Beginner sock knitting: Sockalong – Week 2 – Heel flap, heel turn and gusset
Hello everyone, it’s Week 2 of the Winwick Mum Sockalong! How are we all doing? It’s been fabulous to see so many pictures and conversations this week -if you’ve not already joined our Winwick Mum Sockalong Facebook group and you’d like to, then please do get involved. Thank you so much to everyone who’s making this Sockalong such a success – I never imagined there would be so many pairs of socks on the go and from so many places around the world!
This week, in our beginner sock knitting tutorial, we’re onto the dreaded heels. Dreaded heels? No, not at all! We’re just going to take it slowly and you’ll see there’s not much to knitting a heel on a sock at all. I like to use a heel flap heel because I think it’s one of the easiest heels to create. Yes, there is picking up of stitches involved but I’m going to show you how to do that without creating holes. If you do find a hole, that can usually be rectified later with a bit of nifty stitching so it’s not the end of the world!
As we did last week, I’m going to talk about each of the needles in turn – short circular, DPNs and long circular (magic loop) so just jump to the section that’s relevant to you. Everybody ready? Let’s tackle those heels!
If you’ve just joined us and want to learn to knit basic top down socks, you can download the free Basic 4ply Socks pattern here and you’ll find the first tutorial in this series here. There are also getting started tutorials for choosing yarn and needles and adjusting the sock size here.
Heel Flap – short circular needle
This is what your sock should look like at the moment. You’ve cast on, worked your rows of rib and knitted the leg of your sock to the length you want it to be.
I find that it’s too awkward to create the heel flap on the small circular needle so at this point we need to change back to the pair of 2.5mm DPNs that you used to start off your cuff. You only need two needles as we’re going to go back and forth as you would for straight knitting.
You are going to create the heel flap from half the number of stitches that you cast on, so if you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches, you need to remember to adjust the number of stitches when you start the heel flap. You won’t need your stitch marker whilst you’re knitting your heel flap so you can put it away safely for now.
Continuing in the direction you have been knitting:
Row 1: K2, *Slip 1, K1* until you have 30 stitches on your needle, ending with K1, turn.
(Repeat instructions inside * and slip the stitch by sliding it from one needle to the other without knitting it.)
The reason that this row is different is because you’re knitting the first stitch rather than slipping it as you will for the rest of the heel flap rows. This helps to stop a hole forming where your gusset will be created later.
At this point, you can tuck the ends of your circular needle down inside the tube of your sock leg to keep them out of your way.
Row 2: Slip 1, P to end, turn.
Row 3: *Slip 1, K1* to end, turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until heel measures approximately 2 inches, finishing on row 3 (approx. 35 rows for me – although remember this might be different if you’re using different sized needles). If you want to make the heel flap longer, continue knitting rows 2 and 3 until you reach your desired length.
This is what your heel flap will look like on the outside …
… and on the inside.
The heel stitch that you have used creates a reinforced, cushioned heel, which is more comfortable and durable than plain knitting.
Turning the heel
This is the part of the sock that many people find off-putting, but we’re going to take it slowly and you’ll see that it’s quite easy. I like this bit of the sock construction because this is where your sock starts to look like a sock. There are pictures of how to do the SSK and P2tog decrease stitches below.
You might like to read through the whole of this section before starting to make sure that you are quite happy with how the heel turn works.
We’re still working on the same two DPNs with the rest of the stitches held on the circular needle. Create the heel as follows:
Row 1: Slip 1, P16, P2tog, P1, turn.
This is your set-up row to get you into the middle of your heel. After this first row, you will still have stitches left on your needle that you haven’t used. These are the stitches that you are going to decrease on every alternate following row to pull your heel into a V shape.
Row 2: Slip 1, K5, SSK, K1, turn.
Row 3: Slip 1, P6, P2tog, P1, turn.
Row 4: Slip 1, K7, SSK, K1, turn.
Continue in this way, increasing the number of stitches worked between slip stitch and SSK or P2tog on each row (ie, P8, K9, P10 etc) until all of the heel stitches are used and you won’t need to turn after your last row. You should find that you finish on an SSK stitch and have 18 stitches left on your needle.
If you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches then your heel flap will need to be made larger or smaller. It’s very easy to do this. All you need to do is to alter the number of purl stitches in the first row of the heel (marked in bold above), increasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches extra that you cast on, or decreasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches less than 60 stitches. For example, if you cast on 64 stitches, your first row would be Slip1, P17, P2tog, P1, turn. You can work the rest of the heel as from Row 2 above without changing anything else. Note that you will have more or less than 18 stitches left on your needle when you have worked all the decreases if you make the sock bigger or smaller.
You will notice as you start your heel turn that there’s a gap between the end of your knit or purl stitches in the middle of your heel and the remaining stitches to be worked. This will help you to see where you’re up to. You can see that you are always knitting the stitches in the middle of the heel flap whilst the remainder stay safely on your needles until they are required.
The heel rows require you to use P2tog and SSK stitches. These are simply decrease stitches worked on either the purl side or the knit side of your work.
To create P2tog, put the right hand needle purlwise into the first two stitches on the left hand needle and purl them together.
To create SSK, put the right hand needle knitwise into the first stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Put the right hand needle purlwise into the second stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Slip both stitches back onto the left hand needle, then knit into the back of the stitches. This gives a neat decrease on the outside of your heel.
This is what you’ll see on the outside of your sock. This is the P2tog side …
and this is the SSK side. It gives a nice neat finish with no gappy holes.
Shaping the gusset
Having finished the heel turn, your sock should look like the pictures above. You can see how it’s taking on a sock shape now, and the next job is to create the gusset, which fills in the gap between the heel flap and the foot part of the sock.
We do this by first picking up stitches from the heel flap. This is quite easily done, even if picking up stitches isn’t your favourite thing to do. Do you remember that you slipped the first stitch of the heel flap on every row? That slip stitch is what’s going to help you pick up the stitches because it creates a slightly bigger loop for you to knit into. You can see in the picture the stitch is indicated by the wool needle.
Hold your sock so that the outside of the heel flap faces you. You should be at the left hand side of your heel ready to pick up your stitches but if you aren’t , simply knit across the heel stitches to bring you to the right place.You are going to pick up and knit every slipped stitch (one stitch per two rows of heel flap) using a second DPN. I always pick up the first loop of the stitch as I feel that it gives a neater edge; some people like to pick up the second loop or both loops and that’s fine – whichever you prefer!
Pick up the stitch by putting the needle into the stitch, wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it through the stitch to make a new stitch. Remember that if you made the heel flap bigger, you will need to pick up more stitches. You should find this easy to do because you will have more slip stitches to knit into. As a guide, I usually pick up about 19 stitches, but you may have more or less stitches than this depending on your yarn and needles.
Tip: if you think you are going to have a big gap between the end of your picked-up stitches and the first of the stitches held on your circular needle, pick up an extra one or two stitches as required in the gap. Don’t worry about the extra stitches as you will just decrease them as you go along.
Knit across the top of the foot using your circular needle by bending the ends around to knit in a tiny circle (if you find this too fiddly, knit across the stitches with a DPN, knitting them off your circular needle), place marker (I usually make sure that my markers are both different – it’s easier to tell which side of the sock you’re working on later), then pick up and knit 19 stitches (or more or less if required) up the other side of the heel. If you have knitted off your circular needle across the top of the foot, use your circular needle to pick up the gusset stitches, or use another DPN if you prefer.
You can choose to knit back onto your short circular needle whenever you like – either as you go along picking up the stitches or as you get back round to it on your first decrease round. Your sock should look like this if you pick up the stitches with your circular needle … (Note: I’ve stopped at the end of the second set of picked up stitches to take the picture.)
and like this if you use a DPN. (Note: I’ve stopped at the end of the second set of picked up stitches to take the picture.)
Knit across the heel stitches until you are back at the start of your first set of picked-up stitches. You will need to place a marker at the end of the first DPN just before you knit your top of the foot stitches which you will do as part of round 1 below (but don’t do it before you get to that point as it will just fall off the needle).
After knitting across the top of the heel, shape the gusset as below.
Round 1:K to 3 sts before the end of the 1st DPN, K2tog, K1, place marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, K1, SSK, K to marker.
Round 2: Slip marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, knit to 3 sts before marker.
Round 3: K2tog, K1, slip marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, K1, SSK, K to marker.
Repeat rounds 2 and 3 to shape the gusset. Make sure that you are always decreasing on the heel side of your sock and not across the top of the foot stitches.
Once all of your stitches are back on your circular needle, your sock should look like this:
To make the K2tog stitch, simply knit into the first two stitches on your left hand needle at the same time.
You are using the same SSK stitch that you used to create the heel, so if you need a reminder of how to make the stitch, go back to the heel turn section above.
Continue in this way, decreasing by two stitches at the gusset on every other row (one on each side) until there are 60 stitches (or whatever number you cast on) on the needle.
Now is a good time to try on your sock again to check whether you need your sock foot to be wider than the number of stitches you cast on. You can see how the gusset is formed in this picture.
This is what your heel flap and gusset will look like once they are completed.
And that’s it for this week! There’s been a lot to get through and you might need to read it more than once before you start to make sure that you’re comfortable with it all. Just take your time and it will all fit together. Jump down to the bottom of the page to see what we’ll be up to next week!
Heel Flap – DPNs
This is what your sock should look like at the moment. You’ve cast on, worked your rows of rib and knitted the leg of your sock to the length you want it to be.
When you reach the end of your final leg round, it’s time to create the heel flap. You only need two needles to create the flap as we’re going to go back and forth as you would for straight knitting. You can just leave the rest of the stitches on the other two needles, or if you prefer you can slide them off onto a stitch holder.
You are going to create the heel flap from half the number of stitches that you cast on, so if you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches, you need to remember to adjust the number of stitches when you start the heel flap.
Continuing in the direction you have been knitting:
Row 1: K2, *Slip 1, K1* knitting across needles 1 and 2 until you have 30 stitches on your needle, ending with K1, turn.
(Repeat instructions inside * and slip the stitch by sliding it from one needle to the other without knitting it.)
The reason that this row is different is because you’re knitting the first stitch rather than slipping it as you will for the rest of the heel flap rows. This helps to stop a hole forming where your gusset will be created later.
You can choose to leave your stitches on needles 3 and 4 as shown:
or if you think you will find that too fiddly, you can slip the stitches from needles 3 and 4 onto a stitch holder for the time being.
Row 2: Sl1, P to end, turn.
Row 3: *Sl1, K1* to end, turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until heel measures approximately 2 inches, finishing on row 3 (approx 35 rows for me – although remember this might be different if you’re using different sized needles). If you want to make the heel flap longer, continuing knitting rows 2 and 3 until you reach your desired length.
This is what your heel flap will look like on the outside …
and on the inside.
The heel stitch that you have used creates a reinforced, cushioned heel, which is more comfortable and durable than plain
knitting.
Turning the heel
This is the part of the sock that many people find off-putting, but we’re going to take it slowly and you’ll see that it’s quite easy. I like this bit of the sock construction because this is where your sock starts to look like a sock. There are pictures of how to do the SSK and P2tog decrease stitches.
You might like to read through the whole of this section before starting to make sure that you are quite happy with how the heel turn works.
We’re still working on the same two DPNs with the other two holding the rest of the stitches. Create the heel as follows:
Row 1: Slip 1, P16, P2tog, P1, turn.
This is your set-up row to get you into the middle of your heel. After this first row, you will still have stitches left on your needle that you haven’t used. These are the stitches that you are going to decrease on every alternate following row to pull your heel into a V shape.
Row 2: Slip 1, K5, SSK, K1, turn.
Row 3: Slip 1, P6, P2tog, P1, turn.
Row 4: Slip 1, K7, SSK, K1, turn.
Continue in this way, adding a stitch between slip stitch and SSK or P2tog on each row (ie, P8, K9, P10 etc) until all of the heel stitches are used, and you won’t need to turn after your last row. You should find that you finish on an SSK stitch and have 18 stitches left on your needle.
If you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches then your heel flap will need to be made larger or smaller. It’s very easy to do this. All you need to do is to alter the number of purl stitches in the first row of the heel (marked in bold above), increasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches extra that you cast on, or decreasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches less than 60 stitches. For example, if you cast on 64 stitches, your first row would be Slip 1, P17, P2tog, P1, turn. You can work the rest of the heel as from Row 2 above without changing anything else. Note that you will have more or less than 18 stitches left on your needle when you have worked all the decreases if you make the sock bigger or smaller.
You will notice as you start your heel turn that there’s a gap between the end of your knit or purl stitches in the middle of your heel and the remaining stitches to be worked. This will help you to see where you’re up to. You can see that you are always knitting the stitches in the middle of the heel flap whilst the remainder stay safely on your needles until they are required.
The heel rows require you to use P2tog and SSK stitches. These are simply decrease stitches worked on either the purl side or the knit side of your work.
To create P2tog, put the right hand needle purlwise into the first two stitches on the left hand needle and purl them together.
To create SSK, put the right hand needle knitwise into the first stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Put the right hand needle purlwise into the second stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Slip both stitches back onto the left hand needle, then knit into the back of the stitches.This gives a neat decrease on the outside of your heel. When you come to use this stitch for the gusset decreases, you can knit into the back of the stitch on the knit rounds if you choose to, as this will help to keep the decreases straighter.
This is what you’ll see on the outside of your sock. This is the P2tog side:
and this is the SSK side. It gives a nice neat finish with no gappy holes.
Shaping the gusset
Having finished the heel turn, your sock should look the pictures above. You can see how it’s taking on a sock shape now, and the next job is to create the gusset, which fills in the gap between the heel flap and the foot part of the sock.
We do this by first picking up stitches from the heel flap. This is quite easily done, even if picking up stitches isn’t your favourite thing to do. Do you remember that you slipped the first stitch of the heel flap on every row? That slip stitch is what’s going to help you pick up the stitches because it creates a slightly bigger loop for you to knit into. You can see in the picture the stitch is indicated by the wool needle.
Hold your sock so that the outside of the heel flap faces you. You should be at the left hand side of your heel ready to pick up your stitches but if you aren’t, simply knit across the heel stitches to bring you to the right place. You are going to pick up and knit every slipped stitch (one stitch per two rows of heel flap) using a second DPN. I always pick up the first loop of the stitch as I feel that it gives a neater edge; some people like to pick up the second loop or both loops and that’s fine – whichever you prefer!
Pick up the stitch by putting the needle into the stitch, wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it through the stitch to make a new stitch. Remember that if you made the heel flap bigger, you will need to pick up more stitches. You should find this easy to do because you will have more slip stitches to knit into. As a guide, I usually pick up about 19 stitches, but you may have more or less stitches than this depending on your yarn and needles.
Tip: if you think you are going to have a big gap between the end of your picked-up stitches and the first of the stitches held on your circular needle, pick up an extra one or two stitches as required in the gap.Don’t worry about the extra stitches as you will just decrease them as you go along.
Once you have picked up the stitches, knit across the top of the foot using DPNs three and four which were holding the stitches then pick up and knit 19 stitches (or more or less if required) up the other side of the heel flap and then knit across the top of the heel so that your yarn is in the right place to start round 1 of the gusset. Your sock will look like this and you will have the following number of stitches on your needles:
Needle 1 – 19 stitches (or more or less depending on how many you picked up)
Needle 2 – 30 stitches
Needle 3 – 19 stitches (or more or less depending on how many you picked up)
Needle 4 – 18 stitches
Note: if you are working on 4 needles, you will need to split your picked up stitches and top of the foot stitches across 3 needles, so use stitch markers to show where your decreases should go.
Round 1: (Needle 1) K to 3 sts before the end of the needle, K2tog, K1. (Needle 2) knit across all stitches. (Needle 3) K1, SSK, knit to end of needle. (Needle 4) knit across all stitches.
Round 2: Starting with needle 1, knit across all stitches on all needles, finishing on needle 4 ready to start round 1 again.
Repeat these two rounds to shape the gusset. Make sure that you are always decreasing on the heel side of your sock and not across the top of the foot stitches.
To make the K2tog stitch, simply knit into the first two stitches on your left hand needle at the same time.
You are using the same SSK stitch that you used to create the heel, so if you need a reminder of how to make the stitch, go back to the heel turn section above.
Continue in this way, decreasing by two stitches at the gusset (one on each side) on every other row until there are 60 stitches (or whatever number you cast on) on the needle. Now is a good time to try on your sock again to check whether you need your sock foot to be wider than the number of stitches you cast on. You can see how the gusset is formed in this picture.
This is what your heel flap and gusset will look like once they are completed.
If you are working on 4 needles, you will need to have all of your stitches distributed across 3 needles which might feel a little bulky until you start decreasing them. After completing the heel turn, pick up 19 stitches with Needle 1, knit across 30 stitches for the top of the foot with Needle 2, pick up 19 stitches with Needle 3 plus 9 stitches from the heel. Knit the next 9 stitches plus the 19 picked up stitches originally held on Needle 1 and this will become your new Needle 1 – don’t forget that you will need to decrease (K2tog) 3 stitches before the end of Needle 1 on this round (round 1 of the gusset decrease). Continue to work rounds 1 and 2 of the gusset as above until you have 60 stitches on your needles.
And that’s it for this week! There’s been a lot to get through and you might need to read it more than once before you start to make sure that you’re comfortable with it all. Just take your time and it will all fit together. Jump down to the bottom of the page to see what we’ll be up to next week!
Heel Flap – large circular needle (magic loop)
This is what your sock should look like at the moment. You’ve cast on, worked your rows of rib and knitted the leg of your sock to the length you want it to be.
Making sure that you have the front of your knitting facing you so that you have completed your last round, it’s time to create the heel flap. We’re going to go back and forth as you would for straight knitting, but the nice thing about the long circular is that you can just leave the rest of the stitches on your circular needle as there is plenty of room for you to work and hold your stitches securely.
You are going to create the heel flap from half the number of stitches that you cast on, so if you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches, you need to remember to adjust the number of stitches when you start the heel flap.
Continuing in the direction you have been knitting:
Row 1: K2, *Slip 1, K1* until you have 30 stitches on your needle, ending with K1, turn.
(Repeat instruction inside * and slip the stitch by sliding it from one needle to the other without knitting it.)
The reason that this row is different is because you’re knitting the first stitch rather than slipping it as you will for the rest of the heel flap rows. This helps to stop a hole forming where your gusset will be created later.
Row 2: Slip 1, P to end, turn.
Row 3: *Slip 1, K1* to end, turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until heel measures approximately 2 inches, finishing on row 3 (approx 35 rows for me – although remember this might be different if you’re using different sized needles) . If you want to make the heel flap longer, continuing knitting rows 2 and 3 until you reach your desired length.
This is what your heel flap will look like on the outside …
and on the inside.
The heel stitch that you have used creates a reinforced, cushioned heel, which is more comfortable and durable than plain
knitting.
Turning the heel
This is the part of the sock that many people find off-putting, but we’re going to take it slowly and you’ll see that it’s quite easy. I like this bit of the sock construction because this is where your sock starts to look like a sock. There are pictures of how to do the SSK and P2tog decrease stitches below.
You might like to read through the whole of this section before starting to make sure that you are quite happy with how the heel turn works.
We’re still working on the circular needle with the rest of the stitches held on the cable. Create the heel as follows:
Row 1: Slip 1, P16, P2tog, P1, turn.
This is your set-up row to get you into the middle of your heel. After this first row, you will still have stitches left on your needle that you haven’t used. These are the stitches that you are going to decrease on every alternate following row to pull your heel into a V shape.
Row 2: Slip 1, K5, SSK, K1, turn.
Row 3: Slip 1, P6, P2tog, P1, turn.
Row 4: Slip 1, K7, SSK, K1, turn.
Continue in this way, adding one stitch between slip stitch and SSK or P2tog on each row (ie, P8, K9, P10 etc) until all of the heel stitches are used and you won’t need to turn after your last row. You should find that you finish on an SSK stitch and have 18 stitches left on your needle.
If you have cast on more or less than 60 stitches then your heel flap will need to be made larger or smaller.It’s very easy to do this. All you need to do is to alter the number of purl stitches in the first row of the heel (marked in bold above), increasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches extra that you cast on, or decreasing by 1 stitch for each block of 4 stitches less than 60 stitches. For example, if you cast on 64 stitches, your first row would be Slip 1, P17, P2tog, P1, turn. You can work the rest of the heel as from Row 2 above without changing anything else. Note that you will have more or less than 18 stitches left on your needle when you have worked all the decreases if you make the sock bigger or smaller.
You will notice as you start your heel turn that there’s a gap between the end of your knit or purl stitches in the middle of your heel and the remaining stitches to be worked. This will help you to see where you’re up to. You can see that you are always knitting the stitches in the middle of the heel flap whilst the remainder stay safely on your needles until they are required.
The heel rows require you to use P2tog and SSK stitches. These are simply decrease stitches worked on either the purl side or the knit side of your work.
To create P2tog, put the right hand needle purlwise into the first two stitches on the left hand needle and purl them
together.
To create SSK, put the right hand needle knitwise into the first stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Put the right hand needle purlwise into the second stitch on the left hand needle and slip it onto the right hand needle.
Slip both stitches back onto the left hand needle, then knit into the back of the stitches. This gives a neat decrease on the outside of your heel. When you come to use this stitch for the gusset decreases, you can knit into the back of the stitch on the knit rounds if you choose to, as this will help to keep the decreases straighter.
This is what you’ll see on the outside of your sock. This is the P2tog side …
and this is the SSK side. It gives a nice neat finish with no gappy holes.
Shaping the gusset
Having finished the heel turn, your sock should look like the pictures above. You can see how it’s taking on a sock shape now, and the next job is to create the gusset, which fills in the gap between the heel flap and the foot part of the sock.
We do this by first picking up stitches from the heel flap.This is quite easily done, even if picking up stitches isn’t your favourite thing to do.Do you remember that you slipped the first stitch of the heel flap on every row? That slip stitch is what’s going to help you pick up the stitches because it creates a slightly bigger loop for you to knit into. You can see in the picture the stitch is indicated by the wool needle.
Hold your sock so that the outside of the heel flap faces you. You should be at the left hand side of your heel ready to pick up your stitches but if you aren’t, simply knit across the heel stitches to bring you to the right place. You are going to pick up and knit every slipped stitch (one stitch per two rows of heel flap). I always pick up the first loop of the stitch as I feel that it gives a neater edge; some people like to pick up the second loop or both loops and that’s fine – whichever you prefer!
Pick the stitch up by putting the needle into the stitch, wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling it through the stitch to make a new stitch. Remember that if you made the heel flap bigger, you will need to pick up more stitches. You should find this easy to do because you will have more slip stitches to knit into. As a guide, I usually pick up about 19 stitches, but you may have more or less than this depending on your yarn and needles.
Tip: if you think you are going to have a big gap between the end of your picked-up stitches and the first of the stitches held on your circular needle, pick up an extra one or two stitches as required in the gap. Don’t worry about the extra stitches as you will just decrease them as you go along.
Once you have picked up the stitches, place a marker over the end of your right hand needle. Knit across the top of the foot using your circular needle, place marker (I usually make sure that my markers are both different – it’s quicker to tell which side of the sock you’re working on later), then pick up and knit 19 stitches (or more or less if required) up the other side of the heel. Knit across the heel stitches until you are back at the start of your first set of picked-up stitches and then shape gusset as below.
Round 1: K to 3 sts before the first marker, K2tog, K1, slip marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, K1, SSK, K to marker.
Round 2: Slip marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, knit to 3 sts before marker.
Round 3: K2tog, K1, slip marker, knit to next marker, slip marker, K1, SSK, K to marker.
Repeat rounds 2 and 3 to shape the gusset. Make sure that you are always decreasing on the heel side of your sock and not across the top of the foot stitches.
To make the K2tog stitch, simply knit into the first two stitches on your left hand needle at the same time.
You are using the same SSK stitch that you used to create the heel, so if you need a reminder of how to make the stitch, you can look back at the heel section above.
Continue in this way, decreasing by two stitches at the gusset on every other row until there are 60 stitches (or whatever number you cast on) on the needle. Now is a good time to try your sock on again to check whether you need your sock foot to be wider than the number of stitches you cast on.
You can see how the gusset is formed in this picture.
This is what your heel flap and gusset will look like once they are completed.
And that’s it for this week! There’s been a lot to get through and you might need to read it more than once before you start to make sure that you’re comfortable with it all. Just take your time and it will all fit together.
So there you go – your sock should be looking more like a sock now! Time to congratulate yourself on a job well done! 🙂
Next week, we’re going to finish the foot of the sock, decrease the toes and graft them using Kitchener stitch, which isn’t nearly as difficult as some people believe. If you really can’t wait until next week and have to keep going with your sock, then your foot section needs to finish 5cm before your toes.
As always, please do ask questions if you’re stuck, either here on the blog or through the Facebook or Ravelry groups. No question is a daft question as we all had to start somewhere, and don’t worry if you feel you’re not keeping up – there’s no time limit, it’s not a race or a competition and what’s important is that you end up with a pair of socks, so go at your own pace.
If you need a reminder of any of the earlier tutorials, then you can find them all here. Happy knitting everyone, see you next week for the final tutorial!
These Sockalong tutorials are free and will always remain so, but if you have enjoyed using them and would like to buy me a brew, it will be much appreciated! You can find the donation button on the sidebar on the left hand side. Thank you! xx
Basic 4ply Socks pattern copyright © 2014 Winwick Mum All rights reserved.
Sockalong tutorials copyright © 2015 Winwick Mum All rights reserved.
More Sockalong posts:
Sockalong – tension squares, casting on and stitch calculations
Sockalong – accessories and matching yarn
Sockalong – Week 1 – Cast on, cuff and leg
Sockalong – Week 3 – Foot, toe and grafting the toes
Sockalong Basic 4ply Socks pattern
Facebook Sockalong group for help, advice and encouragement
Hello, Winwick Mum!
I’ve completed the heel flap on my first sock, and am ready to start the heel turn. I’ve read through the instructions, and it makes sense (that’s encouraging! 🙂
I do have one question, though. In your instructions for how to do the SSK decrease, you say to slip the first stitch knitwise and to slip the second stitch purlwise. I am wondering about this, as all the different instructions I’ve seen for SSK always say to slip both of the stitches knitwise. What would be the effect of slipping the first one knitwise and the second one purlwise, as compared to slipping both of them knitwise?
I’m asking because I’m a combination knitter. If you’re not familiar with this, it means we make our knit stitches in the Western-style, but our purls are made Eastern-style (we wrap the yarn in the opposite direction when purling), which means our stitches are then mounted with the back leg leading (what some people would call “twisted”). Knitting the next row is then done tbl (this “untwists” the stitch). So when a combination knitter comes to an SSK in a pattern after a purl row, the stitches are already mounted as if they had been slipped knitwise. This means we don’t need to slip those 2 stitches at all. All we have to do is a K2tog tbl.
That’s why I’m wondering about the difference in the way you do the SSK, and how its effect might be different from the usual instructions to slip both the first and the second stitches knitwise. Because if there is a significant difference in the resulting appearance, I’ll need to make an adjustment in how I normally do the SSK.
Thank you!
Hi Jaya! Wow, you’re doing really well! The SSK is written as it is because when I first learnt how to do it, I was told that slipping the stitches knitwise and purlwise meant that the decrease would sit flatter on your knitting so that’s how I write it. It’s absolutely not compulsory to do it this way – lots of people prefer to slip both stitches knitwise and other people prefer to slip one, knit one and pass the slip stitch over. Work the decrease however it fits for the way that your stitches are mounted and see if you like the way the decrease lies. There are other decrease options here too, in case you need another one: https://yarnsub.com/articles/techniques/k2togl/ Let me know how you get on! 🙂 xx
Thanks for your speedy reply, Christine, and for the explanation and the link! Very interesting about the change in how you slip the second stitch being a help to getting the decrease to sit flatter. I love learning new things about knitting technique, and understanding how and why they produce the results they do. As a combination knitter, it’s sometimes essential, so that I can adapt the technique for the way I knit, and still get the same result. (Ravelry has a forum for combination knitters which I found especially helpful when I was a beginner)
I really appreciate all the work you did to create these tutorials, and your willingness to keep helping those of us who are just discovering your sock pattern now! Thank you!
You’re very welcome! I love that there’s always something new to learn as well, there’s no end to the knowledge you can pick up, even if you’ve been knitting for years! 🙂 xx
Just finished turning the heel – and it worked!!! I was half holding my breath the whole time, not knowing if I’d come to the end and find out I’d done it all wrong, but I have 18 stitches left on the needle, the heel “turned”, and it looks like your photo. That was like a little bit of knitting magic. This is so much fun, and so satisfying! 🙂
We’ll see how the picking up stitches goes. I don’t have a lot of experience with that, and don’t always manage to make it look nice. I’m going to read your instructions very carefully!
Oh well done, it sounds like you’ve found the heel magic! Isn’t it great? You feel like a knitting superstar, don’t you? 🙂 Just take your time with picking up the stitches and I’m sure you’ll be fine 🙂 xx
Hello, Winwick Mum!
I have finished picking up the stitches, and am ready to start the gusset shaping. Two questions:
1) The instructions on this web page and those on the printed-out pattern seem to be different. I’m working with 5 dpns, and my stitches are distributed exactly as you pictured above. The instructions on this page for dpns give 2 rounds that you just keep repeating until you are back to your original # of CO sts (60, in my case). This all makes sense to me. But the printed out pattern confuses me – it shows 3 rounds for shaping the gusset, of which you then keep repeating rounds 2 and 3 until you’re back to your original stitch count. I don’t understand the difference in the pattern, and which instruction I should follow. I’m sure there’s something I’m not getting here, but I don’t know what it is!
2) If I’m on 5 dpns, where is the start of my round? Right now, after picking up stitches and having knitted across the heel, the beginning of my round is where the heel joins the side of the heel flap where I first picked up stitches, but reading the instructions, it seems that at some point, I’m supposed to consider a different place the beginning of the round. I’m confused about this, too!
Thank you!
Hi Jaya! The gusset instructions are actually the same on the tutorial page and the printed pattern, I’ve just written them in a different way for the tutorial specifically using DPNs. You are still working one decrease round followed by one knit round whichever version of the pattern you look at; the reason it’s written slightly differently on the paper pattern is to show the set up of the gusset round but you still work one decrease round and one knit round to complete the gusset.
When you start the gusset, the beginning of the round is at the point where your top of the foot stitches meet your gusset stitches, so that would be after the K2tog, K1 stitches. This will mean that you can follow the line of your decreases up the foot to where you will start your toe decreases later.
Hope that helps! Christine 🙂 xx
Yes, that helps! Thank you!
Hello Winwick Mum! I’m a little bit stuck and hope you can help me. First of all, it’s great you’ve got pictures because they have been so helpful along with the written instructions, but i’m up to the bit where i have to pick up the stitches after doing the heel flap. I’m using a second DPN, i’m picking them up from where you have a sewing needle illustrating in your picture, but can’t for the life of me get a stitch going. Is there a knack to how to wrap the wool around the needle to get it to come through the slipped stitch loops? I’m just trying to pull the needle through with the wool around it, and the wool stays behind whilst the needle comes through. It is possible that i’m just misunderstanding the instructions.
Hello! Well done on getting as far as the gusset – it’s great when your sock starts to look like a sock at that point! Have a look at this video at 18.53 minutes – I’m picking up the stitches and hopefully you can see what I’m doing. Don’t worry about the video tutorial – you just need to see how to pick up the stitches. Try this one as well and see if it helps 🙂 xx
Thank you, Mum! This is probably a really silly follow up question but am I to cut the wool, obviously leaving enough for the 19 picked up stitches? It doesn’t mention it in the pattern but I can’t see any other way of working with the wool when it’s still attached to the ball.
No, you don’t need to cut anything, you can just keep knitting as it all follows on. I think you’ll see more easily when you get going 🙂 xx
hi Christine. I’ve actually started my socks after 2 years of umming and arring! After 3 rip backs I’ve finished the cuff. I now need to know how I measure the length I need before starting the heel. Is there a chart somewhere? I can’t find it. Many thanks
I usually work the leg of my socks for 6″ before the heel flap but that’s personal preference – you can make the leg of your socks as long as you like 🙂 xx
trying to knit your buddy baby sock but can’t work out how to set the turn down top. whichever way I have the first 14 rows, the next bit is the same way round
Hi Jane, once you’ve knitted the cuff, you need to push it inside your needles and then re-join your new yarn on the outside, as if the working stitches were cast on stitches and then knit the rest of the sock. It will grow away from the cuff which will look as if it’s inside out until you turn it over when you’ve finished. I hope that helps! 🙂 xx
After heel is completed how many inches to knit not cm do I knit before toe? Thanks
Mary
Hello Mary, it will depend on the size of your sock how many inches you need to knit – it will be different for every size. The best thing to do is to have a look at a foot size chart from a shoe store website (this chart is a good one as it gives inches as well as cm) and then remember that you’ll need to start your decreases about 2″ from the end of the longest toe. Hope that helps! 🙂 xx
Hi Winwick Mum! Hoping you can help as I’m a little stuck on the gusset. I’m using the magic loop method, and have picked up my stitches down the left side on a DPN but a little confused as to what needle I use to knit along the top of the sock!
Do I use a 2nd DPN? Do I carry on using the needle the needle holding my heel turn?
Hoping this makes sense!! Xx
Hi Beth, if you scroll down towards the bottom of this tutorial there are photos of how I pick up the gusset stitches on a long circular needle – you don’t need to use DPNs at all with this method 🙂 xx
I didn’t see this answered in any of the comments and I’m feeling really stupid right about now. I wanted to print this off so I could keep it in my lap while I’m trying to follow it, but I can’t figure out how to print it.
Hi, it’s not possible to print the online instructions unless you do a print-screen, but you can get a full copy of the tutorials in the book “Super Socks” – rather than PDFs, I wanted to created a proper book for people to be able to refer to time and again. You can see the book here.
I added a shield using duplicate stitch on the upper portion of the sock using the first stitch of a row as the centre back. Now do I need to adjust where I start the heel flap? If I start it per your instructions, won’t it put my shield off centre?
Yes, you’ll need to align your heel flap with the shield, so you’ll need to count back from the centre of the shield to the right hand edge to see where your heel flap needs to start. It’s absolutely fine to do that – you can start your heel flap from wherever you like! 🙂 xx
Hi Christine. Thank you for your instructions. I have managed to make 2 pairs now. But now I have a question and hope you can help me.
I have cast on 72st for the first time and am confused at the heel flap. To start with, instead of p16, I did p19. I just followed the row 2&3 instructions.
The problem is that I seem to end with p2 together without being able to do p at the end of the row. At the same time, I have a stitch on the left-hand side of my needle (I am right handed) that has not been used. Is it ok to finish shaping here and just another knit row to move to the left-hand side?
Another issue is that I have 21 stitches on the needle. So when it comes to reducing stithces back to 72st, it won’t be. What is the best solution? Please advise.
Hi Mari, it sounds like you’re doing it just right! You need to do one more decrease row to use up that last stitch and bring your working yarn to the left hand side. Depending on how many stitches are in your heel flap, sometimes you don’t need the last K1 or P1 stitch and that will be the size that you’re working on. You should finish on an even number of stitches so once you’ve decreased that last stitch on the left, you’ll have 20sts on your needle and you’ll be good to go 🙂 Don’t worry if you end up picking up an odd number on your heel flap (often, I’ll pick up 19 on one side but only 18 on the other) as you will just keep decreasing at the gusset until you get the number that you started with. Hope that helps! 🙂 xx
Truly one of the best tutorials, THANK YOU!!!! <33
Thank you! I’m really glad it helped you! 🙂 xx