Knocked out my Gold Diggers. For the most part, I’m pretty pleased with them but i did run into the usual issue I have with flap heels. There is something about the construction that just does not lend itself to fit my feet. The excess fabric just bags around my ankles. The whole point of knitting my own socks, as I’ve always been given to understand, is that they fit much better than commercial socks. Getting to buy colorful sock yarn is just a delightful bonus.
I guess it’s the way most flap heels are constructed. Half the stitches are used for the flap itself, which are then worked back and forth for the height of the heel. In most cases the bottom of the heel is turned with short rows, then the gusset stitches are picked up from the perimeter and decreased evenly until you are down to the original stitch count and you continue straight for the instep and bottom of the sock. It’s useful because by the time you have decreased your gusset stitches, you are more than half-way done with the foot, unless you have particularly long feet.
The heels on the Gold Diggers are a riff on the usual flap method, as you increase for the gusset on each side of the heel, then decrease for the bottom of the sock. Honestly, while I was knitting them I thought about changing to a full short-row heel, which I find fits my foot much better. However, since the pattern come from New Directions, I figured it would be missing the point of the whole book if I swapped a new heel for an old heel. Road less traveled, that sort of thing. Thinking on that, though, the Yarn Harlot swaps heels all the time, and since she’s a million times more prolific as a knitter, it must be a good thing.
I wonder if it would make a difference if I changed the rate of decreases for the gusset to make it come to a point much quicker, so there is less fabric to bag? Maybe? I’ll have to try that next time. Or just bite the bullet and do a short-row heel.