I would decrease some extra stitches when shaping after picking up the stitches at the side of the heel. Or decrease 4 stitches at the sides of what will become the instep piece before you divide for the heel flap....will 4 stitches be enough?
I guess I don't really understand....if the size for the cuff is fine....it should be fine for the foot too....same number of stitches.
Linda C

Thanks, Linda...

It always seems that even tho the cuff is fine, the foot is too big... Maybe I'm picking up too many at the heel sides.. but, I make sure I don't.. who knows..? Just that the foot always is bigger...and I see pics of people's sock online here and they look nice and trim! :-)

Pat

After you pick up the stitches along the heel flap...and knit across the bottom of the heel after you have turned it....and add on the stitches for the instep....you should have about 15 stitches more than you started with....you should have about 67 or 68 stitches. Then you decrease every other row until you have the same number of stitches as the ankle part.
You should only pick up as many stitches along the heel edge as you knit rows on the heel flap.
Maybe you are knitting the heel flap too long....or not doing the decreases at the edge of the instep.
Linda C...typing on a strange keyboard!

Hey again..

Linda.. how did you figure there would be 15 extra stitches(in addition to the 52 cast on) when decreasing the gusset?

Is it like 52 divided by 4 which equals 13, plus 2 extra stitches at the gusset to prevent holes?

I hope I'm not too confusing here..For a person like me, who did so poorly in math as a schoolgirl, I am using it more and more with the things I really like!

thanks! Pat

You cast on 52...you knit the heel flap....you turned the heel....giving you about 1/2 the number if stitches you started the heel flap out with....youn know have a total of 26 (instep) plus 14 ( or 13, the stitches on the heel after turning)for a total of 40 stitches ( you are heading toward 52 stitchs) You picked up sts along the edges of the heel flap...one per row...each side of the flap...picking up probably 28 stitches....which is about 14 more than you need....so you decrease one stitch every other row at the spot where the instep meets the cast on stitches.
The site in the link is really very good....but doesn't give number of stitches nor gauge for size.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: knitting socks

I have high arches so I have to knit the heel flap longer, that means I pick up way more stitches along the flap. The trick is to just keep decreasing every other row until you get back down to the original number. Now my children have skinny ankles and wide feet, they get a better fit if I do fewer decreases and leave the foot wider than the ankle. For skinny feet and bigger ankles I think I would do the reverse - more decreases (if the heel fits nicely without adjustment) or I would decrease evenly around the sock just before dividing for the heel if the heel is too loose also.

Thanks, Paula!

I am getting the idea of where to increase or decrease more as I make more socks... I realize that there is NOTHING written in stone when it comes to things.. esp. knitting socks! Those are good thoughts... thanks..

Pat

Another possibility could be: if the cuff is in 1x1 ribbing, or any other pattern that pulls the stitches against each other, it will be smaller than the stockinette portion of the sock at the foot. If this is the case, you may want to switch to stockinette a bit before the heel, decreasing stitches with the first round or two.

thankya, Matty!

That is a fine idea.. I will use it!

Pat

Or, you can continue the ribbing down the top of the foot to make it a little tighter. Then do the toe as usual without the pattern stitch.

Good luck

Tami

Can you just switch to a size smaller needle and not worry about all the decreasing?

ell, You have to decrease to make the heel shape, but if, after doing the appropriate amt of decreases, you still need the sock smaller around the foot, yes, you can switch to a smaller needle. I've done it! It would depend on how much smaller you needed to go, but then, the same applies to my above suggestion of continuing the ribbing down the top of the foot. Sometimes you just have to do the extra decreases, but not always.

Tami