These are my swatch socks: knit as a way of getting my head around the construction and working out what measurements will give me the best fit.

My future self is patting me on the back because now all her socks fit snugly instead of sagging and bunching around the ankles. Well, that’s the idea…

Also, using self-striping yarn has been perfect for this exercise, because it makes it super easy to count the rows.

Pretty happy with the first one and while technically my swatch sock doesn’t need a mate, knitting a second will allow for more tweaks and variants so I can create the perfect template.

A key thing has been discovering that I need a relatively shallow heel flap if I’m to get the sock to hug my foot nicely - this, at 4.5cm deep, is perfect. Any deeper and I run the risk of a flabby gusset (oh the horror!).

Dropping a needle size gave me the right tension for stitches and rows: 8 stitches and 11 rows per inch

Knit foot to 15cm after heel turn before starting toe decreases - then decreased to 28 stitches before grafting.

Mods: I followed the pattern until it came to picking up the slipped stitches, and then the instructions stopped making sense so I went in the opposite direction (ie, knit across the bottom stitches, then picked up 15, then knit across instep, then picked up 15). Oh, and I found it easier to think about the foot of the sock in two parts, sole and instep, so rearranged my stitches on the needles that way. It made for a lot of extra stitches on one needle until I’d decreased all the gusset stitches, but was simpler. Meant my round started in a different place so decreases were different too: starting on instep, k1, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before end of row, k2tog, k2, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before end of row, k2tog, k1. Knit all stitches on next round. Repeat both rounds until 14 stitches remain on each needle.

left sock: eye of partridge heel
right sock: 24 rows slip purl - doesn’t grip heel as well