Afterthought Heel

Toe-Up with Waste Yarn

In this video tutorial, I show step-by-step how to work an afterthought heel using waste yarn on a sock knit using magic loop. The techniques shown in this video can be applied to a sock knit toe-up. The free PDF pattern provided below gives the recipe so that you can customize this heel to the number of stitches your socks have.

Materials
• Rainbow Sock Wool (heel, cuff, and toe yarn) Hobbii
• Silly Socks Yarn (self-striping yarn) Hobbii
• Basix Circular Knitting Needles (US 0 (2 mm) 120 cm) Hobbii
• Tapestry needle

Disclaimer: The supplies used in this video were kindly supplied by Hobbii Yarns

Free Knitting Pattern

Materials & Abbreviations

Waste yarn in the same weight as the sock yarn or lighter; tapestry needle; scissors. This tutorial uses magic loop.

SSK: Slip 2 stitches individually knitwise, return them to the left needle, and knit them together through the back loops. K2T: Knit 2 together.

Place the Waste Yarn

Stop knitting the sock foot 2” (5 cm) short of its desired length; the heel adds approximately 2” (5 cm). Begin on the half of the stitches where the heel will be placed.

With waste yarn, knit across half of the sock stitches. Break the waste yarn, leaving a 10” (25 cm) tail. Pass the stitches just worked back to the needle they came from, ready to begin a new magic loop round. Continue the leg and cuff in pattern; the heel adds approximately 2” (5 cm) to that length as well.

Pick Up the Heel Stitches

Lay the sock flat with the toe closest to you, the leg furthest away, and the waste yarn facing up. Moving right to left, pick up the right leg of every V-shaped stitch in the row immediately below the waste yarn. Count them: there should be half the total sock stitch count.

Pull the needle left to transfer these stitches to the opposite needle. Turn the work so the leg is closest to you and the toe furthest away. Again pick up the right leg of each full V immediately below the waste yarn, skipping the initial half-V. Count to confirm you have half the sock stitches on this needle too.

Slowly unthread the waste yarn from both ends. Check for loose stitches before fully removing it. Turn the work so the needle points face right, ready to begin a magic loop round.

Set-Up Round

With the heel yarn, pick up and knit one stitch at the corner, knit across the first needle, then pick up and knit one stitch at the other corner. Repeat on the second needle. You have added 4 stitches in total.

Calculate the Center Stitch Count

Let X be the number of heel stitches on each needle, including the stitches added in the set-up round. Divide X by 3. If it divides evenly, the result is the center stitch count. Otherwise, add the remainder to the whole-number quotient. For example, 34 ÷ 3 = 11 remainder 1, so the center stitch count is 12.

Heel Decreases

Decrease round: On each needle, knit 1, SSK, knit until 3 stitches remain, K2T, knit 1.

Plain round: Knit.

Alternate the decrease round and plain round until the stitches between the SSK and K2T on each needle equal the center stitch count. Once that count is reached, proceed to Kitchener stitch without working the final plain round.

Break the yarn leaving a 24” (61 cm) tail, then graft the remaining stitches.

Kitchener Stitch

Set up: Thread the tapestry needle purlwise through the first stitch on the front needle, leaving it on the needle. Thread the tapestry needle knitwise through the first stitch on the back needle, leaving it on the needle.

Repeat these four steps until the stitches have been grafted: (1) thread knitwise through the first front stitch and slide it off; (2) thread purlwise through the new first front stitch and leave it on; (3) thread purlwise through the first back stitch and slide it off; (4) thread knitwise through the new first back stitch and leave it on.