Directions are for toe-up on two circulars.The example is given for 48 stitches, but you can use any number you like.
To work this sock from the top down, reverse the directions. That is, cast on 48 st, knit until it is the desired length to where your leg meets the top of the foot.
Work the gusset, work the heel, knit the foot until you get to the toe area. Work decreases instead of increases until you have 8 stitches left on each needle.
Weave the toe together with Kitchener stitch.
And the French translation is here.
General Directions
The increase I use is called the Lifted Increase and goes something like this:
1. Insert your right hand needle from front to back into the top of the stitch below the next one to be knitted. Knit the stitch in the usual way.2. Then, knit the next stitch on your left hand needle.
See http://www.knitting.co.nz/site/page_affix/toaffix_learntoknit6/ for pictures.
After I developed this method, I subsequently discovered a way to avoid gusset holes. Please see this post and follow the directions when you finish turning the heel.
Toe
Cast on 8 stitches on each of two needles. You can use 10 for larger feet or 12 for really, really big feet.
I use the Turkish cast on. See this link for excellent directions.
Round 1
Knit
Round 2
On each needle: k2, inc1, knit to second-to-last stitch, inc1, k2.
Repeat these two rounds, increasing four stitches per round, until you have a total of 48 stitches (24 on each needle). Or, as my emailers keep reminding me, 48 is just the sample. Increase to whatever number of stitches fits your foot as described next.
TRY IT ON. The toe should just slip over your, um, ring toe. Don’t make the mistake of increasing to fit your entire foot. Trust me on this. If it’s too small, add some more stitches. We are not assembling a Swiss watch. It’s a sock! Try it on!
Continue stockinette stitch on 48 stitches (or whatever number you have decided upon) until the sock reaches the point where your leg connects to your foot.
Begin Gusset
Decide which needle will be the gusset/heel needle.
Round 1
Gusset needle: k2, inc1, knit to second-to-last stitch, inc1, k2.
Instep needle: Knit.
Round 2
Knit
Repeat these two rounds until the heel/gusset needle contains 46 stitches. (Or two less than your total number of stitches. For 54 stitches, you would repeat until you had 52 stitches on the needle). Added in edit: there's a chart at the end of this post so you don't have to do the math.
Turn Heel
Place a marker at the center of the heel/gusset needle. You should have 23 stitches on each side (46 total).
Calculations:
23 stitches is 2 less than the total number of stitches (48) divided by 2. That is, 48-2 is the total number of stitches that will be on the Gusset needle to turn the heel.
If you are using 54 stitches, then you would have (54-2)/2=26 stitches on each side of the marker or 52 total.
Knit to 2 stitches beyond the marker. k2tog, k1, turn. Pull the yarn tight.
Slip 1 purlwise. Purl to 2 stitches beyond the marker, SSP, p1, turn. Pull the yarn tight.
SSP: Slip 2 stitches knitwise. Move them back to the LH needle and purl them together through the back loop. Or just work a P2 together if you would rather.
*Turn. Slip 1, knit back to the gap, knit the stitch before and after the gap together. Knit 1.
Turn. Slip 1, purl back to the gap, purl the stitch before and after the gap together. Purl 1.*
Repeat these two rows until you have one stitch left on each side. Then, if you haven't already done so, please see this post to avoid gusset holes.
Note that you will have two more stitches on the heel/gusset needle than you started with.
Resume knitting around both needles and decrease away the excess stitches to bring the total back to 48 stitches (or whatever your magic number of stitches is). I usually decrease 1 stitch at each end of both needles and one stitch on each side of heel center marker, which makes the heel nip in a tiny bit for the little hollow back there.
Top of Sock
As this is a generic sock pattern, you can do whatever you like.
Bind Off
I use Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off from Knitting Without Tears.
Break yarn, leaving a tail about 4 times as long as the circumference of the sock. Thread a tapestry needle.
* sew forward (right to left) through two stitches as if to purl, leave the stitches on. Sew backward (left to right) through one stitch as if to knit and remove the stitch.
Repeat from * until you run out of stitches. Work in tail on the inside of the sock and trim any excess.
Chart for Heel/Gusset
If your final number
of stitches is |
Increase to this number of stitches for gusset for EACH side of the center marker
|
48
|
23
|
50
|
24
|
52
|
25
|
54
|
26
|
56
|
27
|
58
|
28
|
60
|
29
|
62
|
30
|
64
|
31
|
66
|
32
|
68
|
33
|
70
|
34
|
72
|
35
|
44 comments:
Help! I'm working on the heel now and these instructions differ from those you wrote on Knitter's Review in July. When I turn after each row, don't I need to slip the first stitch to get the working yarn to the RH needle? Do you slip purlwise? Also, when I knit to gap and then k2tog should one stitch be before the gap and one stitch after the gap to close it? I'm confused about this part. Thanks for your help.
I changed the directions (whoops, the slip 1's were missing in the first part of the directions).. So sorry.
Yes, slip 1 purlwise at the beginning of each row of heel stitches and knit or purl the stitch before the gap with the one after the gap.
Thanks for the clarification. This is a fun heel to knit!
Well, this is clever! However, this math seems off:
23 stitches is 2 less than the total number of stitches (48) divided by 2. That is, (48/2) -2 is the total number of stitches that will be on the Gusset needle to turn the heel.
If you are using 54 stitches, then you would have (54/2)-2=26 stitches on each side of the marker or 52 total.
Okay, I officially hate Blogger.
As I was saying, the math seems off:
(48/2)-2 does not equal 23 -- 48/2 equals 24, and 24 - 2 equals 22. Likewise, (54/2)-2 equals 25 (54/2 is 27, 27-2 is 25), not 26.
If you want to get to 23, the math needs to be ((48-2)/2), instead, and ((54-2)/2) to get to 26.
On each needle: , inc1, knit to second-to-last stitch, inc1, k2.
I think I found another mistake. Don't you need to k1 before you knit the increase on the toe? or change the end K2 to K1?
You are correct. You can see there's a comma there and somehow the initial K2 got deleted. It's there in my Word file, so somehow it dropped out in blogger. Thanks for finding it.
I've never done toe-up or 2 circulars, but both are on my to try list. Thanks for posting this!
Genius- loved this method! THANK YOU!
This is similar to the Crazy Toes and Heels heel, and also the increase, have you seen her book?
This is great, it's my new toe-up favorite.
THANKS SO MUCH! I've been trying to knit a proper sock for over a year and a half now, and your heel has helped me do that. You rock! :)
Thanks Thanks Thank!!! This is the BEST pattern for socks that I've found (in my search for the toe up sock pattern). I LOVE LOVE LOVE the simplicity of turning the heal and the end fit! It is my new perfect sock pattern.
Hey Fleegle! I stumbled upon this heel for cuff down sox in a Knit Simple magazine and have worked many. I just eye-ball the increases and decreases at this point. I've learned in cuff down that it's nice to knit a couple less rows on the instep, to reduce bulk there. Haven't yet done enough toe-ups to know if I should, but will be experimenting.
Hi! I apologize in advance if this is a repeat question because I had my comment all done then had to sign for a Google account.
Your "fleegle heel". I love it!!! It's the nicest, neatest (as in tidy) heel I've done!! I like cuff down knitting and can't seem to understand reversing the instructions for it. You knit the cuff and leg then gusset and heel as the pattern states. Shouldn't the heel come first and how do I get that? I've tried to figure it out but can't seem to get it right. Please help!! And thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas and tips. You are appreciated!!
Mliz
Dear Mliz--
Your blogger account didn't give an email, so I couldn't respond to you directly.
To knit from the top down, cast on the stitches, knit to where your leg meets your foot.
KNit the gusset.
Knit the heel.
Knit the foot, decreasing instead of increasing at the toe, then Kitchener the remaining stitches together.
I love this heel, too. Am finding it the easiest so far BUT I am confused. If you knit or purl to the gap, knit or purl 2 together and then knit or purl 1 and turn, you slip that first knit or purl and have a gap. Just keep knitting or purling across that gap? won't there be a hole there? so many patterns, do the decreasing with no additional knit or purl stitch so the slipped stitch is the decreased one, therefore, eliminating the hole or gap. Am I doing it wrong? Thanks,
Kathy
This is a day of rejoicing for me. I have finished my first gusset/heel. Thank you for your directions and all you provide.
I'm just finishing up a pair of toe up socks after your pattern, and they are the best fitting toe ups I've ever made. I used my own handspun yarn for it. Thanks!
I have made three pair of socks now using your suggestions. They have worked well. One pair has added bulk where the foot and ankle meet. Do you know what I need to do to avoid this? Becky
Fleegle - I have returned to this page many times over the past few years, as I have fallen in love with how these socks fit. I couldn't have done it without you - thank you so much! (I should have thanked you sooner :) ~Jen
I'm working on my second pair of socks and I've been preparing by knitting several types of heels (just the heel part) to see what works. Yours is the one I like the best so far! The instructions are simple to follow, and the result is beautiful with NO HOLES anywhere1 Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm working on my first pair of toe-up socks (sixth pair overall), and I think this is a heel I can use.
Apparently, I have wrap-and-turn-phobia. Did I say thank you? I meant to. :-)
I've struggled with socks for years, and I think I finally *got* it, thanks to this post. Very clever. I love it!
I just have to say this heel is fabulous! Your directions are very clear and easy to use. It is now my go-to heel unless I need an afterthought heel. Thank you for saving my sanity! I linked your heel on my own blog post, I hope you don't mind: http://pink-hedgehog.blogspot.com/2011/10/ive-been-crazy-sock-knitter-lately.html. Have a great day!
I am very hard on the bottom of my heels. I was wondering if it is possible to do a slip,knit across the row on the gusset to provide some extra padding?
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone can give directions for this pattern using DPNs please?
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone can give directions for this pattern using DPNs please?
Using DPNs, what I do is divide the stitches onto 2 DPNs before the gusset increase. Then I divide the half number of stitches for the instep onto 2 DPNs for ease handling and leave all the heel sts on the third needle. So I now have 3 needles in play. I do all the increasing on the heel needle and all the turning the same way. Then after the heel is turned, I just continue on the three needles until it is finished. Hope this helps!
Thank you for posting this. I haven't tried it yet, but I will. I'm wondering how to modify this for people with fat feet/ankles?
omg it worked! After trying 3 times with other heel making patterns that kept putting the heel NOT in the centre, this one was easy peasy! Woot!! (happy dance) Thank you!
So this is where I found my toe pattern! I made do without it for my second sock, made a mistake and I found something that works better for me. I knit one row even between each increase row and it fits my foot much better.
It seems to me that your instructions, even the bost you refer us to, leave me stranded halfway through the heel with a number of stitches decreased. I have no idea what to do next to get those stitches back and to knit the second half of the heel. I don't have any friends who knit socks toe-up to help me.
And I thought the standard short row heel was easy, this is even easier than that, just don't forget to knit or purl the extra stitch after the gap decrease or you'll wind up with an uneven number of stitches at the end. And since there is more shaping than with the regular short row heel, I might have found a solution to my "wandering heel" syndrome, the one where you sock heel winds up on top of your foot after an hour or so.
Just finished a pair with the Fleegle heel and one with the Sweet Tomato Heel, and while both are really easy, I prefer this one, fits me better and keeps my "wandering heel" better in place than the standard short-row heel or even the Sweet Tomato Heel.
Any chance of getting a word file of these directions? Or have they been published recently where I'd be able to obtain a copy.
Anywhere to get word document of directions? Or published recently where I can get a copy? Thanks.
I decided to try this one while making socks for my three year old. I've found that the number of stitches increased for the gusset are too many. It makes the sock much to long for his foot (this even after making sure to measure as you suggest prior to starting the gusset). It's a sock with 64 stitches total and my gusset stitches ended up being 50 - this is with Deborah Norville Sock yarn on size 1 needles) - Anyway, I just kept trying it on his foot and increased the gusset stitches until it reached just past the end of his heel, then turned. Don't know if this would be an accurate way to measure for anyone else, but thought I'm mention the difference with this toddler sock.
Do you have any pictures of your heel? Are the corrections mentioned in the comments above already made in the post?
Do you have any pictures of your heel? Are the corrections mentioned in the comments above already made in the post?
I had heard if this heel yrs ago but I wasn't into socks then. I caught the addiction last yr and have tried many books for 2 at a time toe up and my skills have grown. This is by far my favorite and now exclusive heel, no matter the pattern. I have reduced my pattern to a single handwritten index cards and simply vary the cuff style. This fits every heel, every time. Thank you
I had heard if this heel yrs ago but I wasn't into socks then. I caught the addiction last yr and have tried many books for 2 at a time toe up and my skills have grown. This is by far my favorite and now exclusive heel, no matter the pattern. I have reduced my pattern to a single handwritten index cards and simply vary the cuff style. This fits every heel, every time. Thank you
This has become my go-to heel. I also love the update to get rid of the holes that happen! Thanks so much for this!
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