In Which the Pirate Unknits.

No kidding, there I was, knitting along on the heel flap of the Garter Rib Sock, carefully counting rows. I double checked the pattern for the heel turn. Remembering that when I started this 32 (40, 48, 56, 64…) sock, I had cast on 64 stitches, I noted that 64 was the fourth number inside the parentheses.

Heel turn: Sl1, p8 (10, 12, 14, 16…) p2tog, p1, turn.

I slipped one, purled 16, did the p2tog, p1, turn. I kept going along, doing the heel turning thing. About halfway through I noticed that things were off-centered. I knit one more row to be sure. Then I counted, and yeah, totally off-center. What the heck? I checked the pattern. I checked to make sure I’d remembered to p2tog or ssk where appropriate, and I had. I unknit half of what I’d done and recounted, but the heel was still off-center.

Frustrated, yet certain that hundreds of people would have noticed an error in such a popular sock, I went online to search for other 64-stitch socks with 32-stitch heel flaps. One of them would surely save me. Then I looked more closely at the sock.

What I have is a 36-stitch heel flap. And 18 stitches on each of the other two needles. I have a 72-stitch sock. I remember this now. The gauge swatch and the foot measurement and the pattern is ribbed and so draws in a little and… yeah. I have been following the wrong numbers.

It’s a good thing I ripped back that heel turn; my flap needs four more rows now.

I swear, if this sock is too big after the last one was too small, I am going to laugh a very frustrated sort of laugh. I wonder if I should decrease to 64 stitches for the foot.