Knit Fit

Gwen wrote:
All that frogging! Do you know if knitted socks should be the size of your foot/ankle/calf, or should they be smaller than that measurement? Every time I've made socks, they stretch as I wear them, so I started making them snug.
Here is what Barb Brown said (and I have also read in other books):

• Measure ball of foot and allow 1/2” or 10% negative ease. Heavier wool will need less ease. That means with 60 stitches, remove 6 stitches and knit on 54 stitches, though if you want to do K2 P2 ribbing you will have to knit on 56 stitches (or 52).
• With sock weight wool, 8 to 9 stitches per inch.
• The heel flap should be done in K1 Slip 1 with wrong side purled back. The heel flap should be 2.5” long. If too short, socks fall off your feet. Barb’s rule of thumb is: if the heel flap has 32 stitches on it, knit 32 rows. Technically, the heel flap should end up at the top of your heel where there is a slight curve in.
• Use K2 P2 ribbing as it has the most stretch. Go down one size in your needle also for ribbing at the top.
• Donna Druchunas writes to use stretchy ribbing above the heel for the leg or to decrease stitches in the leg to keep them up.

The socks I am making for Jacob (who is 6 years old and a diabetic) is done in plain knitting. These are a trial and error pair. I am using 3 mm/ 2.5 US needles. I started from the toe and put on 24 stitches and increased to 48 stitches. I will go down one size (2.75 mm/ 2 US). For the next pair of socks, I am hoping to do the shaft of the leg and the top of the foot in a ribbing that consists of K1, P1 with the front done in K1, P1, K2, P2, K1, P2, K2, P1. This should allow for the sock to fit snugger but have plenty of give.
At this point, I feel like a rank beginner knitting socks. My head feels messed with and I am thinking through each step carefully. For now, I will be using what Barb said to knit socks for children. My next pair of adult socks will be like that also. Then I will move forward trying patterns and see how that goes.