Have you ever knit a Princess Sole?

The Crow Moon socks featuring a princess sole and a garter stitch, short row heel

Have you ever knit a pair of socks with a princess sole before?

A Princess Sole is where you purl the stitches for the underside of the sock rather than knit them. This means that instead of walking on the side of the fabric that has the ‘purl bumps’ you instead have the smooth stockinette fabric against your foot.

Some people who have sensory issues with handknit socks find that this type of sole suits them much better. For myself, I don’t normally find it to be a problem except occasionally with a yarn that has a very firm, high twist.

Either way, it is a useful trick to have in your sock knitters bag of tricks. Although I feel as though I should give you fair warning and say upfront that it does mean you’ll spend more time purling in the round than you might like.

Purling the sole stitches is a straighforward practice although it does take a little bit of getting used to, especially if you are a longer term knitter used to doing a traditional sole. And if you have delicate tootsies it might well be worth a try.

Crow Moon Socks

£6.50

The Crow Moon socks are designed with a Princess Sole in mind and have a slipped stitch demarcation between the purled sole and the textured upper part.

Being brave

Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and go for it, whether it's applying for a new job, making that dreaded phone call or tackling your next big project.

If you've followed me for a while you'll know that I'm no stranger to the fine art of procrastination. In fact it's probably fair to say that I could procrastinate for my country if it were ever to become an Olympic event.

For ages now I've been wanting to do a Facebook Live in my group (Everyday Knitter). I've planned it, rehearsed it, imagined it but never actually taken a deep breath and done it. Various excuses have included "I'll just wait until I've had my hair cut" and "I need to find the right shawl to wear".

Yesterday I listened to the very inspiring Making Good podcast with Jen Gale. There was a whole episode about making more out of Facebook and using it to best advantage. Jen is so down to earth and practical that I just thought - "why the heck not".

I was going to wait for the right time (I even scheduled it in my diary) but then I found myself with 10 child free minutes and just took a deep breath and went for it. I was very nervous but people were very kind with their comments and I'll definitely be doing it again. I'd like to do a weekly slot where people can ask questions and each week I'll pick one at random to answer.

Sometimes you need to take leaps of a smaller scale too. This skein of gorgeous yarn from Goldings Yarns has been sitting patiently in my stash. It came in the Mystery Gems package from The Little Grey Girl a while ago now and I've been saving it for that "perfect project".

But in the interests of "just going for it" and as an antidote to the horrible grey weather we are having at the moment, it's going on my needles today.

Bright, cheery, fearless socks are on the way.

How to work a rounded toe

A few people asked about the rounded toe on my latest sock - specifically about the fit. This is the best photo I have to show it but it is really comfortable. A little roomier than a standard toe but so far no complaints at all. And of course, the added advantage is that there is no need for Kitchener stitch. To work the toe was super simple too. On 64st:

K6, k2tog to end

K6 rnds

K5, k2tog to end

K5 rnds

K4, k2tog to end

K4 rnds

K3, k2tog to end

K3 rnds

K2, k2tog to end

K2 rnds

K1, k2tog to end

K1 rnd

K2tog to end

Break yarn and thread back through rem 8st using a tapestry needle. Pull tight and weave in end.

A fickle beastie

Gauge - it's a fickle thing alright. For years, in fact for most of my sock knitting career my default option has been for sock yarn and 2.5mm needles. No messing, no fuss and no thinking required. Now suddenly my default option started giving a sock yarn fabric that was a bit too loose, a bit too wibbly and not at all as smooth as I would like.

I've no idea why, my needles haven't changed, but suddenly it seems as though only 2.25mm needle tips will do. It happened on my last pair of socks and I put it down to the fact that the yarn I was using was quite tightly spun and maybe a bit less plump than some of the yarns I had been using. But nope, it seems to be an issue for all of my socks now.

This delightful yarn from Easy Knits would probably look good at any gauge with those little neon pops of colour but it seems that for me 2.25mm needles are now the perfect sweet spot.

The only problem of course is that I only possess 2 pairs of said needles. I have 2.5mm tips all over the place but now it seems I need to restock. 

How to get your afterthought heel in the right place

As much as I love the afterthought heel I know that not everyone is convinced and one of the most common questions I hear is from knitters who worry that they won’t know where to place the heel to ensure a good fit.

This is one of the most common concerns and is heard a lot with toe-up sock knitting in general.

With cuff down socks it is very clear. You knit the leg until you have a length you are happy with - for me it’s 6.5”, for my husband it’s 7.5”. The you knit the heel, then you work the foot.Simples!

With toe-up socks it is more of a leap of faith. Standard instructions tell you to start the heel between 2-2.5” before the back of the heel ie total foot length minus 2 to 2.5”. If you get to the leg and find that the heel is in the wrong place, then a bit of judicious ripping is required.

With an afterthought heel this is a rather more unnerving prospect as once your heel is cut, there isn’t much room for error.

The best advice I can give for this, which will also increase your confidence, is to practice doing a few standard toe-up socks first with either a basic short row heel or a fish lips kiss heel. Learn where the best fit point is for you - you can put in a lifeline if needed so that if you do make an error in the heel placement you can just rip back to the lifeline and not worry about lost or dropped stitches.

Make a careful note of the exact length for your ideal heel placement then use this measurement when doing your afterthought heel.

Also - my best tip for making sure you get a good fit is rather than measuring the toe-up sock flat, actually slip it onto your foot and use a bulb pin or similar to mark the point on the base of the sock where the cut should go. For my UK size 6 foot, this is usually at 7.5” from the toe (with sock slightly stretched). My total foot length is 9.75”

Armed with this information I can now pretty much pop in an afterthought heel (for me) wherever I am, safe in the knowledge that the sock will fit me fine.

I hope this helps ease the nerves somewhat. If you do decide to be brave and give it a go - do let me know how you get on.

To finish or not to finish...

It's a dilemma that most knitters will empathise with. I have at a conservative estimate 5 pairs of vanilla self stripe socks in various stages of completeness. Most of them are toe-up with an afterthought heel and at least 2 pairs could be finished in an evening if I put my mind to it.

My problem of course is that Stash Dash starts in just 3 weeks - on May 26th - I think (but don't quote me on it). Under the rules of this annual event all yardage from a completed project counts towards your Stash Dash total - no matter when it was started. So I could wait until May 26th and then whip a load of afterthought heels in and easily get the first 1000m or so under my metaphorical belt.

But then, I'm feeling the urge to finish a few things and free up some project bags. Oh.. and I've run out of sock needles too. Decisions...