is this supposed to happen with the short rows when you turn the heel?
that line/bump parallel to the sole, I mean.
& the line where I picked up the stitches to start knitting the foot too?
do they go away after you wear it?
the picture in the book doesn’t look like that…
& does this not happen when you knit toe up?
thanks!!
Sometimes when I don’t knit tight enough, you can see the line where the heel was turned. It doesn’t go away, but you can’t feel it when wearing the socks. I haven’t ever knitted a sock toe up so I couldn’t say if this also happens with that method.
do you switch to smaller needles when you knit that part, or … ??
I was knitting it so tight it was puckering on the needle this time (that picture was from last time that I took out and reknit), but I still got that line!
& although the one where I picked up the stitches is smaller, it’s still there too.
?
thanks!
also - two more questions.
are socks supposed to be noticeably smaller than your foot before you put them on, or the same size, or … are some versions meant to be deliberately larger???
these are STILL too big I think and think I am really going to cry soon.
I mean, this is the sixth time here!
and the first time I even knit it, my gauge was what the pattern said!
& if any guys (or really women too) read this, would you even wear socks that were too big around the foot or would you just toss them?
or just wear them out of pity?
Don’t get discouraged!! It took me forever to figure out what I was doing when I started making socks. I messed up so many times! When I finally finished my first sock, it was a horribly misshapen thing which my mom calls the “Sock Ness Monster”. It was sooo big, even after I had carefully calculated how many stitches I needed. I never made the second one, but I was just so proud that I had finished it! I still goof up somethimes, but that is the only way to learn. (Are you doing a guage swatch first? I know it is a pain, but well worth it! You should do your swatch in the round, because it does differ than if you knit it flat. ) I always try mine on after I have knit a few inches, just to make sure it is going to fit. Then, once I have turned the heel and start on the instep, I try it on again to make sure that part feels ok. That way I know if I need to make any adjustments. If I do, I just frog back to the point where it fit ok and either increase or decrease as needed. Socks will stretch a bit, so try making it a tad smaller than you think it needs to be. Good luck, keep trying. You’ll get it!!!
Socks need to be a bit smaller than your foot. Generally about .5-1 inch smaller around than your foot is considered right (of course some people prefer them tighter or looser). You say short rows but also mention turning the heel and picking up stitches. I suspect you are actually doing a flap heel, not just a short-row heel. Where you decrease/do k2togs etc. you will see a slight line, but no more than I think I’d expect from any successive decreases that line up. There will be a visible join where you pick up stitches but most of us see this as a design feature of socks, Google for close-ups of hand-knitted socks and tell us if what you have is different, or maybe you could post a pic that shows exactly the ridge you’re talking about.
Try Grumperina’s post on picking up stitches ‘the pretty way’.
Toe-up socks are nearly always done as short row heels, not with a flap. You will get a noticeable decrease line of some kind then and some people find noticeable big holes when they short-row. There are lots of tricks to close up holes. Knitting through the back loop is one, and picking up extra stitches to k2tog later is another. Or sewing up holes with tails when you weave them in.
Try googling dutch heel, square heel etc. to get pictures showing similar lines… but that’s what happens when you decrease that way. Like seams on clothing.
Sarah
The only time I’ve ever had lines like that is if I don’t slip the first stitch when turning the heel or the brain-dead moment I had when I picked up my gusset stitches from the inside. :oops:
thanks for the encouragement, I feel a little better now! 
redwitch - I guess this is supposed to be a dutch heel because that is what mine would maybe look like if it didn’t look so awful. but this is the closest one I found to what the picture in the book looks like:
and here’s mine:
warping one way
warping the other.
close up of the ridge:
which leads to another sorry Q - why does it also make a bump in the sock like that on one side when I straighten out the other? no one else’s does that?
I will try the back loop knitting way. I thought I was doing that! but now I think maybe I wasn’t… I think I might forget my name by the time I ever knit one of these right finally. :verysad:
anyway enough babble - thanks you guys!