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| Eye of Partridge Stitch on a heel flap |
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| Plain-Jane slip-stitch heel |
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One of the things I love about sock knitting is there there are so many knitting techniques used in the process. And there are lots of variations for each technique, too!
The heel flap is one of the parts of a knitted sock that has A LOT of variations. Short-row heel, heel flap, slip-stitch, stockinette, or garter stitch. Sky's the limit. Personally, the heel flap isn't my favorite way to knit a sock. I actually prefer the short-row heel for looks, but you can't argue with the durability of the heel flap.
I'm going to talk about a couple of heel flap knitting techniques here, which designer and video star Donna Druchunas (her video is the PieceWork workshop Knitting Lithuanian Socks) calls "Heel Stitches."
When I want to work a sock with a heel flap, I make the flap more attractive by knitting the Eye of Partridge stitch. I learned this stitch at Sock Summit, and I've used it for heel flaps (and sometimes for toes!) almost exclusively whenever I knit a heel flap sock.
Here are the directions:
Eye of Partridge Stitch (version for heels)
Row 1: (Right side) * Sl1, K1*, repeat across, ending with K1.
Row 2 and all even rows: Sl1, purl across row.
Row 3: Sl2, * K1, Sl1,* repeat across row ending with K2.
Row 4: Repeat Row 2.
This pretty stitch offsets the slipped stitch every other row, resulting a
diamond pattern.
Here are the directions for the tried-and-true Slip-Stitch Heel:
Row 1: (wrong side) Slip the first stitch purlwise with the yarn in
front, purl the rest of the stitches.
Row 2: *Slip the first stitch purlwise with the yarn in back, knit the
next stitch. Repeat from * across.
Repeat these two rows until your heel flap is the desired length, ending
on the knit side.
Both of these photos are still shots taken from Knitting Lithuanian Socks. Donna Druchunas is such an excellent teacher, and the Lithuanian knitting history she's researched for this workshop is fascinating.
Get your copy of Knitting Lithuanian Socks today. You'll learn several more methods of knitting and turning heels, as well as get three beautiful sock patterns that Donna designed in the Lithuanian style.
If you can't wait, you can download the workshop and get started right away!
Cheers,
P.S. What's your favorite way to knit a heel? Leave a comment and let us know!