Toe-Up Socks with a Faux Heel Flap For High Insteps

This chapter is part of our Magic Loop Socks, Toe-Up Socks Video Class. Click here to learn more.

Toe-Up Socks with a Faux Heel Flap For High Insteps

Wait - heel flaps are BACK?

I thought we got rid of heel flaps when the world discovered the no-holes Fleegle heel!

Nope - turns out we just took a breather while a newer, better heel flap was in the works.

It's not that I don't love the Fleegle heel, but my lovely readers and I kept bumping into a few problems with it.

Three reasons why the (beloved) Fleegle heel is not necessarily the best and only way to turn a heel:

1) You can't adjust the heel for a high instep.

2) You can't do the heel in a different color if you want two-tone socks.

3) You can't add fun heel-flap patterns like the eye-of-the-partridge heel.

But a traditional top-down heel flap isn't perfect either, because...

1) You have to knit the sock top-down. Ugh.

2) It's hard to know when to start the heel flap.

3) You have to pick up stitches.

Isn't there some way to turn a heel on a toe-up sock that solves all of these problems?

Well, it was mighty hard to find good toe-up heel-flap sock patterns on the web, so, with the help of Miriam Felton's tutorial, I created a basic pattern that we all can use.

Finally: A Toe-Up Sock With The Perfect Heel Flap

I'm not afraid to call this heel flap perfect! It really does solve all the problems listed above, and I teach you how to do it on today's video.

The beauty of this heel flap is that you can add a pattern to the heel, even make it in a different color if you want, and never have to pick up stitches or guess when you should start.

You can easily adjust it for a high instep (or a really high instep) and never have socks that are too tight around the ankle.

There are no seams, no holes, and it's really fast. So fast, in fact, that it only takes a 12-minute video to do the entire thing, and that's with me explaining each step carefully.

Practice All Your Superstar Skills On This One Heel Flap

You know I never like to pass up an opportunity to challenge you, dear reader, to use all your skills.

Another reason to love this toe-up heel-turn technique is that's it's basically a compact little exercise for practicing many of the skills you've learned while following this blog.

In fact, while making the video I started to sound like a commercial for some sort of KnitFreedom "app store" - there's a video for that! There's a video for that, too!

Any of these sound familiar?

• Knitting fast
• Recognizing when it's time to increase
• Counting your stitches fast
• Wrapping and turning
• Picking up and knitting wraps on the purl side
• Purling backwards
• Reading your work

These are the skills and tricks that you'll use, time and time again, on complex projects, and we are going to practice all of these in the video. All in 12 minutes.

When To Start the Increases For Your Faux Heel Flap Gusset

Your faux heel flap sock pattern will specify when you should start increasing for the heel of your sock. You will try the sock on and then measure the distance to the sock from the BACK OF THE HEEL.

Measuring hint: Try the sock on and pull it on as snug as you like your socks to fit. Flex your ankle. Measure from the back of your heel to the needles.

Video: How to Knit the Faux Heel Flap Heel