Better-fitting* Toe-up Heel Flap Tutorial
I have a narrow heel and a relatively high instep. This means that a short row heel made with half the total stitches doesn’t fit me. It wobbles around and feels strange. Plus I don’t like the extra straining bits around the front of my ankle. I love the comfort and fit of the cute little cup that a traditional heel flap and turn gives me. So the little * there in the title means that it fits ME better… but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will fit YOU better. But give it a try and tell me what you think.
Step 1: Basics & Calculations
We will assume for this example that you are knitting a 64 stitch sock. That means that were you doing a traditional heel flap and turn, you would use 32 stitches for the instep (the front of the sock) and 32 sts for the heel. Generally you would start with these 32 sts and end up with about 22 sts after you turned the heel, then pick up stitches along the heel flap and knit the gusset. But let’s stick with the relevant numbers, 32 sts for instep and heel each and 22 sts for bottom of cup created after heel turn (this part sits RIGHT under your heel).If you want to get REALLY technical, you can figure out how many stitches you normally pick up from the heel flap (n) and calculate thus:
n/(Rows per inch/2)=distance BEFORE heel you want to start gusset increases
For example, for a 64 stitch sock, I would have picked up 13 sts, and my RPI gauge is 12. So 13/6 (which is 12/2)= 2.16″ so I would want to start my gusset increases roughly 2″ before where I want my heel to sit. The dividing row gauge by 2 is because I’m increasing the gusset only every other row, therefore there are half as many increase rows as total rows in an inch of knitting.
Step 2: The Gusset (partially covered in step 1)
Remember that number 22? Yes. We will be working the short rows over 22 sts total. Since I’m working the heel on 2 needles with a third for the working needle (I find there’s less stress on the sts if I split them in half), I will work to the bottom of the foot and then k10 and wrap & turn (w&t) (11 total sts on this side) and then work back purling those 10 sts and then p10 from the other side and w&t. Then continue on wrapping the stitch just before the previously wrapped stitch so that you end up with a shape like this
As for me, I am at an impasse on this celtic sock until I can get some serious charting and swatching done, but I’ve started Icarus again, and I’m loving it just as much as the first time I knit it! I’m still amazed that this shawl came off of my needles and out of my brain! I also finally blocked the cashmere scarf and wrap, but I can’t bring myself to send it off until I’ve shown the SnB grrls.
M
You MUST go see Lucinda’s finished Hidcote Garden shawl! It’s just beautiful!
And don’t miss Donna’s finished Icarus! She knit it in Misti Alpaca, which is what I originally proposed it to be knit with. It’s wonderful Donna!
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Comments
I’m going to read this through properly (ie: use it to knit with) when I do my second Wyvern sock from the lovely Katydid yarn I won from Intertwinement.com – the first has one tight row across my instep, while fitting perfectly elsewher, and i think I have a similar shaped foot to you.
So thanks.
Hope you’ve received the email about shawl patterns?
Posted by: Ginny | November 7th, 2006 05:10
Aha! I think you’ve sorted my stupidity (at least as regards socks) with one simple sentence: knit ALL the wrapped stitches on one row. I’d unwrapped as for the standard short-row heel. And your timing is absolutely perfect: I’m within striking distance of the gusset increases on my current socks (I didn’t know it was possible to calculate the right distance for the increases…) and I posted a parcel to you this morning. Thank you!
Posted by: sarah | November 7th, 2006 05:49
One quick question on joining the heel flap to the gusset: my understanding is that I would slip the first stitch on the flap, knit to end of flap, knit 2tog (last stitch on heelflap plus a gusset stitch), turn, slip one stitch, purl to end, purl 2tog, etc. Is that right-ish?
Posted by: sarah | November 7th, 2006 06:12
May I ask what may be a silly question? (I’ll continue and if I don’t have your persmission, well delete) LOL I am new to the blog world. The more I read the more I hear about swaps KAL. I participated in Sockterberfest, but I found it accidentally through another blog. Is there a place to look for these things to join? I am really interested in meeting more people and participating in a swap or kal. Thanks for your patience with the newbie!
Posted by: KaKi | November 7th, 2006 07:32
Mim, Thank you soooo much for this tutorial. I tripped over it while checking your blog and it is just the information I needed at this very moment. I have the high arch/narrow heel foot, and as much as I love to look at short-row heels, they don’t love my foot. Best I did was to use EZs advice to use much more than 1/2 the stitches, but still not as good as the flap for my foot. You have now prodded me into doing some toe ups. I keep running out of yarn in my top-downs, not funny.
Posted by: Angeluna | January 31st, 2007 23:59
I have “Sensational Socks” and it details a toe up heel flap, but it looks strange in the book (could be the colours). Is your’s the same? I have a hard time reading instructions without doing it at the same time :)
Posted by: TracyKM | February 2nd, 2007 12:45
I just tried your heel technique, and though I’ve only been able to try it on with needles poking out around my ankle, I think I really like it! I especially like that it doesn’t involving picking up stitches like other toe-up heel flaps I’ve tried. Thanks for sharing this!
Posted by: teresa | February 22nd, 2007 17:25
Sorry to be a bother, but I’m just not getting the math. How do you know you usually end up with 22st after the short rows? It’s been awhile since I’ve done one top down.
Here’s what I do know. Row gauge is 11.75rows/inch, I like a heel flap 2 1/4″ deep=26 rows=13 sts to pick up. I have 60sts=30sts for flap. Should I just follow your example, even though I have 4 fewer sts? The rest is close enough…
Posted by: TracyKM | March 22nd, 2007 14:54
I feel like the dumbest knitter right now. I’ve muddled through, and have done the short rows over 22 sts, and now am making the flap and joining it to the gusset sts. I knit across the 21sts, knit the last st with the first one from the gusset. After a few rows, I realize that my heel flap is only 22 sts wide, not 32 sts wide, like normal. I know you say to decrease down to 32sts, but I’m just not getting this all together. I had increased 13st (each side, as I calculated that my heel flap would be 26 rows) when making the gussets. I now have 41 st on the bottom of the sock total. Help? I’m going to look at that sock pattern on knitty I see further down in your tutorials.
Posted by: TracyKM | April 18th, 2007 12:13
I love the look of your heel, and I love to make toe up socks for my husband (who adores them!) However, his arch is so high, that Im always ‘budging-it’ and making changes for fit as-I-go. I am trying to figure the number of gusset stitches for his high arch. I know that the circumference measure where my gussets should end is 11.5″ (inches), wich leaves about 2/3″ or 3/4″ for the actual heel turn. Next, I usually like the flap to be 30 sts wide, so that I end with the correct 60st total (from his 8″ circumference foot with a 10% reduction for snugness, as 9st/inch, 12RPI) So how does this math sound to you: 11.5*0.9=inches with 10% reduction=10.35″[round up], 10.5*9=stitch count circumference=94.5 [round down], (94st-60st)/2=total numberof gusset sts to creat on either side of heel= 17st gusset=n
Therefore, then using your aforementioned formulea:
17/(12/2)= 2.83″ before heel turn, which if rounded is about 3.25″ out of the total foot length. If I have 17 gusset stitches, then I will have 34 rows to the heel flap (wich has always been a little short for him anyway, at 30 rws)
Does this sound correct to you? I am working on another pair, and I can’t seem to find anywhere with a ’sock calculator’ that works for me/him, just hope to contribute something useful to the community. Cheers! Mrs. S.
Posted by: Mrs.Sharpe | July 22nd, 2008 07:26
I wanted to print the heel instructions but I didn’t know how to do it without getting all of the comments. Is there a solution?
Posted by: Joan | July 14th, 2010 14:59
Joan, perhaps copy and paste the bits you want? The images should come along.
Miriam
Posted by: Mim | July 14th, 2010 19:07