Knitting Rules! (26 page)

Method 1

Standard, no-screwing-around, straight-up heel.
Work back and forth, always slipping the first stitch of every row, knitting the right-side rows, purling the wrong-side rows. Carry on bravely until the flap is a square.

Method 2

Sturdy heel
. Right-side rows: Slip one, knit one all the way across, ending with a knit. Wrong-side rows: Slip one, purl the rest of the way. Continue until the flap is a square.

Method 3

Eye of partridge heel
. Row 1 (RS): *Slip 1, knit 1; repeat from *to end of row. Row 2: Slip 1, purl to end of row. Row 3: Slip 1, *slip 1, knit 1; repeat from *to last stitch; knit 1. Row 4: Repeat Row 2. Repeat Rows 1–4 until the flap is a square.

Turning the Heel

When you have a flap that is a square, you'll perform the actual turning of the heel. Turning the heel is a mythic
act, one that sock knitters speak of with reverence. Turning the heel is when you, through an incredibly simple but clever series of short rows (see glossary), make the sock change direction and move from leg to foot. I've done a hundred socks and I feel smart every time.

With the right side of the work facing you, begin by counting your stitches — I'm not going to help you with that; it's insulting — and make careful note of your center stitch. With that in mind, you're going to knit to “a few” past the center stitch (see note below), then knit two together, knit one, and turn your work around. Now the wrong side is facing you and you need to count how many stitches were left when you turned around and give it a think. You want the same number left over this time. Slip one, purl until you are three stitches away from that number; purl two together, purl one, and turn your work.

If all has gone well, you'll have a center group of stitches you just worked and an equal number of stitches on either side of that group, with a gap separating the just-worked and not-yet-worked stitches on either side. (Take note of that gap.) If you do, congratulations. You are home free. If not, take a deep breath, figure out if you need to knit more or fewer to make it equal, then eat a bonbon and try again.

From here, all a knitter needs to do to have a brilliant heel is continue back and forth, slipping the first stitch, working to one stitch before the gap, working two stitches together over the gap, then working one stitch, and turning, until all of the heel stitches are used up.

The number of stitches in the middle of the group determines how deep or shallow the heel will be. If you are knitting for someone with a broad heel, add a few more to the middle. On the other side of the coin, if the recipient has narrow (or pointy) heels, make the center group smaller.

A Quick Game of Pickup

Take a deep breath, find yourself some good lighting, and get ready to pick up stitches along the sides of the heel flap. Remember how much I talked about slipping the first stitch of every row when you were doing the flap? Looking down the sides of the flap, you'll see a chain of larger stitches, the result of the slipped stitches. These are your instep stitches waiting to be picked up.

Using your free needle, scoop up all of these stitches and then knit them. As unbelievable as it may sound, this will be the right number of stitches to pick up. Just go get each of those long stitches along the side and try not to look too smug: It makes the other knitters want to smack you. Knit across the regular stitches that are in your way and do the same thing on the other side.

After you have all the flap stitches picked up, knit half of the heel stitches onto the needle with the second set of picked-up stitches. If all has gone well (and what could have gone wrong?), you'll be making a tube again. Number
your needles 1, 2, and 3. On needle 1 there should be half of your heel stitches and the first set of newcomers. On needle 2 are all of your stitches for the top of the foot. On needle 3 are the other new stitches and the other half of the heel. Welcome to the foot. You're going to love it here.

Making it to this point always seems like halfway to me. I suppose that whether or not it's technically halfway depends on how long the leg and foot are, but spiritually I always give myself a little pat on the back at this juncture.

Gussets at the Instep

Remember numbering your needles 1, 2, and 3? If you admire your sock at this stage, which is something I do all through the process, you can see that the stitches for the bottom of the foot are on needles 1 and 3 and the stitches for the top of the foot are on needle 2.

After picking up the flap stitches, you will have way too many stitches. You need to decrease back down to the number you cast on in the first place. I feel bad pointing
this out because you're so clever, but I have to do it. If you decrease down to fewer stitches than you cast on, you'll make a foot that is narrower than normal. If you don't decrease that far and have more stitches than you cast on, the foot will be wider than normal. Take a look at your feet and think it through. Are your feet normal, wide, or narrow?

Since it would be weird-looking to run the decreases along the top and uncomfortable to put them along the bottom where you would walk on them, the decreases in socks run along the sides.

When decreasing the stitches for the gusset, you have to contemplate only the three stitches on each side of the bottom of the sock. There will be three at the end of needle 1, and three at the beginning of needle 3. The decreases are worked on these stitches every other row, like this (see box
page 144
on ssk):

Needle 1
(bottom of the foot): Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.

Needle 2
(top of the foot): Work, doing nothing.

Needle 3
: K1, ssk, knit to the end.

Alternate this round with a plain round of knitting until you are back down to your original number of stitches.

Something is Afoot …

Really, all that remains at this point is more of the monotonous round and round that you did on the leg — and, of course, knowing when to stop. If you can try on the sock, that works best. Quit knitting and start working the toe when the sock fits down to the base of your toes, or 1¼ inches (3 cm) before you want to end the sock.

Make the Toe

Because human feet are not square (at least not usually — if yours are, I'm sorry I mentioned it; my condolences), when you get to the toe you're going to want to taper off. This is where the business about having top-of-foot and bottom-of-foot stitches pays off again. You're going to decrease at the sides of the feet again. Looking at all of your stitches, concern yourself with the six at each side of the foot. These will be: the last three stitches on needle 1, the first and last three stitches on needle 2, and the first three stitches on needle 3.

With this in mind, knit to the three stitches in the corner, knit two together, and knit one. Move to the top of the foot, knit one, ssk, knit to the last three stitches, knit two together, knit one.

Last needle, knit one, ssk, knit to the end of the needle.

Alternate this round of decreases with rounds of plain knitting.

Decrease until you have a toe that either looks right or is about one quarter the total width of the foot.

Cast off and sew together, work a three-needle bind-off, or — and this is really the right way to do it — Kitchener or graft the toe shut.

Kitchener stitch (or grafting, depending on where you live and who taught you) is a way of weaving together two pieces of knitting such that you have an absolutely seamless join. Look in any of your books, ask at the knitting shop, or, if you really want to know how to do it, try this. Stand in the presence of another knitter who you know is serious about sock knitting. Wait until there's a lull in the conversation, then say loudly, “There has to be a better way to finish sock toes.” Someone will teach you instantly.