Faux Foot!

Inspired by the wooden foot form I saw at Abeja in Washington state and the idea of a custom dress form made with an old t-shirt and duct tape, I decided to try to use the idea to make a foot. 

Mom bought me a few designs from which to select. Originally I wanted houndstooth, but when she saw all the choices I couldn't make up my mind. 

In the end, we decided the argyle was the most appropriate. 

As I started the process I wasn't sure how to proceed. Basically, I got as far as putting on my old sock. 

Happily, my niece sprang into action and took over. She started wrapping it in the way her feet get wrapped for soccer. 

Layers were carefully added in small sections to conform to the shape of my foot. 

She went down to my toes and the up my calf. She said we couldn't go to the very top, but it was close enough. 

Once the entire foot was covered, she carefully cut down the back of my leg. She had to cut down into the heel a little in order to open it enough to take it off my foot. 

How awesome is the finished foot?! It actually looks like a foot. 

I think it's hysterical. 

She put a few handfuls of rice in the bottom for weight, then carefully stuffed it with fiberfill. 

She had to be careful not to overfill it and distort the shape. 

We popped a finished sock on the form and it fits very well. But then it should, since it's my foot!

It was actually a little tricky to get the sock onto the foot, but it probably just takes practice. 

I'll probably have to figure out a way to close the top up. 

Now I have a way to display finished socks. Or even test them as I'm knitting them instead of trying it on my actual foot. 

I'm also wondering whether this will help me embrace toe-up sock knitting as I'll be able to try the sock on the form to determine gusset shaping.