Sunday, February 28, 2010

Easing into it

I've finally got successful modifications to add a bit more room to the back of the Skew ankle (at the top of the heel). A lot of people have said (and this is my experience) that their Skews are comfortable once on, but hard to wiggle into. That's because the band at the back of the heel is biased with respect to the main sock fabric.

So here's what I did: On the 13th and 25th rounds after beginning the ankle gusset, I worked short rows 8 stitches long over the ankle band. (That's 4 stitches on either side of the second ankle marker for the left sock, but on either side of the first ankle marker for the right sock.) You can use any gap-closing method you like; I chose the Japanese method. This photo shows the heel of the left sock (toe is pointing upwards); can you find the short rows from the 13th round? I can, but they're pretty subtle in the handpainted yarn (Kitchen Sink Dyeworks Merino Fine, BTW).

Do be careful to make a conscious choice about increasing on the knit-side short rows. I only increased on the first pass (before the first turn, but not right after both turns) to keep the stitch counts correct. If you increase both before turning and after both turns, you will add one stitch to the back of the leg and one stitch to the heel per pair of short rows.

Oh, and I'll hide a little bit of exciting (to me, anyway) news at the end of this post: I've just received a test knitter's review of my next pattern! I expect to have it ready for publication no later than early April.

7 comments:

daddy'slittlesockknitter said...

Thank you for this wonderful pattern. Your original version fits me perfectly but my dad needs the extra room in the heel. I have been trying to figure this out but you have saved me all the trouble by publishing the modifications. I am always amazed that people are so generous as to post their wonderful creations for free. Thank you again.

Denise said...

Thanks for being diligent enough to work through and post these variations. Discovered your Skew pattern only recently and am captivated by it! I love unusual architectures but am too "spatially impaired" (ggg) to devise them for myself. Will cast on a pair as soon as my current WIP is off the needles.

ChrissyJ said...

When you refer to the 13th and 25th row in the ankle gusset, do you mean the "inner ankle" section of the pattern, or the "increase mini-gusset" section? Or neither? I'm confused!

PS - love the pattern, I'm just trying to figure out how to get mine to fit!

Lana said...

ChrissyJ-- I meant the 13th round from the beginning of the "inner ankle" section. There will be 12 stitches between ankle markers when you begin the 13th round. Likewise, there will be 24 stitches between ankle markers when you begin the 25th round.

sooz said...

I have finished my first pair and love them. The pattern is brilliant and I am a complete devotee - thank you so much! And especially thank you for offering this pattern free.

I am now setting to knit a pair for my partner who can't get into the sock I knitted correctly, but can just squeeze on the one I made a mistake in (don't ask!). The one he can get on fits fine, so I am going to set to with both your mods for high instep and more ankle room and cross my fingers!

Can I recommend you add these mods to the Rav pattern page? I only found out about them via a forum page and I have noticed some popular patterns have wiki pages for mods. It would be great to have them stored in Rav and maybe in the original pattern too?

Anyway thanks again, you've reinvigorated my sock knitting no end :-)

knitbysue said...

I'm still confused over the mod described in this blog post. I'm making my first pair of skews and just finished the increase mini- gusset section and just now have 24 sts between the ankle markers. According to the pattern I should be starting the Heel Shaping Section. So where is Rnd 25 of the 'Ankle-Gusset'? Neither the Inner Ankle nor the Increase Mini Gusset section have a Rnd 25....

Lana said...

knitbysue, it's the 25th row after beginning the Inner Ankle... if I remember right (and it's been a loooong time!), that probably is the first round of the Heel Shaping.