I finished my first Pomatomus sock. Do your feet look like this?
I thought not. Mine neither. I really don’t understand taking a beautiful pattern like this one and finishing it off with toes that just don’t make sense. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s just my Birkenstock feet (or Loint’s feet) but my toes don’t point. Definitely not in the middle.
After asking around on Ravelry, and reading a little bit, I decided to create my own personal toe pattern. Here’s what I did.
First, I put on the sock and measured the gauge on the under side where it is just st. stitch. I had 8 stitches and 11 rows to the inch. Then I went to this site that creates graph paper for you to whatever gauge you have. It’s really handy! Then I marked out the number of stitches I had on half the sock (32) and the number of rows that would take me to the top of the toe (25). I still figured that the overall length was right, just the shape was wrong. Then I put the paper on the floor and put my foot down, lining up the base line with where the toe part of the sock starts. I drew a line more or less around my toes. Here’s what I had at that point:
Then I charted it out into something you could knit. I was careful to have it make sense, like not having 3 rows between decreases, then 2, then 3. I made it the standard “decrease every 2 rows, then every 1 row” kind of thing. Here’s what that looks like:
I couldn’t wait to knit it up and see how it fit! I did just that this afternoon and wow am I happy I did this. The socks fit perfectly now and are anatomically correct for ME. I’ll have left and right specific socks in the end. When I knit the second sock I just have to reverse this shaping. Is the photo above good enough that you can use it too? If so, feel free! If not, let me know and I’ll make a bigger version online. Here’s the final result:
Under Dutch Skies 
perfect!
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I’m new to sock knitting and have to say I like the way you approached the toe and making it your own. Your outcome would be what I want to wear between my feet and shoes! Thanks for sharing.
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That’s such a great idea! I tend to ignore the toe patterns for lots of socks and knit something a bit more rounded, but I like your approach to having it lean a bit too. Will have to try this next time.
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Brilliant! They look so much neater on your foot. I’ll be using your shaping some time soon. And thanks for the graph paper link too.
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I LOVE the toe! I will use it for the next socks I am knitting!!! I ususally do a toe up version that isn’t so pointy, just for that reason!!!
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Fab! I also don’t like the long, pointy toes on most sock patterns. I’ve tried doing a much flatter one on my latest but so far have been too lazy to do the leaning. You’ve inspired me to make the effort next time around. Thanks!
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Wonderful!!
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Wow. You’re a hit. Look at all these comments! I do love the illustrations about how you made the toe. Makes me re-think my sock toes. And seeing that sock up close made me want to knit them. I loved Casandra’s, but the yarn you’re using really makes that pattern pop.
It was SO great to see you on Monday. You’re like an old friend I’d never met. I’ll see you next Monday at a different venue.
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Thanks so much for addressing this! Just finished my Pomatomus and find that pointy toe quite annoying. As a note, I heard that toes wear off faster if you have a asymmetrical toe shape as the friction is always on the same spot.
Beautiful Pomatomus!
Laura
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I always do a right and left sock, and have simplified it a bit, but them’s my wierd feet, right?
I start the toe at the regular place, but put decreases on the little toe side only, every round, until 1/3 of the total stitches have been decreased. Then I continue the toe as a normal toe, decreasing every other round on both sides of the foot. I”m so impressed that you charted your foot and everything!
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Love it!!! I’ve knit exactly one pair of socks and had the exact same reaction. I’ve stalled out knitting any more because I was too lazy to chart out a toe that wouldn’t feel weird. I mean, the whole POINT of hand-knit socks is that they fit perfectly!
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I’m knitting my first Pomotamous sock now, and I have been thinking about how to adjust those toes! Thanks for the inspiration! (and for the link to the graph paper, which will make charting so much easier!)
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great idea. i’ll have to try this soon.
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I’ve been looking and looking for guidance on this – I’m going to go print out some knitters’ graph paper right now! Thank you!
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Many thanks! I am trying to knit a pair of toe-up socks for my hubby and have started and ripped out twice! The first was too pointy, the second was too broad and square. This should work out perfectly. Thanks for the link to the grid pattern. It helped a lot.
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Thank you so much for such valuable tips!!! My toes were floating in socks that were too big on one side and now I have the graph paper and directions to make them fit. I know I will enjoy sock knitting much more now. 🙂
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I very much appreciate your graphing this out. My feet are more blunt so I don’t have to think about it, but my mom has a sharp angle from her 2nd toe down to the smallest, so this is awesome! I reversed it, though, so it’s toe up and I wrote the directions out. I had to put it on my rav project page otherwise I wouldn’t have remembered how to do the second one! Thanks again 🙂
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