Knitting socks is a must during the Christmas season! Whether for yourself or as a gift with a personalized label , everyone enjoys warm, cosy and above all unique socks!
Only the sock heel scares some beginners. At first glance, it seems a bit tricky, but don't worry: In this free tutorial, we'll show you how to knit a sock heel in no time and you'll be a sock pro before you know it!
Let’s begin. Follow these simple steps:
Instructions for sock heel knitting
The most difficult part of the classic sock is the heel. Our sock heel beginners tutorial shows you step by step how it's done.
First cast on the number of stitches for the desired size: here 64 stitches on 4 needles (16 stitches per needle). After knitting the cuff and shaft, start knitting the heel wall.
Heel height / Heel wall knitting
The heel wall is knitted on the 1st and 4th needle.
Knit over needle 4 and 1 (32 stitches in this example), turn and purl the back row. Repeat until you have 20 rows.
Knit a heel flap
Now you can knit the heel flap.
Distribute the stitches evenly onto three needles and knit them in stockinette stitch. The first third is knitted all the way to the end, the second up to the penultimate stitch (a total of 21 stitches in our case). Cast off the last stitch to the right, knit the following stitch and pull the cast-off stitch over it, then turn the work.Now cast off the 1st stitch, purl to the last stitch of the second third, purl together with the following stitch, then turn the work again. Continue knitting the heel flap this way. When all the stitches are used up, the heel flap is finished. Finish by knitting another row.
Picking up the sock heel stitches
To pick up the heel stitches, divide the stitches of the heel flap between 2 needles. Use a stitch marker to mark the middle, which is also the middle of the beginning of the round.
Now knit the corresponding number of stitches from the edge stitches of the heel height, 16 stitches in this example. Continue to knit all stitches from the 2nd and 3rd needle. Then work out 16 stitches from the edge stitches. The remaining stitches are knitted up to the middle.
In the next round knit the new stitches of the previous round together.
Instep decrease - knitting the gusset of the sock
The sock heel is almost finished. As we now have more stitches on the 1st and 4th needles than on the 2nd and 3rd needles, the stitches should decrease in the next rounds. This is how the gusset of the sock is shaped:
The last 2 stitches of the 1st needle are knitted together. At the beginning of the 4th needle 2 stitches are pulled over (pick up 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch, pull the picked-up stitch over).
Continue in exactly the same way for 2 rounds. Repeat the decrease until there is the same number of stitches on all needles (16 stitches per needle in this case). Then continue to knit the sock heel.
Afterwards complete the sock by knitting the foot and toe.
If you need instructions for the whole sock then go to our free tutorial "How to Knit Socks".
Other knitting tips for you:
How to Knit a Headband - Free Tutorial
How to Make a DIY Baby Sleep Sack
