Anticipation

As I was working down the leg of the formerly unphotographable sock, I got to thinking about the little gap problem I have on my handknit socks. I can never seem to neatly closed the gap between the stitches on the top of the foot and the stitches picked up along the left side of the heel flap. Basically, there's usually a little hole where the left gusset decreases start. This problem never happens to me on the right side, just the left.

I suspected the eye of partridge heel I use all the time. I start my heel flap with a slipped stitch on what eventually becomes the left side of the sock, which is where that darn little hole always forms. In the past, I would try to pick up a couple of extra stitches in the trouble spot and also making a stitch out of the float that resulted from that first slipped stitch. This time, I took a different, more proactive approach: remembering how the wrapped stitches eliminate holes in short rows, I decided to try wrapping and slipping the stitch before the first stitch of the heel flap. You can sort of see the white wrap around the leftmost stitch on the needle here, just before the dreaded gap.

I then knit the flap, turned the heel and picked up along the right side of the flap, the same as always. After knitting across the top of the foot and arriving at the wrapped stitch, I knit both the wrap and the slipped stitch it was wrapped around together. The hope was the wrap would tighten and close that pesky gap. I think it was pretty effective:
I did pick up one extra stitch after knitting the wrap and wrapped stitch, just for good measure. But there was no long floating strand to have to deal with. Nice! Apparently, the trick was to anticipate the hole, and make it close itself. Now let's see if I can pull off the same trick for the next sock!

While I'm praising preparedness, let me post yet another badly lit photo:

It's a wee umbilical hat for an expectant mom in the family. It's a perfect use for leftover sock yarn.