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Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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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 a craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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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 (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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handsoccupied

Craft book author, designer & creator specializing in yarn crafts like knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admitte Nobody panic. This is just the back of an (admittedly insane) intarsia project. One day, this will be a seamed sweater, but today is not that day. 🧶 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn’s Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica & Dragon’s Breath 
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Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for e Here’s how to work a Norwegian purl stitch for easier continental style knitting. With this purling method, the working yarn says tensioned (held) at the back of your knitting at all times. For many knitters, always holding the yarn at the back helps with tension issues, as well as feeling a little more comfortable. 
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Have you ever encountered this style of purling before? If you’ve tried it, have you found it helps with your purl tension and knitting speed? I’m curious.
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For a written tutorial, visit handsoccupied-dot-com. For video, you guessed it, You2be. Both of these platforms allow for longer, more in-depth versions of this tutorial, including full transcripts, alt text & the ability to pause, slow down or speed up at will. (Like if you really want to learn this, I recommend using a platform that doesn’t keep your hands occupied. Thinking of putting this in all my captions these days tbh - shout out to you if you made it this far. 🙌🏻😂)
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Have you ever tried this style of purl? . All thi Have you ever tried this style of purl? 
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All this recent talk about throwing vs. continental style knitting made it clear many people struggle with purling in continental knitting. Turns out that Norway may have the answer! In Norwegian purling, the working yarn stays tensioned at the back at all times, helping with speed and tension. 🤯
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Head to the bl0g (🔗 in bi0) for a more in-depth look at how to work a Norwegian purl stitch, including a photo tutorial with animated GIF & a video tutorial. Wrapping your mind around how to work a stitch you’re familiar with in a totally new way can be confusing, so I tried to give a few options for clarity. 🤙🏻 Video is also on You2be. 
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#handsoccupied #norwegianpurl #norwegianknitting #norwegianpurling #continentalknitting #howtoknit #learntoknit #knitterofinstagram #knitters
It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or It’s been a hot second since I showed my face or reintroduced myself, so here goes! I’m Heidi Gustad, a craft book author, pattern designer, and tutorial creator who specializes in yarn crafts. Lately, I’ve been focused on releasing quality knitting videos and related blog posts to help teach things like the difference between provisional cast ons and how to fix common knitting mistakes. Next week I’m shooting requested crochet and latch hook videos, so h👀kers, your time is coming! And if you ever have tutorial requests, please let me know. ☺️
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TLDR: I’m Heidi. I design & teach yarn crafts. You can find tutorials on my blog (est. 2010) & You2be. I also have several knitting & crochet patterns + a book about latch hook available. / All of these can be found on my website, the 🔗 is where you’d think. 
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Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Contine Are you a picker or a thrower? Do you knit Continental or English Style? Here’s a quick overview of the differences between the two most common knitting styles, including a side by side comparison. (A good one to save for future reference. 👍🏻) 
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There’s more on the differences between picking and throwing in my latest blog post & You 2ube video - the l1nk is where you’d think!
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