Pam’s socks are driving me out of my mind. I finally got through the most fiddly (but beautiful, nonetheless) heel flap in the history of sock knitting, took a deep breath, and picked up the gusset stitches. You know how you pick up that end column of slipped stitches? Well, my slipped stitches looked pretty normal before I picked them up, but they pulled out much bigger after I picked them up. I guess this is caused by incorrect (loose) tension on the wrong side of the heel flap. Do you see what I mean?
I have been steadfastly ignoring this problem all week. I didn’t knit at all Monday and Tuesday evenings (yes, that bad). Wednesday I went to book group and knit on my work sock. Thursday I cast on for S1’s new felted clogs. I finished the first one today. As always, it is incredibly amusing to have knit a foot covering for a giant. My kids get a big kick out of it, too (haw haw).
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I don't think it's a tension issue. I think it's more of a stranded knitting issue. The stitch you are picking up isn't necessarily attached to the stitch next to it -- it's next neighboring stitch, in the same color, might actually be several sitches away. That means that there is some give built into the float between. When you pick up that stitch, the float moves over. Which is kind of what you want in stranded knitting, but not on the selvage edge.
ReplyDeleteI don't think reknitting the heel flap is necessary. I wonder if you could knit into the bar between the stitches, kind of like you do when you're seaming with mattress stitch?
I'm not sure what you usually do, but if you usually pick up by knitting into the middle of the chain along the edge, you might trying knitting under both legs of the chain.
Also, here' something interesting that I've never seen before, this guy knits into a purl bump totally on the other side of chain stitches on the edge of the flap -- never seen that before. Don't know if it would work with stranded knitting, but it might be worth a try. Skip to about 3 minutes in to see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFhIr25Pb3M
Good luck. I know you can do it!
I really can't say much about the sock, except that if it drives you crazy just glue the holes shut and move on.
ReplyDeleteBut I can comment on the slipper -- I walked around the house in one orange slipper for half the morning today because I could not find the second one. I finally fund it, but couldn't figure out how they ended up in different rooms. Now I know. Photography.
Interesting video, Steven! I'm not sure I want those slipped stitches showing because they don't alternate or anything visually appealing - the pink and green change rather randomly. But that is an interesting idea and one to play with if you know your slipped stitches will be showing before you create them.
ReplyDeleteHmm. I suppose my next move is to rip back without frogging the flap, and try something different.
I wonder if the technique I used to catch floats on the Tangled Garden sock (and abandoned) - the one that made for tight, inflexible fabric - could be used to advantage here?