Day before yesterday a friend sent an email asking if I’d be willing to make a couple of pairs of socks for a young child – she’s almost four but she’s small with very tiny feet.

I dug out some leftover yarn from my stash and had a go. Forty stitches, 3″ of leg, turn the heel, decrease through the gusset, then the foot – I had no idea how long to make the foot! My sock charts suggested 13 cm for a size 3-5 shoe – so 13 cm it was.

Took the socks to show my neighbour (who happens to be knitting kids’ socks right now) – oh they’re too short for a 4 year-old, she said. So I contacted my friend and asked for the actual length of the child’s foot – 10 cm! So this first pair of socks will be TOO big (I’ll send them along to grow into…).

I’ve started a second pair – 40 stitches cast on, but I’ll decrease to 36 after 8 rows (if her feet are that small, her ankles will also be tiny). Then I’ll do a foot that’s 10 1/2 cm. The problem is if the sock is too big it will bunch inside her shoe/sneaker and be uncomfortable. The joy of wearing hand-knit socks is how wonderful they feel if they’re the right size.

Pictures of the second pair in a day or two….