DH has problems sleeping in the cold weather. Apparently his circulation makes his leg stubs cold and he wakes up with aching legs about 2am. He ( finally) asked me to make him socks for his stubs. I have been cogitating on how to make something to fit. I measured the knee circumfrence. and I am guessing that if I cast on for the knee circumfence and knit k2p2 rib for about four inches and then make a short row heel I will have covered the knee. From there I will need to decrease considerably for the lower end. What do you think? should I do even dereases like a hat crown? or decreases down both sides like a sock gusset? the important thing is that they have enough ribbing to stay on and that they have no seams to rub. one leg is longer than the other, should I make some way to distinguish right from left? Perhaps put a cable in the rib on one sock? These will be the strangest looking socks I will ever make.

Oy. A challenge indeed.
Let me see if I have this right: you're making a heel to cover the knee joint, then decreasing downward to hug the leg, then closing the cylinder where his leg ends?

I think I would make the "knee heel" a bit roomy so he can move his knee joint comfortably. Make the ribbing more than 4" so the socks really hug and stay in place above the knee. (Also adds warmth.) You could do the lower part in ribbing as well, decreasing as you would a sleeve. Then when you approach the bottom, switch to reverse stockinette for the smoothest interior and finish like the top of a hat. A grafted "toe" at the bottom, where he's sensitive to rubbing, should help.

If you want to get fancy about telling left from right, knit in a thin stripe of a different color on each. Or embroider L and R.
All in all, it doesn't sound that strange after all. Good luck, and stay warm. I hear you've already got tons of snow up in the high country.

I've had difficulty with socks-above-the-knee not staying up, because the thigh is wider toward the top and there's nothing to stop the top creeping down. Do you have any ideas on this score that you could share, dances? Are you hoping the pull-in of the ribbing will be enough?

Knowing how yours go will be very helpful as I plan (again) some knee-warmers for myself -- every year, my knees get cold when I walk around the block in the winter and I tell myself I should make something! I'd thought maybe sideways garter stitch with short-rows above the knee would pull in enough to stay up, or maybe ribs would be better. . . .

I noticed the same problem with knee high socks I think for much the same reason. I think that knee warmers might stay on somewhat better because there is no downward drag caused by the foot in the sock. In DH's case the knee is larger than the thigh due to muscle wasting ( if the reason for the muscle is not there the muscle dissapears too) so I hope that the stump sock will have a better chance of staying put.
I have always wanted to knit the longies for grownups in the knitters almanack by elizabeth zimmermann. I haven't got to it yet, but I consider it a lot about this time of year. Noting which sock is which with R and L makes sense. I will also need a way of telling in the dark because they have to be taken off when he gets up for a trip to the loo. I did retro fit a set of jammie bottoms with fold over pockets so that they don't ride up while he is sleeping and they can be worn over the prosthesi for trips to the neccesary in the cold. I have cast on 112 stitches in regia 6 fadig and I may need to cut back to 98.

I have a pattern in an OLD pattern book for knee warmers. I'll look it up and post it. It should be helpful in a lot of ways.

Dances, I discussed this with a friend who is an RN at a NJ Veterans' Hospital, and also knits. She is familiar with this problem, and suggests a simple long, ribbed tube. To accommodate the knee, go up two sizes in needles for the knee part, then back to original needle size below the knee. Decrease as needed for the shape of the stump. If you start the ribbing with k3, p2, you can decrease to k2, p2 on the narrower part and still keep in pattern.

Also, my friend says that if the feeling of coldness is new to your husband, please tell his doctor ASAP. Circulation problems can be serious.

Strikker

thank you for the concern I do appriciate the research. the cold stub issue is not new. it is a side effect of house temps kept between 55 and 60 during the winter nights. we use a matress pad warmer to keep the edge off and have been cogitating on the jammy bottoms for a while. I will take the advise about the pattern although I have one sock to the knee and a rather wide heel seems to be doing the right stuff.

Dh tried on the sock. The heel was too narrow so I pulled it back and tried again with a wider heel. It looks better so I moved on to the decreases. I did the unrepeatable "decrease when you think it looks right" method kind of at random. Now I want another try on and can't catch Dh to get him to sit, stay, and pop the prosthesis. so I moved on to the other sock top.
Added later. Sock top #1 fits beautifully. sock top #2 is rediculously baggy and has been frogged for another try.
Notes to self: the half short row sock heel works really well on half the stitches. Using 3/4 the stitches does not work. stop when there are ten stitches per needle (20) in the center with a 7st/in gauge.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dances with needles,

Last notes. Socks are finished. the end needs to be a hat top decrease, a sock toe decrease does not work. the ribbing needs extra elastic for extra grab. Dh is happy, he is warmer and sleeping better.