i need to figure out a better-fitting sock shape for myself.
there’s something not-quite-elegant about a gawky woman in her middle years, hiking her socks up as she hops along the sidewalk or store aisle. it doesn’t quite say “put together”—you know?
my socks slide down.
i have one, and only one, pair that stay put, and i have NO idea what i did right on that one. i have narrow heels, but i don’t know if they are to blame. i have high arches and that could be it, too (and ye-e-s debbie, i have those pointy toes, but i highly doubt it’s their fault). it could even be that i use a lot of my handspun for sock knitting, which doesn’t have any synthetic added to aid fabric recovery.
i wish i knew because that would help me figure out where to doctor the fit.
and what works very well for other people just doesn’t seem to work for me. the socks i knit for others stay up fine on them! i think that might be the worst part. well, that, and the fact that my socks enter every room ahead of me.
don’t get me wrong—this isn’t just a problem with handknit socks. the ones from the store do the same thing. and watch out if i am wearing a shoe without a back! you might get hit with one as it flies right off my foot mid-stride. i do not own mules—that would be dangerous. or clogs; that could be lethal.
i. kid. you. not.
this year, i’ve gotten closer, finagling the fit by switching to different-sized needles for the heel area, shaping the foot and the cuff. but still, only ONE pair that really fits? i just gotta get a better batting average than that.
and this is the time of year that the situation becomes both apparent, and dire, because i need them every day now, and some of them . . . well, some of my sox and i are not on very good terms.
i read on miriam’s blog that the slip-stitch heel fits a narrow heel better. i’m going to try that one. i’ve also taken to knitting my socks ever-tighter, in the hope that a firm fabric will support itself better. right now, i am experimenting with 0s—an extremely tiny needle for me. i usually don’t have to go that small, but i will if it works!
all the socks i knit for christmas i did on ones, but the mailTreXX i switched to 0s for the ankle and foot
trekking is just so thin, and remembering that i found it somewhat uncomfortable to wear, i wondered if it was becasue i knit it on size twos. so i started these with ones and switched to 0s to give them some shape at the ankle. and look! my first slip-stitch heels in absolutely eons
but, i do like the traditional heel, and i think for the mail carrier, it is a must. and i don’t hate doing it (which is what i wanted to know), so i’m going to give it a try again in my on sox. my problem with it is the thickness, and that it doesn’t look as nice squeezing out the back of a shoe. but now that i don’t wear shoes all that often, i can probably get over that. and i have sock with smooth heels to wear on the few ocasions i go out with shoes on.
it did slow me down a bit—the short-row heel goes so much faster. i did this heel on the austermann step socks (gotta get a better name), in about 20 minutes or so. i don’t know exactly how long the slip-stitch heel took, but it seemed like forever. it’s just not as entertaining. but i’ll do it if it works!
ooh, i’m almost done with those rococo sox
astute viewers might note that i’ve switched needles here. when i was at the LYS teaching the other night, i found these lantern moon sox stix that had just come in. they are 5-inches long and they feel like richer wood than the 7-inch ones, but i can’t be certain. i really don’t like the longer needles for socks, so i was glad these arrived and i could see what everyone was cooing about. and they are nice!
obviously i’m not much of a purist—switching needles in the middle of a sock, but i dare you to tell me where in this photo can you see that i switched. i will never make the OCD team on that kind of thing.
so bottom line, i got nuthin new. but i am gunning forward on my christmas gift projects. today i finally received a fact sheet from my niece with all of her family’s sizes and measurements. it’s gonna be a tight squeeze, but i’m hoping to make them all felted slippers. ach—they might end up receiving them for new year’s but get them they will. soo, this weekend will be about finishing up these socks so i can get out the big needles and worsted yarns.
oh yeah, one last item. while i was at the yarn store the other day, i just happened to find the perfect thing to make myself those new cabled mitts with.
i’ve had my eye on this for LONG time—ever since carol brought it back from the trade show in may. but i knew i could only justify buying one ball, so i waited for a one-skein project to come along.
so i’m gonna make some mitts, and this time they will have a lace panel—wait and see, they will be pretty too. meanwhile, i have letover cashmere from obstacles that i think will be knit into the cabled version. mmm.
26 thoughts on “slippery socks—what should i do?”
You can check out different heel widths at this site http://www.socknitters.com/Tips/heels_by_the_number.htm
you might have to copy and paste. The V heel is a nice narrow one. Since you have a high arch you might want to try knitting your heel flaps longer. I do mine at least 2 1/2 inches and only have size 6 feet but a high instep.
Ga Ga Gosh you’re productive!!! Love the austermann colors, not something I’d ordinarily would be attracted too, which is why I love reading around blogland. My feet tend to slip around inside my socks if I don’t knit them small from toe to heel. Bon Chance!
Hi Anne – I have skinny ankles and calves, and narrow heels too. The only socks that stay nice and snug are knit with ribbing down the cuff and along the instep too. I knit them on size 0 needles over 56 stitches and it works like a charm. Not all that interesting, but hey my socks stay up!
Hello my friend anne!!! I have to say I think you are the Knitting Queen if you get those slippers done for your niece’s fam!!! My heavens. They do expect miracles this late in the month….. And now I am off to purchase your very cool mitts pattern (already got my yarn – I knew you would be posting that pattern sooner than later….). And the very cool Obstacles pattern. I’ve been out of town and visiting new yarn shops!!! Ready to knit now!!!
I’m with Stacey, I think you need tighter socks with more ribbing. Also, I always knit standard commercial sock yarn on a 2mm needle. For something like STR or Koigu I may go a couple of sizes.
I’m currently knitting some STR on 2mm needles and I think the fabric is a little too firm. I’m carrying on anyway because I’ve already got holes in the heels of my Koigu socks. The yarn is too expensive to wear out so fast!
I have full-figured calves, and when I buy the nylon knee-highs at the store, I’ve found that the regular ones fall down but the Q size stay up. I’ve only knit one pair of socks and I’ve never worn them, but I’m guessing that if you have a problem with the socks staying up, knitting tighter may not be the answer. Maybe they should be bigger. I dunno, I have no idea what your legs look like, but it’s a thought.
Those new needles look cool, I’ll have to keep my eyes open 🙂
Wow, you’re so quick! I had a very long list of socks to knit for Christmas gifts but it’s quickly been shortened to almost nothing since I can’t pull it off. And I refuse to stress myself out to knit people gifts! It’s awesome that you can get so much done though, KUDOS!
It’s the bicylcing muscles at work moving the socks down. 😉 Seriously, ribbed ones work best for me, otherwise they tend to slouch around the ankles or into the shoe. I like the feel & cushion of the slip stitch heel.
I laughed at your flying clogs, I have the same problem.
The Qiviut color is divine!
Have you thought about what makes a strapless gown stay up? The bodice is fitted snugly in an inverted funnel shape.
I shape my husband’s calf-length socks this way–narrowest at the ankle, gradually widening to the calf measurement, narrowing again below the knee–and they stay up pretty well. Ditto for the ones that stop below the widest part of the calf. I also knit clear elastic into the ribbing, but that isn’t essential, because the socks still stay up after the elastic ages and breaks. The method works for cotton socks as well as for wool.
In my experience, knitting tighter makes the problem worse. The added tension makes the rows of stitches want to go down the leg to a narrower place where they won’t have to stretch out as much.
A real key to good sock fit is casting on the right number of stitches. If memory serves me, Nancy Bush (in FOLK SOCKS) suggests measuring the leg at the place where the sock top will be, and reducing that measurement by about 25% when you cast on. I’d have to look it up again, but her rule of thumb has served me well.
Love that purple softness on the last picture. Hope you solve the problem of slippery socks.
Anne, your socks are beautiful. I have to agree with the ribbing theory; 2 x 2 may be boring, but out of all of the sock patterns I’ve knit, the socks I made with ribbing down through the instep fit the best and stay up better. I also use the slip stitch heels, my absolutely least favorite part of the sock to knit, but it does seems to fit better and last longer.
It figures that Lattern Moon would come out with shorter needles for socks. I just splurged on my first set of their double pointed needles, yesterday. I had a 6″ bamboo set in one hand ($7) and a 7″ Lantern Moon set in the other ($22) and decided if I was going to knit socks using double pointed needles (I usually use 2 circular needles) I was going to go with the Cadillac of needles. I guess I should have waited a bit longer. I really prefer using the shorter needles (at least for mittens, gloves, and hand warmers). So far, the needles are working out, but I’m terrified I might snap one. I’m using a size 1 and they’re so thin, I knit a bit tight, an understatement; I’ve put a slight bend in my size 1 Addis.
The Quivet is absolutely gorgeous, but if that’s the price I see, I doubt that I’ll ever be able to justify it’s purchase. It is beautiful and even more luxurious than cashmere, I bet.
Love those needles. Can you share where you got them? I’ve never seen the shorter ones, and googling only revealed one source. I couldn’t even find them on the LM website. Thanks.
What works best for me for socks that stay put is to use a fairly tight knit for a firm fabric, but not a particularly tight fit when it comes to the size of the sock itself. This is kind of along the lines of what Lynne said above. I find that if the fit of the sock is too snug, the socks want to slide down to a more comfortable, less stretched location. The ones that stay put seem to fit not too tightly, but the knit fabric itself is pretty firm so it doesn’t have a tendency to stretch and slide.
For example, if a pattern calls for size 2 needles and 56 stitches cast on, I might knit it on size 1 needles with 64 stitches cast on. The size of the sock remains roughly the same and not overly snug, but the knit fabric itself is firmer.
Of course, there seems to be something laughable about attempting to give you ideas about how to improve anything related to knitting! I feel like a four year old trying to give an adult driving tips!
I wonder if you have a deep heel? You might need to make your heel depth a little longer, because if it’s too short, it will cause the sock to slowly inch down into your shoe as you walk, little by little. Good luck! You’ve got a lot of projects on your plate right now!
Oh sure Anne, bring out the big guns. Your cashmere torture wasn’t enough but now Qiviuk? Might I add that I love how you threw it in as an almost afterthought. “Oh yeah, one more item”. As if you couldn’t do an entire post on that yarn alone 🙂 Incidently, loving the rococo sox. 🙂
I knit elastic into the rib/cuff section.
You could thread it through the ribbing of your current socks to see if it makes a difference.
I’ve had the most success with socks staying up when I try to use a stitch that naturally pulls them in. Ribbing the entire top and foot is ok, but cables are even better. The Nancy Bush sock in IK Fall 2005 worked out well, and I was going to try something similar in a thinner yarn with an even tighter cable (as a braid) with less straight stitch between the cables.
I don’t think my feet are unusually small or narrow, but my ankles are thin, so I’m more concerned about the sock tops than the foot parts.
Can you tell us how many yards or meters you got with the Qiviuk? It looks gorgeous.
my ankles are skinny also, sie 0 and 60 sts with sock yarn works for me 🙂
I’m with Marjorie on thinking that cables are the best solution for stay-up socks. However, I think it’s in the nature of socks and our active legs that one won’t stay put on the other very long. Just get used to hitchin’ ’em up! And from the other point of view, if they do stay in place, what are they doing to your poor legs in the way of pressure points? ‘Tain’t natural for them to stay there!
Jo
http://celticmemoryyarns.blogspot.com
Maybe a clingier rib?
Try:
R1: K3, P2
R2: K1, Slip 1, K1, P2
Anne, you stole my foot! And I have all the same problems as you with socks staying up. High arch, narrow ankle and heel, pointy toes, and since I like them about 9-10″ high, it means dealing with quite a difference in measurement from ankle to calf. Gave up on short row, etc. heels, because they just didn’t snug in to my foot and worked their way underneath. Slip stitch heel has worked best, longer to allow for the arch. Change needle sizes 3 times from top to bottom. Even ribs didn’t totally solve the problem, though I’m going to try some of the other suggestions here. Strong shaping of the leg worked best so far. And my best behaving socks are stockinette in STR heavyweight, with appropriate decreases down the leg. I try different improvements every pair. One day, I will get there…the perfect sock. Which I won’t wear for fear of wearing it out!
Ooooo, quiviut. Drooool.
I like the colors in the mailTreXX sox. Gosh, it’s been so long since I’ve done a slip stitch heel, too! Ever since my first toe up short row heels I’ve been a convert.
Still working on this problem myself. Today I’m wearing a pair with very unsuccessful calf shaping (84 st at the cuff, gradually decreased to 72 halfway down.) I thought I was so clever while knitting these, but they fall right down as soon as I take a step. I think there’s too many stitches, for one thing, and the decreases might have worked better if I had started them a little sooner (or a little later?) I just need to keep trying, I guess, and hope I’ll get it right eventually. You will too!
Anne,
I’ve fallen in love with the color of the mailTreXX yarn; which Trekking color is it?
I’ve knit two pairs of Trekking socks so far, on size 0 Addi Turbos. I haven’t worn them a lot yet, but the 0’s gave me the fabric I want; I’m picky about my feet, and feeling the purl bumps drives me crazy.
My next pair of socks are going to have calf shaping, because so far I’ve wimped out at mid-calf length. Since I’m working them toe-up, I’ll be able to test them as I go and get a better idea how fast I need to increase/decrease in the future.
Re the fit and socks falling off: My husband’s handknit socks always slid down or fell off too. That is until the most recent pair. He is a runner and has quite shapely calves (read that big). However, his ankles and heels are very narrow. This last pair, knitted with Trekking XXL, I started with a 1.0 (or was it 1.5?) needle and the standard K2, P2 ribbing and continued it for about 8 inches. Then I switched to a size 0 needle and did a slipped stitch heel. Instead of squaring it up as I normally do I made it about four rows shorter than normal. (I should admit at this point that I don’t use a pattern–just a vague recipe that I jot down each time.) After the heel gusset I switched back to the bigger needle. Meanwhile, I continued the ribbing all the way down the top of the foot with stockinette on the bottom. It was like magic. These are now his favorite socks. They get washed everytime I run a dark load of laundry.
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