Part of what fueled my fire in getting the mitts done was the fact that the first Blue Wavering sock had a gusset the size of Manhattan that I knew was a problem. I also knew my inclination to ignore rather than fix was strong. The Giftee would never, ever know.
Knitting the mitts gave me time to get over my lazy ways and do the right thing. I haven't frogged yet, but as soon as I'm done with the second sock, I will.
I thought I'd err on the side of caution with a gusset of 17 increases. But when I turned the heel on the sock and had hubby try it on, it was ginormous. Seriously ginormous.
On the second sock I increased the length of the foot by seven rows and reduced the gusset increases by five. Although, once I reduced the gussets, my heel was understandably short. On the original sock, it is 34 rows tall (17 increases x 2). On the second sock it would be 24 rows tall. I didn't take any measurements, but it isn't hard to fathom that a heel 10 rows shorter might be an issue.
When I finished the second sock's heel it definitely looked stunted. On socks for me, I never mind the small heel, but in the eyes of the recipient, and one who may or may not be used to getting gifts of hand made socks, this little design element may get noticed and not in a good way.
I didn't ponder too long on what to do (for once!) because it dawned on me, almost immediately, I had a solution. An ages old post over at Grumperina's blog was my inspiration. When I finished the heel decreases and began knitting in the round again, I knit the front in the rib and the back of the sock in the same sl1k1 heel pattern for four rows.
It worked. When I turned the heel on Monday night and had hubby try it on, it fit perfectly and looked right. As long as the Giftee doesn't have a size 14 foot, it should fit him reasonably well.
Knitting the mitts gave me time to get over my lazy ways and do the right thing. I haven't frogged yet, but as soon as I'm done with the second sock, I will.
I thought I'd err on the side of caution with a gusset of 17 increases. But when I turned the heel on the sock and had hubby try it on, it was ginormous. Seriously ginormous.
On the second sock I increased the length of the foot by seven rows and reduced the gusset increases by five. Although, once I reduced the gussets, my heel was understandably short. On the original sock, it is 34 rows tall (17 increases x 2). On the second sock it would be 24 rows tall. I didn't take any measurements, but it isn't hard to fathom that a heel 10 rows shorter might be an issue.
When I finished the second sock's heel it definitely looked stunted. On socks for me, I never mind the small heel, but in the eyes of the recipient, and one who may or may not be used to getting gifts of hand made socks, this little design element may get noticed and not in a good way.
I didn't ponder too long on what to do (for once!) because it dawned on me, almost immediately, I had a solution. An ages old post over at Grumperina's blog was my inspiration. When I finished the heel decreases and began knitting in the round again, I knit the front in the rib and the back of the sock in the same sl1k1 heel pattern for four rows.
It worked. When I turned the heel on Monday night and had hubby try it on, it fit perfectly and looked right. As long as the Giftee doesn't have a size 14 foot, it should fit him reasonably well.
Comments
Really nice socks. I have to knit my hubby a pair. He wants Yarn Pirate yarn, and they're on my list!
Thanks for the comments about the heel! Very informative.