FO: Diamond in the Rough Socks

A pair of hand knit socks on a pair of socks blockers.

I might have started on my 2023 goal to try out different sock heels a little early thanks to this pair of socks. After knitting a rather large pair of cabled socks on tiny needles, I was so not ready to cast on for another pair on tiny needles. But some DK weight yarn and 2.75mm needles seemed like a good place to ease back into sock knitting.

My original plan was to follow my default sock recipe: toe-up, gusset and heel flap, a cute stitch pattern on the instep, and a bit of ribbing before binding off. Unfortunately, I didn’t have quite enough yarn for a gusset and heel flap which meant a short row heel was the only option. I’ve avoided this construction in the past because the fit can be annoyingly too tight across the heel and ankle. Since my last attempt knitting a short row heel a great many years ago, I’ve seen it paired with a mini gusset and wanted to give that combination a try. First, I looked up how many stitches/percentage of stitches to increase for a mini gusset. There didn’t seem to be any real consensus. Some patterns called for increasing a scant total of 6 sts, some for 12 sts, and others said do as much as you need. Not particularly helpful. Eventually, I made a short row heel calculator in Numbers so I could do my own math. It really helped me visualize how to work a short row heel and figure out when I’d need to start the mini gusset. I decided to go with a 30% gusset, but probably could have gotten away with increasing closer to 20% since the finished socks are just a teensy bit big.

Close up of A Short Row Shadow Wrap Heel and Mini Gusset

Eventually I picked the shadow wrap heel to try for a neat and clean finish because I love lifted increases, and shadow wrap heels are all lifted increases. I was curious if the line of increases would create a noticeable seam on the inside, but I can’t say I’ve noticed it while wearing the socks. So win. I followed what seems to be the standard stitch division for knitting this heel: short row 2/3 of the stitches on each side and leave the remaining 1/3 in the middle alone. This ratio fit well enough, but didn’t really hug the shape of my heel as much as I would have liked. The spot where the short rows fold and get longer again is just a little too pointy in the corners. My brain is already plotting out options to improve the fit.

The finished socks are wonderful and I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to try a different heel and a new stitch pattern. I love the texture of the Seersucker stitch mixed with this subtly variegated/speckled gray yarn. The shadow wrap heel looks really good and it’s nice not fussing about with gaps at any of the turns. I’m probably going to stick with this method for my next short row heel too. There are still some tweaks I want make to the overall fit, but I’ll fiddle with that on the next pair. Until then, I’m going to enjoy wearing these and having warm toes.

A pair of gray hand knit toe-up socks with a short row heel on sock blockers.

The Specs:

Pattern: My in-progress vanilla short row sock recipe

Yarn: Freckled Fiber Works DK - (Storm)

Yardage: 92g - 226.3 yds

Needles: 2.75 mm circulars

Dates: December 3 - 19, 2022