's the "circumference" of the toe box. Here's a picture of the finished toe (and the start of the foot):
Changing the sizing for the foot itself is a little more difficult as it requires understanding the pattern repeat. The instep is a 2 x 1 (3 stitch) repeat and the sole is a 2 x x (4 stitch) repeat. I'll talk about that when I have time later tonight.
Let the Knit-a-long Begin!
Wonder of wonders, my shipment from Blue Moon showed up today - a beautiful skein of hand-dyed merino superwash wool and a wonderful pattern for reversible socks. They look great! I'm excited to get started on the pattern, but first a picture of the skein as it arrived:
It's amazing at how soft and supple the yarn is. I always grew up with "scratchy" and rough wool - the merino blend is amazing. While hard to show, the color mix goes from gray to purple to yellow to green.
I'm now merrily winding it in to the usual ball and I'll take pictures as the sock progresses. It's so exciting! The pattern is simple and it seems like I should have no trouble getting it done before the next pattern shows up. Woo hoo!
It's amazing at how soft and supple the yarn is. I always grew up with "scratchy" and rough wool - the merino blend is amazing. While hard to show, the color mix goes from gray to purple to yellow to green.
I'm now merrily winding it in to the usual ball and I'll take pictures as the sock progresses. It's so exciting! The pattern is simple and it seems like I should have no trouble getting it done before the next pattern shows up. Woo hoo!
Kick-starting the Blog
Yeah, so this is embarrasing. It's been almost 8 months since I've done anything here - and all I've got are excuses. So, let's review:
Best of all - I've got a fun-filled and action-packed year of knitting coming up. I've joined the "Rockin' Sock Club" sponsored by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I get six shipments of sock yarn (one every two months) along with a pattern. That means I'll be upping my personal stash of socks (heck - I'm DOUBLING it!) and trying out some really fun new techniques. Pictures and progress posted here as I get the yarn and start knitting.
The weather is getting better and it's time to start the new year off more productively.
Happy Knitting!
- Restructuring at work. After taking on 1/2 a person back in Nov. '05, I got a whole additional person in June. I'm now doing the work of 3.
- Refereeing. Still working on getting my Grade 6 badge, which meant that pretty much every weekend was spent on the pitch. At least four different leagues (including College) so that took up weeknights as well and a trip to Florida for the Super-Y national championships!
- Illness. All that work and referee stuff resulted in an AMAZING bout with the flu. That took up a good chunk of January with a minor relapse last month
Best of all - I've got a fun-filled and action-packed year of knitting coming up. I've joined the "Rockin' Sock Club" sponsored by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I get six shipments of sock yarn (one every two months) along with a pattern. That means I'll be upping my personal stash of socks (heck - I'm DOUBLING it!) and trying out some really fun new techniques. Pictures and progress posted here as I get the yarn and start knitting.
The weather is getting better and it's time to start the new year off more productively.
Happy Knitting!
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