ArtDesign1

Perfect Fit Footie

How this sock pattern can also be a footie.

Just stop knitting on the top of foot needle after the gusset increases as usual, go ahead and knit back and forth short rows on the side and heel needles until about an inch from the end of the heel, knit the cup heel by short rowing on the heel needle, start climbing up the back of the sock by first knitting the side to side strip knitting with decreases, then only knit SOME of the side to side strip knitting without decreases. STOP knitting when the heel is high enough for your socklet. For this socklet I stopped knitting side to side about four stitches short of the top needle. I knit once around all the needles to even out the color pattern, and will knit a quarter inch of 1/1 ribbing, then will bind off.

To make this pair extra sturdy I used a very strong yarn for the toes, as that is where my socks wear out first. I used scrap sock yarn for the foot, for the gusset increases and for the back and forth heel sides. I held the sock yarn double for the cup heel as that is the second place my socks wear out. Having two strands already in use, I made a cushy two-color Twigg rib stitch for the back of the heel, using one color only for the last three stitches on each side, as keeping colors straight while making short rows can make my head spin. Sometimes I can do it, but not at 2am when I can't sleep and I'm trying to read subtitles while I'm knitting. I used "Jojo" or "German Double stitch" for all short rows on this sock. (Why oh why do people feel they have to invent new words for long-established techniques, sigh.) When the sock was high enough to just peek out from my shoe I switched to one strand 1/1 ribbing. If it isn't elastic enough when it comes off the needles I'll only have to rip out the last few rows and use some elastic yarn for the ribbing instead.

Additional Notes for the Perfect Fit Scrap Sock Pattern

One relaxed evening I knitted with scrap yarn without a pattern, fitting to my foot and taking "second sock" notes as I went along, which is my favorite way to knit, and I could tell I was doing something a little differently. I gave the socks to a friend, and she remarked "It fits perfectly!"

The downloadable PDF is fairly detailed. It was posted on January 30, 2015.

The heel is the feature of this sock which begins with a old-fashioned round toe. The foot/ instep is knitted next, followed by a gusset. The first part of the heel starts out just like a short row heel, but earlier. Next is a little cup heel. Then comes the third part of the heel which uses two strip knit methods; first is the usual SKP and P2tog strip knitting, and the second I figured out from an illustration for a pattern called "Sock for a Child" in Mrs Beeton's book (available free online, and reproduced elsewhere on this blog.) Strip knitting usually makes a vertical seam, but the way I figured out makes a gradually increasing seam which melds effortlessly with the previously knitted short rows. Looks nice too.

Here is a summary of the steps followed by notes and some refinements incorporated since the pattern was written.

---
1. Toe
2. Foot
(Rearrange)
3. Gusset
4. Heel Side Short Rows
5. Cup Heel
(Round knitted stripe can go here)
6. Strip Knitting With Decreases
7. Strip Knitting Without Decreases
8. Ankle
9. Leg
10. Ribbing

1. TOE
Casting onto three double-pointed needles can be fiddley, and many of us have found the easiest work around is to use a crochet hook and technique (like amigurumi) to start the rounds in a loop of yarn. In fact, I keep meaning to try making socks with cushy crocheted toes since each crochet stitch has three strands, (compared with knitting which has two strands per stitch, and netting which has one strand per stitch.)

If the yarn is fine I crochet all 8 stitches in the initial loop. Those 8 plus the one on the hook make 9 stitches. Transfer the stitch on the hook to a doublepoint needle, and pick up two more stitches in the outermost legs. Use the second doublepoint to pick up the next three, and the third to pick up the next three. Done! No casting on to three needles or joining without twisting to make a circle. If the yarn is worsted weight or heavy, make a few crochet stitches in the beginning loop, then increase to 6 stitches for round two, and increase into every other stitch for round three (9 total). I use 9 as the base number as the sock will be divided into three sections later. Generally, my socks have a 45, 54, 63, or 72 stitch circumference. If not, no problem. It is easy enough to add a stitch or two later to make the final tube divisible by three, but over 40 years of living with a very literal, number oriented man has taught me to spell everything out. (A couple weeks ago a doctor sized us up, and told us we are polar opposites, and I wouldn't be able to explain his findings to my husband who wouldn't believe me anyway. Exactly!)

I use what is probably an old world school method of round knitting for mittens and sock toes from Ursula von Wartburg's 1973 book "The Workshop Book of Knitting." She immigrated from Switzerland and taught knitting in New York. The decreases are made according to a formula. I know I said formula, but this is from a beginner book for children, so let us plow through this.

If you want a truly rounded toe or mitten, not scandanivian style angles, the trick is to make a series of decrease rounds separated by plain rounds. You alternate the decrease rounds and plain rounds "until the knitting comes to an end." The wonder of her book is it teaches beginners how to knit without a pattern, so forget gauge, leave the pattern books at home, just pick up a tape measure, a ball of yarn and needles and knit! This is the formula: "Divide the number of stitches on the round by 10 and subtract 1." This gives you the number of stitches between each decrease. "If 10 doesnt't fit exactly, use the nearest number that 10 does divide into." If you have 72 stitches, divide 70 by 10 = 7, then subtract 1 = 6. You will knit a decrease, then 6 plain stitches, then a decrease, then 6 plain stitches, to the end of the round. Then knit 6 rounds of plain/straight knitting without any decreases.

The next decrease round will have 5 plain stitches between decrease stitches, and 5 rounds of knitting with no decreases before the next decrease round.
The next decrease round will have 4 plain stitches between decreases, and 4 rounds of plain knitting before the next decrease round. And so on.

Ursula uses "purl two together" decreases, which makes an attractive series of regularly spaced purl bumps. Of course, you can use any kind of decrease you wish. In her book, she breaks it into easy to follow steps. When there are 2 stitches between decreases, you will (decrease 1, knit 1) to the end of the round and plain knit 1 round. The last round is a series of p2tog. Then you "cut the yarn at arm's length, thread it through a tapestry needle. String the remaining stitches onto the yarn and draw them together tightly."

If reknitting a toe, by far the easiest and fastest way to fix a sock that has been knitted too big, or too long, or has stretched over time, simply knit fewer plain rounds between decrease rounds. For the shortest toe knit only 1 plain round between each decrease round.

I work socks from the toe up, so I reversed her directions and used increases instead of decreases. My usual toe up sock has a 64 stitch circumference, so I increase until there are 5 stitches between each increase, then begin the foot. I used to standardize toes with white yarn, but it is hard to wash back to white, so now I'm using black.

2. FOOT
This is the straight tube, and the best place to have fun with color or stitch patterning. For a really close fit use ribbing. Try on the sock, and stop when the toe and foot are 1 inch from the point where the ankle meets the top of the foot.

Now divide the total stitches into 3. This is where my sock differs from most socks, and contributes to the nice fit. Most sock patterns divide the total number of sock stitches into 2; half of the stitches for the top of the foot and half for the heel. For my sock divide the total number by 3, then place them on 4 needles this way:
1/3 on a needle for the top of the foot.
1/6 on a needle for one gusset.
1/3 on a needle for the heel.
1/6 on a needle for the other gusset.

So, you take one third of the total stitches, divide them in half, and one half of these become the right side of the sock, and the other half become the left side of the sock. (This works for sweaters too, 1/3 for the front, 1/3 for the back, and 1/6 for each of the arms.)

3. GUSSET
Continue to knit in rounds, whilst increasing on each side gusset needle until the sock fits snugly on the foot and just touches the point where the ankle meets the top of the foot, or for more negative ease, a little before the ankle. I increase every other round, but like everything else in this pattern do what you like best. Gusset increases can go anywhere; the sides, the bottom of the foot, or the top of the foot. I tried eliminating gussets, and eliminating the "Perfect Fit" heels, and those socks do not fit close to my foot.

Now the knitting changes from round knitting on all four needles to knitting back and forth on three needles. The 1/3 of the stitches that form the top of the foot just rest, while all the knitting is done on the 2/3 of the stitches on the two side needles and the bottom heel needle.

4. HEEL SIDES
Knit back and forth on all three needles, making successive short row turns beginning right next to the resting top of the foot needle. A refinement is to make a wrapped turn for the first stitches of the side gusset needles using the endmost stitches of the top needle, and german doublestitch shortrows for all the rest of the gusset increases on the side needles. Sometimes I goof up and make some turns at the ends of the heel needle, and have to rip it back as that comes later. It is a good thing I am a knitter and not a surgeon, because I goof up a lot. This is also one of the reasons I use circular needles under duress. It is so much easier for me to use visual cues and counts, and keep track of what is happening on each needle than using circulars and markers. Especially when returning to projects after long periods of time. Also the constant pulling of long cables is just not my thing.

Keep making short rows according to the pattern. Not every stitch on the side needles are short rowed. Depending on the weight of the yarn and the numbers of stitches anywhere from 4 to 11 or more stitches closest to the heel needle are left plain. In a perfect world the number of plain stitches will match the number of short rowed stitches on the heel needle in the next section, but it really doesn't matter. What does matter is this is the point where the length of the sock is decided. Socks are to have 10% negative ease, so when fitting the sock to your foot there will still be the cup heel part to knit, which I count as another inch so at this point the sock should be shorter than your foot. You can go by the quality of the yarn too; if the yarn is stretchy merino you will want to end this step sooner than say, a dishcloth cotton.

I usually knit with two colors for socks, and making short rows while changing colors can become complicated, so I change colors at the center of the heel needle, and I make 4 row stripes, not 1 or two row stripes. For a cleaner look I often use only one of the colors for the last two or three stitches before making the turns.

5. CUP HEEL
After completing the short rows on the side needles, knit on the heel needle only, making short row turns on both ends, leaving some center stitches plain. If you leave fewer stitches in the center plain, the sock will be better for narrow heels. If you want a wider heel, leave more plain stitches in the center of the heel needle.

I usually knit with two colors for socks, and this is a good place to knit with alternating colors for each stitch, and as above, I often use only one of the colors for the last two or three stitches before the turns.

Once again, to give the sock negative ease, the cup heel should just barely reach the end of your heel.

This where you can add a stripe around the whole sock, knitting circularly, using all four needles, the top needle too. This functions to clean up the previous short row stitches and adds a nice decorative element, as well as a place to add another color. Be sure to return to back and forth knitting in the next section.

6. STRIP KNITTING WITH DECREASES
This part of the knitting joins the cup heel with the side needles. Decrease on the right side of the work (Slip the last stitch on the heel needle knitwise, knit the first needle on the side needle, pass the slipped stitch over.) Then turn (yep, decide on a short row technique to use here) and purl back the other way. I usually return the combined stitches to the heel needle, as it makes it easier to keep track of which stitches on the side needle have been knitted, and which have not. Whether to make an additional wrap and turn, or double stitch or any other short row method depends entirely on the yarn I am using. At the other end of the heel needle the decreased stitch is purl together the last stitch on the heel needle with the first stitch on the side needle.

7. STRIP KNITTING WITHOUT DECREASES
In the last section the heel joins to the side stitches straight up. At some point you will want to continue joining, but the heel needs to grow so the join will angle towards the toe as usual short rowed heels do. So instead of joining the last stitch on the heel needle with the first stitch on the side needle, you knit first one, then the other, then turn (and use your favorite hole-eliminating short row method as desired here.) Now the joins veer off at an angle, the increases happen effortlessly, and the sock overall develops a more natural organic look and feel than boxy heel flap socks. The other nice thing is the previous two steps make the heel deeper and so fits the foot better than short row heels. And finally, because the heel and side stitches are two thirds of the sock, instead of half of the sock, the heel is deeper yet. So that makes three little refinements that all help these socks fit well.

There are many points where adjustments can be made as you keep trying on the sock as you are knitting it. For instance, once I needed to add length to a sock. I found I could make a series of increases to the center stitches of the heel needle just before making the heel pin short rows and it made the sock a half inch longer. For a high arch gussets can be made deeper, by making more increases. Gussets can be shallower by increasing every row instead of every other row. The number of side needle short rowed stitches is my favorite place to adjust the length of the sock. I end them well before the end of my heel, because the cup heel stitches will happen next. (Actually, I bend my foot and follow the wrinkle line.)

8. ANKLE
Continue attaching the heel to the sides until the stitch count is the same as the foot. Then knit around using all the needles including the top needle. It is possible to stop earlier for a "footie" or here for a short "tennis" length sock and finish it off with a few rows of ribbing.

9. LEG
Keep knitting until the yarn is used up, one of the best reasons to knit toe up, or to make a long sock.

10. RIBBING

My polar opposite thinks no one will want to read all of this as he certainly wouldn't.

Another friend asked for the recipe, and I decided to share it out. Please use it, but please do not add it to a book, or website, or blog, or incorporate it into one of your own patterns, or any other published work. C. Sease put my mother-in-law's nice seam (which I drew, and named Soft Seam) into a book of techniques without attributing it to Nancy Schaeffer, and I'm still majorly pissed off about that. My drawing and the drawing in her book are exactly the same, and my drawing is clearly copyrighted on Ravelry August 16, 2009, so I'm pissed off about that too. The right thing to do would be to notify the publisher to add an attribution line in the errata for subsequent editions, not to claim she saw it somewhere else, not online. Nope, my drawing and my name for the seam can only be found online.

Seedy Egg Noodles (Low Carb Spätzle)

Spätzle type egg noodles like my mom used to make.

Grind raw seeds (1 Tbsp flax and 1 tsp sunflower) in coffee grinder, place in a bowl, add 1 tsp coconut flour, 1 tsp almond flour, 1/2 tsp psyllium husk and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Mix with 1 egg yolk, then add 2 Tbsp greek yogurt to thin to desired consistancy. Drop in boiling water (I used 2 3/4 C homemade beef broth) by the spoonful, or by squeezing theough a slotted spoon. They will cook in a few minutes. Remove, add butter, and try not to eat it all before finishing the soup. Cook cut up veggies and little balls of ground beef or chicken in the broth. If you are not allergic to egg whites as I am you can beat the remaining egg white and dribble it into the soup at the end like egg drop soup.
215 calories, 6.7g carbs, 4.2g fiber, 20.2g fat (2.4 omega 3, 1.6 omega 6), 9.4g protein.

Always grind flax seed immediately before using.

I made these to suit my intolerances: Egg white-free, wheat-free, milk-free low carb noodles. I can tolerate a little yogurt, but not milk. If one wants to make these dairy-free, just substitute water for the yogurt. If you are able to tolerate a whole egg, you could reduce the amount of flax seeds.

My mom made spätzle in a cup all the time. She dropped it by the spoonful into the ham, green bean, and cabbage soup. Poppy seeds went in there too. It came down through her family, like pork roast, sauerkraut, and potato pancakes. Our traditional food.

Cough Remedy

I found this homemade cough remedy by C. Thomas Corriher on heathwyze.org a couple of years ago:
1 green tea bag
1/2 teaspoon each of cloves, turmeric, thyme
two teaspoons honey
juice of half a lemon

We got some fresh turmeric at Metropolitan Market yesterday, (along with one of their amazing chocolate chip cookies), and I always have fresh organic lemons and ginger on hand, so I gave it a try this morning.
The interesting description on the website claims it is as powerful as any cough medicine and faster acting. I can say it really works for me. The cloves are mildly numbing. I licked my finger after cleaning out the grinder and felt some numbness on my tongue. I've had a cold or flu virus and have been coughing for a week. My cough was greatly reduced after only a few sips of this tea, to which I added my usual ginger and lemon rind, and using my mini-blender method below. I had made my ginger tea, even a toddy version for days, but my tea only eased the cough a bit, and then only while I was drinking it. I'm on the tail end of this virus, but the stuffy nose and cough had lingered until today. Thank you M. Corriher!

Lisa's version and method:

Grind dry ingredients in spice grinder:
1 teaspoon loose green tea
5 whole cloves

Chop up fresh ingredients:
1/2" square knob fresh turmeric
two slices fresh ginger
two slices organic lemon with rind included
then put into mini-blender, add a little warm water, (just warm, not hot enough to kill the vitamin C) and only enough water to allow ingredients to blend), grind until smooth, then add
1/2 teaspoon thyme
two teaspoons honey
the green tea and cloves from the spice grinder, and more warm water.
Blend again and pour into a tall coffee thermos. Add warm water to fill.

Lisa's basic Ginger Tea is made the same way in a mini blender with fresh ginger, lemon, honey and a twist of fresh ground black pepper.
Lisa's toddy is made like the Ginger Tea with a tiny slice of fresh red jalapeño pepper with the blender ingredients, and whiskey.

45 Stitch Socklet

Cascade Longwood 100% superwash merino sport weight yarn with alpaca accents on US 4 needles. I used this pattern in cotton and wool worsted weight yarn for summer socklets last summer. I had to make some adjustments for this very stretchy yarn.

Notes:
Circular start on three pins.
K 1 round (3 st ea pin, 9 total)
Inc in each stitch. (6 ea pin, 18 total)
K 1 round.
Inc, K1... (9 ea pin, 27 total)
K 2 rounds.
Inc, K2... (12 ea pin, 36 total)
K 3 rounds.
Inc, K3... (15 ea pin, 45 total)
Knit 7 rounds, increase one stitch at the end of the last round. (46)

Color Patterning in Blue (B) and Gray (G).
Toe is gray yarn.
B - K 1 round.
K 1 B, K 1 G to end of round.
B - K 1 round.
G - K 2 rounds.
B - K 1 round.
K 1 B, K 1 G for 6 rounds.
B - K 1 round.
G - K 2 rounds.
K 1 B, K 3 G... to end of round.
K 3 B, K 1 G... to end of round, centered on previous round.
B - K 2 rounds.
G - K 1 round.
K 1 B, K 1 G to end of round.
G - K 1 round.
B - K 2 rounds.
K 1 G, K 3 B... to end of round.
K 3 G, K 1 B... to end of round, centered on previous round.
G - K 2 rounds. (46)

Gusset Increases:
Round 1: Yo before and after center stitch on underside of foot.
Round 2: Knit all, knit first yo through the back loop to twist it.
Replace the second yo, and knit it through the front loop to twist it in the opposite direction.
2nd gusset increase is centered on the first. Yo, knit the stitch above the yo from the first increase row, knit the center stitch, knit the stitch above the yo from the first increase row, yo. (yo, k3, yo).
Third gusset increase is yo, k5, yo.
Fourth gusset increase is yo, k7, yo.
Fifth and last gusset increase is yo, k9, yo. (56) 10 total stitches increased.

Reposition stitches on 4 needles: 13 heel, 14 side, 15 top, 14 side.
Knit across heel stitches and side sitches, wrap the first stitch on the top needle, turn.
Purl across side pin, heel pin, and the other side pin, wrap the first stitch on the top needle, turn.
Knit across to last stitch on side needle, make a German double stitch on this and all subsequent turning stitches. Purl across to last stitch, make a German double stitch, turn. Repeat the double stitches on the next to last stitches.
Three total stitches on each end are turned.

Knit back and forth on Heel pin only:
Double stitch three stitches at each end.

From the center of the heel pin, knit across to the doubled stitches, knit each of them, knit the first stitch on the side pin, turn.
Double the first side pin stitch, purl across all heel stitches and the first stitch on the other side needle. Turn.
Double the stitch, knit across all heel stitches and the first and second stitches on the side needle. Turn.
Continue knitting and purling all previous stitches, and one subsequent one, turning and doubling it until reaching the stitches that were already turned and doubled.
Knit 1 round on all needles. (56)

Decrease 9 stitches evenly:
Knit 4, K2 tog... repeat around sock. Two stitches remain after the last decrease, k2. (47)

Beginning with the center back stitch, knit 1, purl 1 rib to last stitch. Knit it together with the first stitch of the next round. (46)
Rib 6 rouunds. Sew off.

Most Perfect Buttonholes

I'm copying a notes page of knitted buttonholes to this blog. It's been buried on one of my project pages on Ravelry.

Lia's Green Cardi was knitted specifically to try out Anna Zilboorg’s very cool “Perfect Buttonholes” on page 80 of Knitting for Anarchists 2002. I used lots of stash yarn for additional colors.

Found another source for this type of buttonhole:
America’s Knitting Book 1968, reprinted as The Complete Book of Knitting by Gertrude Taylor in 1974 and in paperback in 1983. Pages 303 to 310.

Gertrude describes several types of Julia Bowman buttonholes. Instead of binding off, then casting on in the next row, a contrasting color yarn is knit in, then these stitches are slipped back onto the left pin and knit again with the main yarn. A facing is worked with a similar contrasting yarn as with Anna Zilboorg’s buttonhole. Using a tapestry needle with matching yarn the buttonhole loops are sewn/woven with the facing buttonhole loops.

The types described are:

Julia Bowman Double Buttonhole, with a knitted facing.

Single Julia Bowman Buttonhole, in stockinette with a grosgrain ribbon facing and where additional loops are made with a crochet hook and these loops are sewn onto the ribbon.

Julia Bowman Buttonholes in seed stitch or garter stitch with no ribbon facing, with the loops first tacked down with a fine yarn then backstitched around the hole.

All of these are described in detail and with diagrams and clear photographs.

These buttonholes are very beautiful!

4/1/11 Just found another reference to “contrasting thread” buttonholes in LeeWard’s Complete Library of Needlecraft, 1975. These are finished with a crochet hook and slip stitches in the open loops when the contrasting thread is removed. Two methods are described using a crochet hook and slip stitches to finish the open loops. A third method is described, in which the yarn is cut where a buttonhole is desired, then the yarn is removed from the number of loops to fit the button, then the open loops are finished off with the crochet slip stitch method.

This is cool, one can put a buttonhole in after knitting the garment.

4/16/11 Found another one, in “Latvian Dreams.” Very clearly described and therefore easy to execute, with the buttonhole woven to its facing with a crochet hook before the contrast thread is removed. Interestingly, ended up with a buttonhole oriented horizontally, instead of vertically as Anna Zilboorgs.

My favorite? The Julia Bowman buttonholes as described in Gertrude Taylor’s books “America’s Knitting Book” 1968 or the revised version “The Complete Book of Knitting” because of the “turning ridge type edge.” These buttonholes stand perfectly flat, without the sunken in appearance of the grafted types. Also, the extra turning ridge stitches on the edges make these Julia Bowman buttonholes look like an elegant knitted version of bound buttonholes.

August 2015. In Pat Trexler’s “Knit Knacks” published in 1970, she describes the Contrast Yarn Buttonhole and something I’ve not seen before, “Bound Buttonholes” where the contrast yarn is used to knit six stitches in two successive rows, stockinette upon the front, then purled on the back, so when it is removed there is a bigger gap for the buttonhole. Then working on the right side of the work, you place the 5 or 6 lower stitches on a tiny needle and take more from the edges with a crochet hook till there are 8, and knit four rows of stockinette stitch, break off the yarn, reserving enough for sewing, fold the four rows in half, and sew them in place on the wrong side. Turn the work upside down and repeat for the upper edge of the buttonhole. “Finish by bringing edges together and working in satin stitch, overcast or buttonhole stitch at corners.”

Shortrow Sampler

I made this sampler in 2009 and think it is worth revisiting. There are 6 methods, two with variations. Each one was "labeled" with a piece of yarn with knots in it. One knot for the first method, two knots for the second and so forth. I usually label my swatch needle size this way, but it's good for other things. Someday I hope to study early South American knotted string record keeping, as it was probably the earliest method humans devised, along with cutting marks in a stick.

The yarn is a stiff unforgiving acrylic that shows every bump and twist, so most items will look better than this when knitted with a nice wool, or even cotton yarn. It is 20 stitches wide. Number 1 is on the bottom right, marked with a blue thread.

Here is the list with appearance summaries. The photos and sources for each follow this section.
1. Wrap and Turn - my primary method for most situations. It's fairly invisible, as the extra loop lies alongside and in the same direction as the stitch it surrounds. The short rowed stitches are continuous, and nicely aligned with the stitches above and below. It is sturdy, I like to use it for my doll knitting. It produces a nicely dimensional short row, unlike the next one...
2. Japanese which makes a very shallow shape, barely more shaped than flat. The Japanese short row is nearly invisible, with only a little puckering on each stitch.
3. Encroachment is strong and well shaped and there are no holes. On the negative side it is very visible with stitches that are out of line with the stitches above and below it, so there is no smooth stockinette appearance. It is good for socks but not for garments as it doesn't look as tidy as the other methods on this sampler. Perhaps I didn't do it correctly. For a similar but cleaner method see version 6.
4. The German Jojo heel with a refinement is just above a pink marking thread, and the original German Jojo heel is just below the pink marking thread.
5. The original German Jojo heel (Lana Grossa website) is the best of all in my opinion. It is the most invisible short row. It produces a nice shape. It feels very elastic. It moves with the rest of the knitting. It is smoothly in line with the stockinette above and below it and so is the best for garments as well as nice smooth heels.
6 and 7. For technique junkies like me, it was fun to run across these short row instructions from Claudia Manley in my old Lee Wards books. They make a clean line of diagonal stitches that look attractive, so are good for garments as well as socks. I can't really tell much of a difference between 6 and 7 on my sampler anymore, so I'll have to reknit them. This method has been reinvented many times in recent years, and given new names each time. I'll stick with the designer who wrote the earliest printed version I could find.
8. DROPS Garnstudio has the most simple short row of all. It makes a series of very tiny holes. It is the least visible on the reverse side. This is good to know for items that will be seen on both sides. It's as smooth and elastic and part of the surrounding knitting as the German Jojo shortrows. If you are knitting lace or garter stitch, or don't mind nearly invisible little holes, it's beautiful for socks and garments.

1. Wrap and Turn
Wraps on 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th stitches from each end. I reknit this one as I didn't pick up the loops correctly on one side of the sampler.

2. Japanese

I first saw this in Knitting in the Old Way, and Montse Stanley's "Knitters Handbook" and nonaknits on typepad.com.

On the knit side, knit to the turning point, turn, slip the next stitch purlwise, attach a pin to the working yarn, continue knitting.
On the purl side knit to the turning point, turn, slip the next stitch purlwise and attach a pin to the working yarn, continue knitting.
To close the gap on the knit side, knit till you reach the gap. The pin is attached to a loop behind the right needle. Pull the pin and pop the loop up to the left needle, the loop should have the right leg in front as usual. Knit the pin's loop together with the next stitch.
On the purl side to close the gap: The pin is under the right needle. Slip the first stitch on the left needle purlwise onto the right needle, pull the pin and pop the loop onto the left needle with the right let in front. Slip the stitch on the right needle back to the left needle. Purl the next stitch together with the pin loop.

3. Encroachment
This is from Mary Lycan's Sherman Sock. Ravelry lists her under designers as both Mary Lycan and Mary Sherman Lycan. It's a free pattern on Ravelry, with links to her original 1999 post, and she attributes the mitering of the toe and heel to Montse Stanley. You can find out more about Montse at http://knittinghistory.co.uk/resources/montse-stanley/ There are some non-working links out there. This link works: cabezalana.blogspot.com then scroll down to her How Tos - Mine and Others, and click on Sherman Short Rows from 27 April 2007. There is a great close up tutorial on nandiniknits.files.wordpress.com. I typed encroachments in the large search box and it came right up.
Knit Encroachment (Enc): Slip 1 stitch knit wise; lift the stitch beneath the next stitch purlwise; insert the left pin into both stitches from the left in front of the right pin: knit two together through the back loops.

RS: knit until the next stitch on the left needle is the one slipped at the end of a short row. Lift the stitch below the stitch below the stitch on the needle to the right needle and knit 2 together through the back loop.
The encroachment for the wrong side was not described. On my sample I did this: On purl side slip the stitch on the right side of the gap purlwise, with the right needle pick up the stitch below the next stitch, which is on the left side of the gap. Put the left needle through the back of these two stitches and purl together. This version has nicely paired slanting stitches on either side of the center heel stitches.

4 and 5. German Heel, also called Jojo, Yo yo, Boomerang in Europe.
First the name: TessM renamed it the Doubled Stitch Short Rowed Heel. I like to use original names for techniques when they are known, and older terms, they are more readily understood by people of all ages and in many places.
This is the one I was learning at the time this sampler was knitted. I have notes from Redhead71 Fri Dec 21, 2007 with full instructions on knitting this part of a sock heel. Acipenser on the same date clarifies "...turn at turning point. On the purl side pull the thread coming from the first stitch as much as you can, until you see 2 strands across the needle. Lift that stitch to the right needle and purl the rest of the stitches." Lana Grossa website, Regia and Tessknits.com are good resources for this stitch.

4. Is knit with a "refinement" to knit the last stitch before turning on the purl side, which didn't work, it made a visible stitch on one half of the heel.

5. This one gets the gold star. The German Jojo heel is the most invisible, and the most like smooth stockinette.

6. Claudia Manley is named as the contributor for the knitting and crocheting sections of LeeWards Complete Library of Needlecrafts, 1975. I think it is interesting how they joined the two words Lee and Wards together so much earlier before computers were in common usage. She is probably the same Claudia R Manley who wrote several Caron knitting and crochet books in the 70s.
Here is the description on page 47 "Working Short Rows in Stockinette Stitch. A short row is a row which is not worked to the end. Instructions will read: work a given number of stitches, "turn"; or, work to last given number of stitches, "turn." Leaving unworked stitches on left needle, turn work around.
At the beginning of a knit row, with yarn at back of work, slip 1 stitch as if to purl; at the beginning of a purl row, with yarn at front, slip 1 stitch as to purl. Continue to work the short rows as directed...
To Eliminate Loose Stitches and Close Holes: On knit side, knit to first hole or space. Insert left needle from front to back in center of the stitch 2 rows below the last stitch on right needle; this forms a stitch on the left needle. Knit 2 stitches together. Knit to the end, closing all holes in the same way. On purl side, purl to first hole. Insert left needle from purl to knit side in center of the stitch 2 rows below the last stitch on right needle: this forms a stitch on left needle. From back (right side of work) purl 2 stitches together. Purl to end closing all holes." On the next page she uses short rows for shoulder shaping.
For Sample 6 I took off the left purl stitch, turned and replaced it before purling two together through the back loop.

7. As above but without pre twisting the left purl stitch.

8. DROPS Garnstudio This is from the techniques section of the website.

Gusset Instructions for the Perfect Fit Short Sock

For my friends who like to follow a pattern line by line here is an expanded pattern for the bottom of the foot gusset with an odd number heel stitch count.
You can adjust the width and length to fit your foot. I use 2.25 mm needles and sock yarn.

With dark scrap yarn, I used the Cast on Toe to Try from the last blog entry, and increased to 63 stitches in 24 rounds.

The next 15 rounds used up some scrap yarn with 4 rounds white, three rounds of a checkerboard pattern, 4 rounds white, 4 rounds gray.

With white yarn: 28 rounds knit 1, purl 1 ribbing. Increased one stitch using a bar increase (kfb - knit in front and back of the same stitch) on the last stitch of the round to maintain the rib pattern.

Underfoot Gusset

Gusset Increase Round 1:
Make a Double Lifted Increase in the center knit stitch on the bottom of the foot. Countinue rib for round.

Gusset Round 2:
In the next round, the two new stitches are knitted, and the center stitch is purled. Continue rib for round.

Gusset Increase R 2:
Rib to the center three stitches, Make 1 Right (M1R), Rib 3, Make 1 Left (M1L).
Note: Use your preferred increase method.) Continue rib for round.

Next Round: Maintain the rib pattern from the previous round in the center three stitches. The new stitches will be purled, so there will be two purl stitches on both sides of the center three stitches. The next increases will be made between the two adjacent purl stitches.

Gusset Increase R 3:
Rib to center 5 stitches. M1R, Rib 5, M1L. Continue rib for round.

Next Round:
Rib in K1, P1 pattern.

Gusset Increase Round 4:
Rib to center 7 stitches. M1R, Rib 7, M1L.

Next Round: Rib in Pattern. There will be two purls on both sides of the center 7 stitches.

Gusset Increase Round 5:
Rib to center 9 stitches. M1R, Rib 9, M1L.

Next Round:
Rib in K1, P1 pattern.

Gusset Increase Round 6:
Rib to center 11 stitches. M1R, Rib 11, M1L.

Next Round:
Rib in Pattern. There will be two purls on both sides of the center 11 stitches.

Gusset Increase Round 7:
Rib to center 13 stitches. M1R, Rib 13, M1L. (78 total stitches.)

Next Round:
Rib one round, maintaining k1, P1 pattern to 29th stitch after center heel stitch. Pkace a marker between the 29th and 30th stitches.

Rearrange stitches onto 4 needles:
21 heel stitches, with gusset centered on this needle.
19 side stitches
19 top of foot stitches
19 side stitches.

Follow the pattern to complete the sock.

Double Lifted Increase:
Knit into the stitch below the center stitch. Knit the center stitch. Knit into the stitch below the center stitch again.

Toe Start to Try

Toe start from sock pattern. Top photo is the right side view, lower photo is the inside view. After increasing to six stitches on each needle I pulled the thread to tighten the hole.

Turns out there is no need to worry about knitting the first round stitches twisted or not, they squish together anyway.

Perfect Fit Scrap Sock PDF

Download Perfect_Fit_Scrap_Socks