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Lesson 5: Foot, Sherman Toe
When your heel is complete, begin knitting in the round again. Continue ribbing the instep of your sock and knitting along the heel stitches, which are now forming the sole of your sock.
After you've worked an inch or so after the heel, you can measure how deep your Sherman Heel turned out and fine tune the number of rounds to knit for the foot of your sock. Lay your sock out flat in profile so that the sock looks like an elbow macaroni. Find the wrap at the end of the miter in the heel, and measure from there along the miter line to the pivot row of the heel. This number is M.
Here's a picture of my ruler lined up at the miter line of my heel:
Now enter M on your chart and calculate the number of rows you need to knit for the foot of your sock. After doing this, my chart looks like:
D |
Gs |
to Cast On D x Gs x R = C |
|
L |
Gr |
M |
for Foot Gr x (L - 2 M) = F |
| Ribbing Pattern | k2p2 | ||
| Ribbing Repeat (number of stitches) |
4 stitches | On first round, start ribbing with |
k1p2 |
| Cast on method | Twisted German | ||
| Rounds for Leg/Cuff | |||
| Rounds before heel | 1/10 C | ||
| Unworked heel stitches | = 1/6 of C | ||
| Rounds for Foot | = C - 2 (or F) | ||
| Rounds in Plain Stockinette before toe | = 2 | ||
| Unworked toe stitches | = 1/6 of C | ||
I decided to carry the ribbing all the way down to the toe instead of knitting 2 rounds in stockinette, so I noted that on my chart as well.
It's okay if you are knitting socks for someone else and don't know the length of his or her foot. In this case, just put C - 2 in for the number of rounds to knit for the foot of your sock. This proportion works pretty well for most people. C - 2 would have been a little long for me, but remember that I only took a 5% reduction in my cast on stitches. I also have a wide foot, so my D measurement is a bit bigger than that of other women with my shoe size. If I had deducted 10%, the difference in rows between my calculated L and C - 2 estimate would have been less.
Here's what my sock looked like after most of the foot was done:
When you've knit the right number of rounds for your foot, it's time to start your Sherman Toe. The Sherman Toe is worked exactly like a Sherman Heel, except you don't have to do the wrap rows before you begin. Refer back to http://www.knitlist.com/2002/ToeUpSock.htm and your chart for instructions.
When you are done, arrange the sole stitches on one needle and the instep stitches on another so that you can graft the toe closed. Here's what my sock looked like at this point:
Now you can try on your sock to see how it will fit. If your sock is a bit too long, you can frog out the toe and a few rounds from the foot, then reknit the toe. If it's too short, you can frog out the toe and add a few rounds to the foot, then reknit the toe. In either case adjust your chart so that your second sock will match the first.
Almost done! You'll finish your sock in the next Lesson!