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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap

April 24, 2014 3 Comments

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

How’s it going, knit-alongers? Hopefully you’ve all survived swatching, casting on, and knitting your ankles last week. If you’re still working on the ankle, no worries! Everyone is welcome to knit at their own pace and ask questions as you work through each phase of your socks. :) Just a reminder that there’s a Hands Occupied Knit Along Ravelry Group, and you can check out other knitters’ progress or share yours on Twitter, Instagram, etc. with #handsoccupiedkal.

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Today we’re going to be adding a heel flap to our socks, which is super duper easy! It’s the one part of knitting a sock done flat instead of in the round.  This means you’ll be knitting back and forth for a few inches, turning your work just like you’re making a scarf or blanket.

Working the heel flap

Your ribbed (knitted k1, p1 in the round for 7 or so inches) sock ankle should look something like this:

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Dividing the stitches

You should make sure your stitches are divided evenly onto 4 needles. If you cast on 64 stitches like me, that means there needs to be 16 stitches per needle. For the heel flap, you’ll be working with half (in my case 32) of your stitches. The other half will just be chilling for a coupled days until your heel flap is done and you’ve turned your sock ankle (which we’ll be doing day 3 of this knit along).

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Here’s a good video showing how to distribute stitches on DPNs. 

Knitting the flap itself

A lot of people like to straight up put half of their stitches onto a single needle for working the heel flap. Personally, I like to knit a few rows of my heel flap on two needles just till the heel flap starts hanging separately from the tube of the sock ankle. Since we’re working on double pointed needles (DPNs), I feel like it’s just a little easier on your poor tiny baby stitches to keep the extra needle in play for a bit. I know yarn, especially superwash sock yarn stretches and whatever, but it’s just a habit I got into that I really like.

Anyway! :) Row 1 of the heel flap starts with the wrong side (a.k.a. inside, purl side) facing you. Slip 1 stitch purlwise, then purl 1 stitch across, which means you’ll repeat sl 1, p1, sl 1, p1 all the way across the row. You should be working with an even number of stitches, so you’ll end on a p1.

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

At the end of the row, flip your work to the other side (a.k.a. right side, outside, knitting side). For this side you’ll repeat slipping one stitch and knitting one stitch across, but you’ll be slipping as if to purl, despite being on the knit side.

A visual explanation of slipping as if to purl vs. slipping as if to knit.

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Knit Along Day 2: Heel Flap | Hands Occupied

Note: All of the stitches you’re slipping on the knit side were purled on the purl side, and all of the stitches you’re knitting were slipped on the purl side. This staggering of slips and knits/purls creates a really dense and strong weave for your sock heel, which is the most-abused part of your finished sock. You want it to be as strong as it can be!

Knit your heel flap for 2.5 to 3 inches, depending on the size of the foot you’re knitting it for. I shoot for about 2.75 inches for my feet, but I’ve got high arches. If you want to check out a good thread filled with a variety of sock knitters’ insights on measuring the heel flap, I recommend this one. 

The day 2 pattern

Heads up- for all of the pattern sections of my Knit Along posts, I’ll include all of the previous days’ sections of the pattern for reference.

Abbreviations

sl – slip
st – stitch
k – knit
p – purl
CO – cast on
WS – wrong side
RS – right side

CO 64 sts, join into a circle with DPNs and begin working a knit 1, purl 1 rib stitch all the way around. Continue working in k1 p1 until your sock is 7 inches from the cast on edge, or as long as you want the ankle to be on your leg.

The heel
Divide half of your stitches* onto 1 needle (or 2 if you like my method of starting on more to avoid stretching). Leave the other stitches on 1-2 needles, untouched.

row 1. (WS) {sl 1, p1} across
row 2. {sl 1 as if to p, k1} across

*If you’re working with 64 stitches, that means you’ll be working 32 sts.

—

Other posts in this knit along series

KAL announcement / KAL Day 1: Testing Gauge & Casting On / more coming soon!

Tune in next week Monday, April 28 for the next installment of the Knit Along – we’ll be turning our sock heels, which is (nerdily) kind of the coolest part of sock knitting. If you get stuck this week, please don’t hesitate at all to ask questions in the comments, I’m more than happy to help! You can also tag pictures of your in-progress socks with #handsoccupiedkal and join our Hands Occupied Knit Along Ravelry Group if you’re interested. Happy Knitting!

PS: If you want to grab the Knit Along badge for your site too, here’s the embed code.

<a href=”https://www.handsoccupied.com/knitalong”><img src=”https://www.handsoccupied.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/april2014kal.jpg”></a>

Knit along with me! - The first Hands Occupied Knit Along!

Filed Under: Knit Along, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: double pointed needles, dpns, hands occupied knit along, handsoccupiedkal, heel flap, knit along, sock knitting, spring2014kal, top down

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. mary-clare

    July 7, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    Thank you for such clear instructions and photos!

    Reply
  2. Phyllis

    February 20, 2016 at 2:30 pm

    Thank you so much for the clear instructions! Will tune in later for the gusset tutorial.

    Reply
  3. Louise I

    February 25, 2016 at 4:44 am

    Really clear instructions and explanations, so helpful with knitting my first pair of socks!

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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