Monday, July 05, 2010

Sometimes a Sock is a Little Work of Art

Sometimes it's just something to cover your foot.

I'm working on a pair of the latter sort right now. Between gaping holes and dryer disappearances, I'm down to two pairs of summer anklets.




I decided to get wild (for me) and work toe up, and to get even wilder and work a short row heel. I usually don't use these for a couple of reasons. 1) They don't fit my high instep foot as well as a heel with gusset increases. And 2) while I can work wrap and turn short rows, I don't enjoy dealing with lifting those wraps, especially the double wraps of a heel.

So in the spirit of "what the heck, why not try it?" I addressed #1 by increasing eight stitches a couple of rounds before beginning the heel turns; and then decreasing them away a couple of rounds after finishing the heel. I dealt with #2 by using the no wrap method from the Lifestyle Toe Up Socks. I like it. This is a great pattern, with links to video help. I goofed up in a couple spots (and thus have a couple of holes), but with practice I think this could become a favorite. There's a good photo tutorial for almost exactly the same thing here.

I think this approach could change my entire attitude toward short rows.

2 comments:

YarnThrower said...

heh heh....like the toe-up!

I hate the wraps/turns, too, so I've been using a yarn-over method published in Summer 2007 Interweave Knits ala Ann Budd - LOVE IT!

Also, as an alternative to increasing as you go into the heel, I sometimes work my heels on 60% of the stitches instead of 50% -- seems to be just enough to do the trick...

Of course, your sock looks great, so just sharing a couple of other possibilities :-)

Anonymous said...

I have a high instep, too, and it was a revelation to me when I realized I didn't have to work the heel on exactly half the stitches. I have found that on my 60-stitch socks, a 36-stitch heel is perfect.