Sock Tutorial - Part 2

This tutorial is part 2 of a sock tutorial. Part one is here.


Heel Flap
What's coming up...
This next bit involves a bit of back and forth knitting, and will continue the shape down the back of the heel. The trick to this section is to remember to slip the 1st stitch of each row (S1) this means pass the stitch from the left needle to the right one without knitting it, which leaves a little loop on the end of each row - this will come in handy for picking up the stitches of the heel flap to continue onto the foot, later on. You will also have to shuffle stitches round from the original needles to accommodate the heel flap. Effectively you'll be splitting the circle of 32 stitches in half - the front half (16) which you can ignore for the time being, and the back half (16) which we'll be knitting back and forth to create the heel flap. 


So, Prep Row: knit 8 stitches off the 1st needle...

Here you see the 1st 8 stitches knitted. Depending on how you set the needles up initially, there will be 2 or 4 stitches left on the needle. Don't worry about these stitches, you will be moving them on to the cuff needle for safekeeping shortly. 

...and now, TURN your work. 

Row 1: Slip one stitch and then PURL 15. You'll be going back over the stitches you have just knit, then beyond them. Note the 'tail' which marks the middle back of your sock should be in line with the middle of this purl row. 

After finishing the purl row, you will have your needles loaded as above. The  stitches you just purled will become the heel flap. The other stitches can be placed onto the cuff needle for safekeeping until later.

So, the stitches you have on this needle now will form the heel flap section - it's a good idea now to shuffle your dpns so that you have all the others on a separate needle or needles, or a stitch pin to keep them safe.  You should have 16 on the 'active needle' and 16 on a saved needle (this bit is often called the cuff) 

TURN your work again and 

Row 2: Slip one stitch, then KNIT 15. 

Continue back and forth repeating Row 1 and Row 2 remembering to slip the 1st stich of each row until you have completed 16 rows, ending with a knit row (Row 2). You'll have 16 stitches on the needle. 

This is after a few rows

So now you have completed the heel flap, and you should have a piece of work which looks like this...

Rear view - note the tail, middle back

Front view - cuff needle at the top, heel flap (active) needle at the bottom

Heel
What's coming up...
Now we're going to turn the heel - traditionally this has been billed as the most complicated piece of the sock but once you've done it once you'll realise it's all smoke and mirrors!!! 

It's achieved using a technique called 'short rows' this is where you'll continue to knit and purl back and forth as before, but whereas normally you'd knit to the end of each row before turning and coming back, you stop before the end of the row, and turn and come back so you end up knitting more on the middle stitches than on the outer ones which makes it bulge out in a heel-like fashion. Clever!. Because this is the continuation of the heel flap, you need to remember to slip the 1st stitch of each row too! 

There's one more stitch that you need to know which is a ssk2tog (slip stitch knit 2 together) - it's just a slight variation on a k2tog which just makes the stitch lie the opposite way to a k2tog. To do a ssk2tog slip the 1st stitch, then slip the 2nd one...slide the left needle in the front of the 2 stitches you've just slipped so it looks like you're ready to knit them together...yarn over and complete the stitch. 

 So... 


Turning your work after the final knit row of the heel flap...

Row1:  Slip 1st stitch, p9, p2tog, p1, turn 

Here I'm just in the middle of row 1 - I've done the S1, and the P9, and here I'm in the middle of the p2tog just before the P1 

And here we are with that p1 completed. That's the end of this row. Ignore the 3 stitches still on the left needle. Turn the work.

OK work turned. Ready for row 2 

Row2:  Slip 1st stitch, k5, ssk2tog, k1, turn


So, Slip your 1st stitch, and knit the 5...then... 


ss2tog is where you slip the 1st stitch from left needle to right

     then the 2nd one is slipped

then slide the left needle into the front of the 2 slipped stitches so it looks as though you're in a 'ready to knit' position


Finally, yarn over to complete the knit stitch.


Do the final Knit 1 stitch to complete that short row...and turn the work


So, I think you can do the next 2 rows with no pictures...(clever you!)


Row3:  Slip 1st stitch, p6, p2tog, p1, turn 
Row4:  Slip 1st stitch, k7, ssk2tog, k1, turn 

Can you see the pattern yet? Each row, you slip one and then keep knitting or purling until just before the gap left by the previous row's ssk2tog or p2tog, and then you either ssk2tog or p2tog across the gap, then you do one more stitch of whichever sort, and then turn.

If you were knitting a full size adult sock they don't usually write down each row , you'd just keep going until you take in all the stitches - with this little sock, there are only 6 rows in the heel so I've detailed them all. 

Row5:  Slip 1st stitch, p8, pk2tog, p1, turn 
Row6:  Slip 1st stitch, k9, ssk2tog, turn 

There should be 10 stitches on the needle. AND YOU HAVE JUST TURNED A HEEL!!!!

Continue on to part 3 for the gusset.



Sock tutorial part 1
Sock tutorial part 2
Sock tutorial part 3