I have a basket of socks beside my chair all in need of repair – the heels are worn (some worn through, hopefully the holes are still small enough that a heel replacement will do). The pair below, however, is a left over from the previous batch of repairs – put aside because they needed more than a heel replaced – the back of the leg was also worn through to the point that I knew I’d have to cut it off and reknit part of the leg – a rebuild, not a repair.
I decided to work on them after I’d calculated the time it would take to rebuild the socks – about 7-8 hours compared to 25 hours to knit a new pair.
Before / After
This is the before and after – the before sock has already been set up with stitches picked up on the leg and across the instep. Next steps are to cut close to the carrying thread, pick away the extra rows to get to the stitches on the thread, pick up stitches on the leg, extend the leg, create a heel, and then the difficult/tedious part – grafting back the foot. It’s worth saving the foot beyond the instep because it still has lots of body.
It took me about 4 hours yesterday to do the prep work and rebuild the sock on the right. It’s now a wearable sock for a couple of more seasons.
jmn 
Wow!
I am beyond impressed that you knit your own socks. And you take the time to repair them, too! 🙂 This is the kind of world I want to live in, where things aren’t discarded so easily. Super cute socks, too! I may have to take up knitting.
Stacey, these are actually socks I knit for a friend (a very dear friend who appreciates the socks). I repair them for her since it takes less time than knitting new ones to replace the old worn out ones. However, in the current batch there are so far two pair from which I can salvage legs, that’s all – even the sole of the foot is too worn to use. These were some of the first socks I gave her – ten years of wear – can’t complain!
Wow! Ten years of wear, that’s terrific. You’re right, can’t complain about that.
You’re like a sock magician! 🙂