Socks for problem feet?

Dear knitting friends,

I have a few questions for all experienced sock knitters and would appreciate your support.

My brother (60) asked me to knit him socks because, due to illness, he can’t get into store-bought socks. But I can’t just start knitting, because there are many special considerations to keep in mind beforehand. That’s why I need your help. 

1. Thick legs

Since he has thick legs, the cuff needs to be very elastic and stretchy—but still fit snugly around the leg, otherwise the socks will slide down. Which cast-on and which pattern would be best suited for this? 

2. High instep

Not only are his feet generally thick, but his instep is also especially high, so regular socks are always too tight for him. So he needs socks with plenty of room upward. Is there perhaps a sock-knitting technique that provides this necessary extra width upward?

3. Warmth

He would like warm socks. So they shouldn’t be too thin, because then they also wear through quickly at the heel. They should be thick socks, but still ones you can get into shoes with. Does anyone have a tip? Is there sock yarn that is especially warm?

Thank you in advance for your tips, which may also help others affected by this.

Best regards, Ina

Dear Ina,

maybe my tips will help you:

Regarding 1.
Here, I recommend an Italian cast-on. Feel free to use a needle size that’s half a size to a full size larger than the one you’ll use to knit the socks. That way, it’s nice and stretchy and won’t dig in. I also always knit the leg entirely in ribbing (knit 1, purl 1) until about 3–4 cm before the heel begins, and cast on 8 more stitches than usual. These are then evenly decreased at the start of the stockinette stitch section.

Re 2.
I don’t have any personal experience with this, but my mother liked to continue knitting in ribbing on the top of the foot. To make them a bit roomier, I’d keep the extra stitches (see above) on the instep.

Re 3.
In my experience, high-quality sock yarn often doesn’t wear out as quickly as the kind from discount stores. Otherwise, I recommend using reinforcement yarn for the heel—I remember my grandma doing that.
  You’ll just have to test whether your brother can still slip his feet into his shoes comfortably even with thicker socks. It also depends on the shoes and what he personally finds comfortable.

I wish you the best of luck and always warm feet. 

Re 1.
I use a stretchy cast-on; it’s looser. 
I’d add more stitches if that still isn’t enough. You could possibly decrease down to the heel. Maybe you can have him try them on now and then as you go. 
But regarding 2:
You could also keep the extra stitches and use them to knit the heel. That will make it larger. And if I were you, I’d knit a heel-flap heel and maybe skip the gusset decreases; then it will fit a higher instep. If the foot then gets narrower, you should decrease stitches so nothing can press on the foot and cause blisters or sore spots.
3. I’d use high-quality 4-ply sock yarn. For especially warm socks, I’d use yarn with alpaca; it can then only be washed on the wool cycle at most, but it keeps the feet especially warm.
I can fit into my shoes well with 4-ply sock yarn.
Claudia
 

@frustzwerg 
(I’d love to address you by name—maybe you could share your first name in your next post? I always find that more personal, but it’s not a must. You can also include your name in your signature.)

Thank you so much for your valuable tips. I’ll definitely try the Italian cast-on—and I think the tip about using reinforcing yarn at the heel is really good, too! I’ve made a note of it.

@claudia-greis
Dear Claudia.
Thank you so much for writing your first post today. Maybe we’ll be reading each other’s posts here more often now. I also think it makes sense not to decrease the extra stitches from the cuff when you get to the foot—that’s a great tip. The cuff still does its job anyway. The heel flap is now on my radar too—I’ll give it a try. And if I run some alpaca yarn along with my regular sock yarn, that’s sure to be good for the warmth as well. 

Thank you both. Maybe there’ll be even more tips to come. There are soooo many sock-knitting patterns here in all kinds of variations and designs. But they’re all just for “normal feet”—or at least I couldn’t find anywhere that said they were particularly suitable for wide feet with high insteps. 

For today, I wish all readers a relaxing crafting evening. I’m off to look at some yarn ...

Best regards, Ina

They might look a little unusual when not worn, but they fit great

Dear Nina, thank you so much for your helpful reply. The heel increase sounds good, and I also like the knitting method with the ribbed pattern on the instep. Your kids’ socks look great!

Best regards, Ina

Dear Ina,
I’ve had really good results with a heel flap and turn for a high instep, AND it’s best to knit the heel reinforced (my husband wears these socks in his shoes every day in winter, and he has never worn through this heel—at most they get a little thinner at the ball of the foot!)
You can easily adjust the width/height of the instep with the decreases of the heel turn!

And it’s best to knit k2/p2 or k3/p3 all the way to the heel (with a few more stitches than usual), because the pattern is stretchy but doesn’t constrict or slip down.

I always cast on using the standard long-tail cast-on, but over two needles... and if you want the cuff/cast-on to be wider, use larger needles for it! For me, it turns out even more elastic than the Italian cast-on.

Have fun knitting... best regards... Claudia 

 

Thank you, dear Claudia, also for your tips. That all sounds really good and tried-and-true. I’ve made a note of the reinforced heel and the cast-on using two needles.

Thank you so much for your support—it saves me from trial and error. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own when you have knowledgeable colleagues :-) That’s really wonderful, thank you so much!
I hope you have a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Best regards, Ina

Hi Ina, I have a high instep, too. For me, the “cap heel” works best… I like to knit a few
more rows before I start the shortened rows. You might be able to adjust the decrease pattern if the foot is also very wide. As I mentioned before, decrease stitches again toward the toe. The best thing is to keep trying them on as you go.  If the leg/foot isn’t available, it’s best to take measurements and knit accordingly. Write down how you knitted them so the next pair turns out well. I knit my socks with only a narrow cuff—2 knit, 2 purl—and then the leg in stockinette stitch. It fits well and doesn’t slip down. I don’t have thick legs. For a looser fit, I’d cast on more stitches and then decrease as needed. You can knit the heel in a specific pattern so it lasts a long time. That’s what my grandma did with her work socks. She called it a “double heel.” But I don’t know how she knitted it. I’ve also never had a hand-knitted sock break at the heel.  I can’t fit knitted socks into my regular shoes. I need to wear shoes one size larger.
I hope this helps you.
Best regards, Marita 

Thank you, dear Marita—your post was also very helpful.

Best regards, Ina

Dear Ina, I once wrote a blog post about the perfect fit for socks. There you’ll also find free files where you can enter everything, for example. I also made a video for a super loose cuff; you can find it on my YouTube channel. Maybe that will help you. 

Sunny regards 
Bianca

That’s great, dear Bianca. Thank you so much! I’ll take my time reading through the blog post and watch the video as well.

Best regards, Ina

Dear Bianca,

I’m also interested in the topic of “perfect socks.” Unfortunately, I can’t find your blog post. Where should I look?

Best regards, Susa

Dear Susa, the videos mentioned by Fräulein Gerda are on YouTube. I just checked there and found them right away. External links aren’t allowed here.

Best regards, Ina