Toe-Up to Cuff Down

My favourite sock knitting method is to knit from the toe-up for a very silly reason. I get impatient and want the sock to be done before it's ready. If knitting cuff down I quite often start to work the toe early and end up with socks that are too short. I have ripped out the toes of many socks to work an extra 1/2" and redo the toe so that they will fit. Argh.

So now I usually knit from the toe-up since at the beginning of sock knitting I can hold on long enough to get the heel in the proper place and then if the leg is short, so be it. I have lots of socks with very short legs.

This is my To-Up sock.

But they are not going to work from the toe up. The short row heel is worked over 60% of the sock stitches. To do this several stitches from each side of the top of the foot get transferred to the heel needles. My swirl pattern can not be included in those stitches. That means the swirl must be sitting in the centre section of the top of the foot. Depending on the size of the foot this may or may not be where the swirl ends up. On my sock I was rather closer to the side than I liked when I did my heel.

I am going to knit another pair and re-write this pattern from the cuff down. I can then say STOP when the swirl is in the centre of the front of the leg before beginning the heel. The leg may vary in length depending on row gauge or size but better there than on the foot. I'll just have to hang on when I'm knitting the foot to make sure I get the correct length. I can do it. I know I can do it.
-Deb