Pattern help please

Hello

I’m knitting socks with two straight needles from a King Cole pattern, leaflet: 4415 and having trouble with the heel shaping. The instructions are:K

I’ve got 24 sts on needle

1st row: K13, s1, K1, psso, K1 turn.

2nd row: P4, P2tog P1,turn.

3rd row: K5, s1, K1, psso, K1, turn.

4th row: P6, P2tog, P1, turn.

Cont as set dec 1 st on each row
K1, psso (13 sts)

Next Row: P11, P2tog, (12 sts) Slide remaining stitch from left hand needle to right hand needle. Break off yarn.

I’ve knitted the 4 rows twice which leaves with with 16sts, but when I follow the next instruction I am left with 15sts. Can you see what I’m doing wrong please.

Thanks.

https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/socks-in-king-cole-drifter-dk-4415-downloadable-pdf

You’re right, working the 4 rows twice takes you to 16sts. It looks like you repeat the 1st and 2nd rows once more to get to 14sts then work the last direction to get to 13sts.

Thank you for your speedy response. I’ll try that.

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I’ve had so many attempts at this short-row shaping it’s driving me bananas. Goodness knows what I’m doing wrong. I’ve knitted the four rows as given and am about to repeat them but find I have insufficient stitches left on the needle to complete the row. I wrap the stitch at the turning point and transfer it back to the left hand needle before the turn. I don’t know if you can give me some hints on the short row shaping please.

Thanks

You don’t have to wrap and turn for these short row heels. That’s not necessary. The s1, K1, psso or the p2tog will take care of the gap made when you turn. Just work the first set of 4 as given without a wrap & turn, then repeat the 4 rows by knitting or purling to the gap then working the s1, K1, psso or p2tog across the gap. This will close it up.
When you repeat the 4 rows then the 2 extra, you’ll be knitting more stitches than the initial 4 row pattern indicates but just work to the gap and you’ll be fine.


You’ll incorporate all 24sts onto the needle.

Thank you very much for your reply. I’ll have another attempt.

I’ve now spent several hours trying to carry out your advice, but sorry, I’m getting more confused than ever. I knitted the first four rows without wrapping the stitch and turning when the pattern tells me to. I then get completely lost and then find I’m not following the pattern as set. I’d have thought that to take into account the decreases, the first row would now read knit 12 and so on and to turn when the pattern says so. The knitted piece always looks scrappy and holes are visible. I don’t know if there is anything else you can suggest.

Thanks.

Follow the first 4 rows but do not try to repeat those 4 rows. The stitch counts will be different. The original rows1 and 2 set up the center stitches. From then on you are knitting across those center sts, decreasing then working one more stitch and turning. The decreases are always going to cross the gap created by the previous turn. Look for the gap rather than trying to count sts.
I’ll work the pattern and show you what row 5 will look like.

OK, here I’ve finished row 4 and turned ready to knit row 5. The arrows show the gaps on either side of the main 8sts (6sts on each side).

For row 5, knit across 7sts, sl one, knit one (these last 2 sts will be on either side of the gap), pass slipped stitch over, then knit one more stitch and turn. You’ll have 4 sts on the right hand needle after the turn. On the left hand needle there are 9sts in the center before a gap with 6sts after the gap.

Row 6, purl across 8sts, then p2tog (one stitch on either side of the gap) then p1 and turn.
It’ll look like this, 10 main sts with 4sts on each side.

Continue like this, each time working 2 sts together (k1,sl, psso or p2tog) across the gap then working one more stitch (k or p) before turning until you’ve used up all the sts at the sides.

Thanks for this. Must admit my attempt doesn’t look anything like your immaculate work. I’ll try again when I feel stronger. Thanks again.

A fresh mind is always helpful. This kind of thing can be so painful to work at but once you get it, you’ll be on your way. You could try it with a cast on in scrap yarn of 24sts rather than on your actual sock.
Good luck with it and if it’s still not working, come back and maybe let us see a photo of where you are in the heel.

Thank you so much for your help. At long last I’ve done it. I’ve not tried to follow the pattern again, but followed your instructions. Probably not perfectly, but there’s the correct number of stitches. I couldn’t have done it without you. I always find however, there are a few ladders/stretched stitches when knitting bootees and have to weave tails in to close them up, is this always the case or is there something I’m not doing right? Would really like to perfect this.

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I’m so pleased that you’ve worked this out.
Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to pick up an extra stitch where you think you’ll get a hole and then k2tog or ssk on the next row. That usually closes the hole whether at an underarm, thumb or heel join.

This is a slightly different way to do this but it also effectively closes a gap.

And here’s another way to just close the gap with that yarn tail.

Once again, thank you very much for your help.

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Could you give me further help please. I’ve knitted the first sock OK but now I’m trying to do the second one I’ve ended up with the heel facing the same side as the instep, so it’s the divide for the heel I’m having trouble with. Annoyingly I’ve done it twice and can’t remember what I did the first time. The pattern says to finish on a rs and for the heel divide it says:

1st row: Slip first 12 sts onto right hand needle, slip next 25 sts onto a stitch holder (instep sts) B and slip remaining 12 sts onto a spare needle, C turn. With rs facing, rejoin yarn to instep edge of 12 sts at end of row A (sts on right hand needle) and knit to end, turn spare needle with last 12 sts and knit these stitches (24 sts). AC. Beg with a purl row work 15 rows in st-st.

Obviously I’m turning in the wrong direction whereas it all turned out OK for the first sock.
It seems to turn out wrong whatever way I turn and it’s so frustrating that I’ve already done it once OK, so don’t know what I’m doing wrong and I’ve done it wrong twice.

Congratulations on finishing the first sock! That’s a success.
It makes it doubly frustrating when you know you’ve gotten these instructions to work once.

It seems that the “1st row” at the beginning of the instructions you quoted must be a WS row. You turn to the RS, rejoin the yarn at the place where the instep held sts are next to needle A and knit across the sts on needle A. Continue knitting across the sts on needle C. You’ll have 24sts on needles A and C. Then turn and purl across the 24sts and continue turning and working in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row). The 24 instep sts will still be sitting unworked on the holder.

I think I’ve tried that. I’ve finished with a rs row which means the working yarn is at the end of the row rs facing. Turned and slipped the stitches on the ws, then turn back to the rs and rejoined the yarn at the instep edge and knitted across these stitches but when I go across to the stitches on the spare needle I have the rs row connecting with the ws row and then the knit stitches and the purl stitches don’t match up.

OK, no you don’t want the knit and purl sts not to match up.
So if you finished with a RS row then the next row should be a purl row. Especially since you are attaching the new strand at the needle A/instep join. You would need to purl across needle A the join by purling across needle C. Then you knit back and forth on these 24sts.

If I purl instead of knit and then turn I have half knit stitches and half purl stitches which also isn’t what happened with the first sock. If I turn the spare needle towards me and knit across, the heel still ends up in the front.

I wonder if the mistake isn’t farther back in the pattern. The sts on needles A and C should both be either knit sts or purl sts. If A is knit and C is purls you’re never going to be able to work across both needles and have them match up. You would need to add an extra row onto the Csts so that you can knit across A and C.
I wouldn’t worry too much about all the directions to turn. It seems to me that you just need to be able to connect the sts on needles A and C with the B sts held out of the current rows.
It may help if you can post a photo of your knitting at this point, before the sts on needles A and C are joined. Use the landscape icon at the top of the Reply box to post a photo.

I’ve knitted the pattern exactly as described and if I don’t turn the end needle © the knit stitches both ends will match up with the instep stitches in the front and then the heel also knits in the front where the instep is. I can’t really send a photo as I don’t have a camera and have an old type mobile phone. The knitted piece looks OK with 12 sts at both ends with the instep stitches in the middle. I just need to join A to C and have attempted it so many times.