Forethought Heel, Padded Variant

I knit with a lot of handspun, these days, and it wears out much faster than millspun yarn. This is because most of my handspun doesn't have nylon in it. So I tend to use the "forethought heel" a lot, since this is an easy one to fix (ie. reknit) when I get holes.

It's also easy to add reinforcement thread to this heel, or to knit it using millspun yarn in a co-ordinating colour, to let the socks live longer. But one can also knit the forethought heel using slipped stitches, so it becomes padded. This is a pretty simple variation. Here's how to do it - I'm assuming you're familiar with my variant on the forethought heel so I'm not going to give line-by-line instructions. I'm also assuming you're using either magic loop or 2 circs.

note: I find it beneficial to arrange the stitches so that the mid-sole and mid-back-of-leg are at either ends of the needle (loop), which puts the decrease line in the middle of my needle. I find it easier to handle the decreases this way.

1. Follow the directions for the forethought heel up to the point where you've finished adding the little crescent-shaped gussets. Make sure you finish on a RS row, so the outside of the sock is facing you and you are knitting, not purling.

2. Knit to the nearest decrease marker ("corner of the mouth" of the heel opening). This is your new "start-of-round". Slip the marker.

3. You'll be knitting 4 rows plain, without decreases, in a slipped-stitch pattern. Because the slipped stitches shrink the knitted fabric, you need these 4 rows to make up for the shrinkage or the heel will be too shallow (and the instep too tight). It's also important to keep your knitting loose at this point, again because slipped stitches tend to tighten up and this causes shrinkage in the width as well. If you are a tight knitter, or can't seem to knit looser by choice, switch to a slightly larger needle now. Here we go:
R1: K2, [Sl1 K1] to 1 before next marker, K1, slip marker, K2, then continue [Sl1 K1] 1 before beginning of round marker, K1.
R2: knit all 'round.
Repeat R1 and R2 once more for 4 rows total.

another note: I find it very beneficial to move the stitches at this point so that the last stitch on each needle (loop) are slipped. Because the number of stitches on your needles is constantly decreasing, you'll have to count back from the last stitch on the needle to figure out if your first stitch of the row should be slipped or knit, in order to make the ridges line up.

4. Now you start your decreases at the markers,every other row. My personal preference is P3tog because it's discreet. I also like to keep a zone of 1 plain knit stitch around the decrease line so I don't get completely confused about when to slip stitches. So, your next 2 rows are:
dec row 1: K2, [Sl1 K1] to 1 before next marker, do your decrease (ex. P3tog - you'll have to remove the marker as you do this, and replace it in front of  the P3tog), K1, [Sl1 K1] to 1 before BOR (beginning of row) marker, do the decrease while dealing with the marker.
plain row: knit plain all 'round.

5. now you're ready to continue with the dec row and plain row until the number of stitches on your needles is about the same as you started with on the toe (10-14 per needle or thereabouts). Watch out though, you need to keep the slipped stitches lined up above each other, so this means that the number of stitches you knit after your decrease can sometimes be 1, or sometimes be 2, depending on how many stitches you have. This is when it's handy to count backwards from the last stitch of the needle, which (see note above) is always slipped. That way, after you've done your decrease, you K1, then count to decide if your next stitch should be slipped, or knit...

Finish off with a plain knit row and then graft the opening shut, exactly as for a plain afterthought heel.

The picture below shows the final product, but it's a bit hard to tell that it's actually padded. You'll have to believe me on that!

[padded afterthought heel]

Fleegle Hybrid on the Template

Here are the instructions for the straight-up Fleegle heel.

The Fleegle heel is a bit different from a straight-up flap. Instead of having the "eating line" go straight up the heel to create a rectangular flap, the "eating line" goes on a diagonal. As a result, it's harder to do reinforcement sts on this type of heel. It also fits a little differently - it's more elastic because of that diagonal line.

I present here a slightly modified Fleegle, which incorporates a lot of the standard toe-up-flap recipe I presented a while back...

1. knit sock to gusset line on your template
2. start increasing for gussets, 2 sts every other row. The traditional gusset increases are on either side of the sole. I usually do:
R1: K1, KTBL, K to 2nd last st on sole, KTBL, K1
R2: K
While you are doing this, continue the instep sts in pattern.
Alternate R1 and R2 until you reach the "flap line". For fingering-weight socks, I usually find I increase about 14 sts, give or take a couple, on each side for my own feet (ladies' medium). Don't sweat this too much - socks are elastic.

3. when you reach the flap line, stop increasing. Now, knit to the center of your sole stitches and place a marker.
4. You are going to knit a little wedge around that center stitch, to round out the back of the heel. This you do as follows:
R1: K to center marker, K4, wrap and turn (or do whatever hole-hiding technique is your current fave)
R2: P to 4 beyond center marker, wrap and turn
R3: K to 8 beyond center marker, dealing with that wrap (or whatever) as you knit over it, wrap and turn.
R4: P to 8 beyond center marker, dealing with the wrap you encounter, wrap and turn.
R5: K to 12 beyond center marker, dealing with wrap, wrap and turn.
R6: P to 12 beyond center marker, deal with wrap, wrap and turn.

Knit across the sole and then across the front of the sock, maintaining any pattern on the front as set.

You've now added 6 rows (which works out to about 1/2" with fingering weight yarn) to the back of the sock. If you're knitting with sport or DK yarn, you'll have to adjust this because 6 rows will probably be too much, and make the sock too long. So do fewer short-rows. When you slip the template into the sock, the sock should not extend longer than the template.

Recognize these instructions? Up to this point, the construction has been identical to the "traditional" toe-up flap heel I blogged about here. And again, now you are going to consume the gusset stitches in turning the heel...but in a slightly different manner.

5. R1: K to 1 past the center marker, taking care to deal with that last wrap&turn (or whatever hole-hiding thing you did) on the way. SSK, K1.  Turn. (note: DO NOT WRAP or bother with hiding holes).
R2: sl 1 pw wyif,  P to 1 past the center marker,  P2tog, p1. Turn. (again: do not wrap or anything. Just turn.) At this point, you can lose the marker - you won't need it anymore.
R3: sl 1 kw wyib, knit to 1 st before gap, SSK the next two stitches (bridge the gap), K1 and turn.
R4: sl 1 pw wyif, purl to 1 st before gap, P2tog the next two stitches (bridge the gap), P1 and turn.
Repeat R3 and R4 until you hit the sides of the sock, and the number of sts you have left is equal to the number of sts on the instep side.

You are done. Those extra stitches that you knit/purl after the ssk/p2tog ensure that the decrease line forms a diagonal.

As you start knitting all around the sock again, you might find you need to close holes at the sides of the heel. Do this by picking up an extra stitch from the front of the sock (I usually pick up the arm of a stitch from 1 row lower down) and knit it together with the stitch from the heel side.

Note: You can make a more traditional Fleegle heel by continuing with step 2 (gusset increases) until you get to 1/4" before the end of the template (ie. 1/2" beyond my flap line). Place marker as per step 3, skip step 4 and go straight to step 5. You will have more stitches to decrease, and hence you will end up with a higher flap. Personally, I do not like the fit of this heel as I find the flap too high.

 [completed Fleegle heel]

Just Showin' Off

So here's a pair of socks I just finished highlighting the toe-up flap style I have been blogging about.

[toe-up flaps]

These are my own homespun (4 ply cable-plied, Exmoor Blueface fiber). The architecture of the socks is standard - gussets and flaps as per normal.

Here's another pair, which are a bit different because I did the gusset increases on the bottom of the sole. It makes for a slightly different look and fit.

 

[they look gusset-less!]

 

[gusset incs on sole of foot]

The flap done this way means you have no holes and no picking up, which I really like. I find it easier to execute than a short-row heel, which involves a lot of ...short-rowing! Which is not one of my favourite techniques...These flaps do not.

[flap with no picking up and no short-rows]

It makes for a very neat finish!

Toe-up Flap Heels - the Recipe with Template

Armed with my new cardboard template, I am embarking on an adventure in toe-up flap heels. I've never really been happy with the fit I get from this style , mostly because I've never figured out how to  consistently judge where to start increasing for the gussets. But I think I've got the problem licked now!

Basic toe-up flap:

1. knit sock to gusset line on your template
2. start increasing for gussets, 2 sts every other row. The traditional gusset increases are on either side of the sole. I usually do:
R1: K1, KTBL, K to 2nd last st on sole, KTBL, K1
R2: K
While you are doing this, continue the instep sts in pattern.
Alternate R1 and R2 until you reach the "flap line". For fingering-weight socks, I usually find I increase about 14 sts on each side for my own feet (ladies' medium). Don't sweat this too much - socks are elastic.
(design note: of course, there is no reason you need to stick with tradition and do the gussets at the sides. You can make the gusset appear in the center of your heel, or in the center of your instep. These lead to interesting design options.)
3. when you reach the flap line, stop increasing. At this point, you need to place three markers on your sole stitches: two that section off the increased "gusset stitches" at either side, and a third marker at the midpoint of the sole. The stitches between the gusset markers are going to become the flap, and you should have the same number of these as you do the instep side of the sock.
4. Now you are going to knit a little wedge on the flap stitches, to round out the back of the heel. This you do as follows:
R1: K to center marker, K4, wrap and turn (or do whatever hole-hiding technique is your current fave)
R2: P to 4 beyond center marker, wrap and turn
R3: K to 8 beyond center marker, dealing with that wrap (or whatever) as you knit over it, wrap and turn.
R4: P to 8 beyond center marker, dealing with the wrap you encounter, wrap and turn.
R5: K to 12 beyond center marker, dealing with wrap, wrap and turn.
R6: P to 12 beyond center marker, deal with wrap, wrap and turn.
You've now added a little triangle 6 rows high (which works out to about 1/2" with fingering weight yarn) to the back of the sock. If you're knitting with sport or DK yarn, you'll have to adjust this because 6 rows will probably be too much, and make the sock too long. So do fewer short-rows. When you slip the template into the sock, the sock should be roughly 1/4" short of the end of the template. This is so that the sock will be snug!
5. Now you are ready to actually "turn the heel", by eating up the gusset stitches on either side as you knit back and forth:
R1: K to 1 before left hand gusset marker (the 3rd marker after the RH gusset and center marker) - remove the center marker as you knit over it, you're done with it. SSK, removing the gusset marker during this maneuver.  Turn. (note: DO NOT WRAP or bother with hiding holes). And don't bother putting the marker back. You won't need it.
R2: sl 1 pw wyif,  P to 1 before right hand gusset marker (the only marker left...), P2tog while removing this marker during the maneuver. Turn. (again: do not wrap or anything. Just turn.)
R3: sl 1 kw wyib, knit to 1 st before gap, SSK the next two stitches (bridge the gap) and turn.
R4: sl 1 pw wyif, purl to 1 st before gap, P2tog the next two stitches (bridge the gap) and turn.
Repeat R3 and R4 until you've made all the gusset sts disappear.
(design note: this is a flap with no reinforcement sts. You can easily to a slip-stitch pattern like "eye of partridge" or similar as you knit back and forth during its construction. I find slipped st patterns to be easiest to do over an ODD number of sts, so I'll add a stitch before I start, if that's needed) 

Done-o-rama! You're ready to continue knitting the leg of the sock.

I like this construction - no picking up stitches, no holes, and pretty easy to execute. There is no "wrapping and turning", other than that little wedge at the end of the foot, which you could probably remove without too much ill effect (although you'd likely be better off extending the flap line by another few rows). If you have a super-high instep to contend with, either move the gusset line forward, or (easier) increase faster - like every row - to give yourself more gusset stitches at "flap time".

Heel Placement for Toe-Up Socks

Not too long ago, I spent a dollar on Ravelry and purchased the pattern for the Fish Lips Kiss heel by Sox Therapist. Let me say right off that this is the best buck I ever spent.

The pattern isn't really a "pattern" - it's a few different things:
1. a method for doing short rows (yet a different way of dealing with the holes, a close kin to "hoiked" stitches, but not quite the same), and

2. a method for placing short-row heels that fit quite well, and, last but not least,
3. a method for making a cardboard template of someone's foot, and using it to make great-fitting socks!

Any of these items are by themselves worth well over $1, so please feel free to go out and purchase this pattern!

Anyways, this post is going to be about using that paper template to make socks that do not involve FLK or short-row heels.

First, you're going to add a few lines to that template:

1. Draw a line 0.75" back from the end of your heel. This is the "flap line".

2. Now draw another line 2.5" away from the flap line, towards the toes. This is the "gusset line".

The distance between the flap line and the gusset line determines the height of the heel flap when you are knitting toe-up socks with flaps (includes Fleegle/Strong style flaps). 2.5" is what I use for ladies' medium sizes; for men or those with larger feet, you might add 0.25" to make a 2.75" flap - in other words, move the gusset line a little further forward towards the toes. The location of the flap line stays fixed.

[cardboard template with placement guides]

Now you have 3 lines to guide you for different heel constructions:

1. ankle-bone line = placement for short-row heels (like FLK), sweet tomato hybrid heels with no extra added stitches, and traditional afterthought heels
2. gusset line = placement for deeper after/forethought heels, starting point for gussets for toe-up flap heels, fleegle/strong heels, insertion point for sweet tomato heels, and extra-deep short row or hybrid sweet tomato heels (extra deep meaning you need to add 6-8 sts to the sole sts all at once at this point, which get decreased away all at once when you're done the heel).
3. flap line = where you stop increasing for toe-up heel flaps / modded fleegle heels, and start actually turning the heel.

What I've learned from playing with this template is that you can start your heel construction anywhere between the gusset and ankle bone line - but the further towards your toes you start, the deeper the heel needs to be for a good fit. Making a deeper heel is accomplished by adding stitches, either all at once (like for Sweet Tomato Heels done over 2/3 of the sock's stitches, or as per Sweet Tomato Hybrids which add them all at once), or by creating a gusset (Fleegle/Strong, flap heels), or by adding them as part of the afterthought construction (those little gussets I add in my "improved" afterthought heel).

I've amassed a set of cardboard templates for my whole family by now, and these things work really well. In the next little while, I'll be blogging about how to use them to make flap-style toe-up heels and (slightly modified) Fleegle heels.

Prepare for Wear

I just finished these thin wool socks:

 

[my new bike socks!]

The yarn is my own handspun 3-ply; southdown fiber. The socks are knit on 1.5mm (!!) needles, and are quite thin. They are extremely elastic and feel almost like store-bought cotton or polyester socks with a lot of lycra in them.

These will be my bike socks; I'll be wearing them in my cycling shoes, which are really tough on socks (the heels, especially, see a lot of friction). Because the yarn is so thin and there is no nylon in it, I have taken some precautions to fend off premature holes.

1. I have done some pre-emptive darning on the toes, which is where my socks usually go first. I've simply done some duplicate stitch over the big-toe area, thusly: I put the sock on one foot, then outlined in running stitch (with needle and black sewing thread) where I expect the wear to happen (which is where my toenail rubs the sock). Put the sock on the other foot and repeat. This defines the pre-emptive darning zone!

2. I have also put in a single row of contrasting yarn right before the toe. If and when the toe goes, I will be able to use this contrast row as a guide to running a lifeline and I'll be able to easily remove the entire toe area to reknit it.

 [kind of hard to see, but duplicate stitch across the toe, 

plus the contrast thread row to help with remove-and-reknit]

3. similarly, I've put in a contrast row right at the beginning of my afterthought heel. If and when the heel gets a hole, I'll be able to pick it out quickly and reknit it! (note: I put in a bunch of rows of plain stockinette above the afterthought heel, before starting the stitch pattern again. This helps with the fit: starting the pattern too soon tends to make the sock ride down.)

 

[afterthought heel with contrast row]

Now, let's see how long these socks will last!

My other Southdown socks are not showing any signs of wear at all. They aren't even pilling.

My realization: handspun, no-nylon, non-superwash downs breed socks OUTLAST millspun, nylon-enhanced, superwash merino.
Update 2015: ah, sadly, no. Certainly my thin handspun, no nylon, non superwash downs breed socks DO NOT outlast millspun-with-nylon. Not by a looong stretch. The thick handspun socks, sure. They last better than commercial hiking socks. Dress socks? Nope. So far (two years into the spinning adventure), I'm better off with nylon in there for thin socks like those in these pictures, which after 6 months developed holes. I still agree with myself for these last two statements though...

This amazes me. I am officially no longer a fan of merino yarns for "everyday" socks.

For non-spinners: you can enhance longevity for millspun if you avoid the stuff advertised as "merino".

Fitting Socks

I like snug-fitting socks. This means they have to fit properly.

There are many things to watch out for when fitting socks. Here are some that I know about:

1. the obvious: they need to have the proper circumference! Socks are basically stretchy tubes, and the circumference of the sock should be a little less than the circumference of your foot. For me, that means that if I take 90% of my foot circumference measurement at the ball of my foot, and I make the sock this circumference, it fits well around my foot and the lower part of my leg (to about 8-10 cm above my ankle bone). If you are doing toe-up socks, a guideline is to stop increasing when the toe of the sock fits over your first 4 toes (not including your baby toe, in other words). Most socks that use fingering weight yarn (400m/100g) call for approximately 60-64 sts around for women's socks (medium) and about 72-76 sts around for men's (medium). If you use sport-weight yarn, these numbers will be smaller. If you use very thin yarn (Regia 3-ply), or are knitting cables, you will require more stitches. Usually you cast on multiples of 4 stitches.

2. second obvious: they need to be the right length in the foot! This one is a little trickier. It is easier to fit top-down, flap-heel socks for proper length: after turning the heel you continue knitting until the sock just covers your little toe, then start decreasing for the toe. If you are knitting toe-up, it is harder to judge where to start the heel construction / short row / gusset, because the heel construction itself adds length (especially for short-row heels). If your socks are too short in the foot, you may find that the heel gets pulled down and the sock slowly slides into your shoe over the course of the day.

3. less obvious: the heel flap needs to be long enough. If your socks wrinkle at the instep, the flap is too long (like with a tube sock). If the sock is too tight across the instep, your flap isn't long enough. (What tends to happen with socks like this is that they slide down to where they will fit - futher down your foot. In other words, they slide into your shoe.) Note that this fitting rule is true even if you knit a short-row heel, one without an obvious flap! In flap-style constructions, this depth is easy to adjust - you just knit back and forth on the flap for as long as you need. In short-row constructions, adjustment isn't so obvious. A short row heel's flap height is the same as the "depth of the heel", and this is set by the number of short-rows you do.The easiest way to increase the length of the back flap is to increase the number of stitches that you use for the heel. You can do this by either using up some of the front-of-foot stitches (which is what Cat Bordhi does for her STH), or, you can just increase stitches just before starting your heel, on the heel needle only. This will make a deeper heel cup = longer flap. It will also add length to the foot.This means you sometimes have to try several times before "getting it right".

4. Longer socks need to be big enough at the top of the leg. If the sock is too tight at the top it will fall down, quickly. Essentially the sock goes to where it will fit, which is lower down your leg, if it is tight. The way to keep longer socks up is to make them fit all the way up your leg, shaping them from the ankle bone upwards, especially if you are not going to make them go over your calf. If you take them over your calf, then you can cinch them at the knee (traditionally done with a garter) and they won't fall down no matter what.

While all of this sounds really complicated, I've found a few "recipes" that work well for me and I stick to them. They are:
1. forethought heels (including where to start the heel), as detailed here
2. adding 20% stitches to a short-row heel, as detailed here
3. top-down, flap-style socks (I find these are much more "fool-proof" in terms of fit, but are a bit more complicated to knit) with 2.5" of flap for ladies' socks and more for men. Don't stint on the flap length!

I recently had the privilege to review a fellow sock-enthusiast's sock knitting recipe - she calls it the "fish lips kiss heel" - and this is excellent as well. I've only tested this fitting technique in toe-up mode, but will have to provide a review here sometime soon!

Sweet Tomato Hybrid

This is my first try with hand-spun sock yarn.

It's spun 3-ply from a southdown sheep fleece from the UK, hand-dyed by HilltopCloud in Wales.

 

[lovely southdown fleece from HilltopCloud]

The yarn is very elastic, thanks both to the fleece itself (which is very "crimpy" or curly), and to the extra twist that handspinning usually gives to the yarn (commercial yarn is usually spun with as low twist as possible, for economic reasons). Apparently this type of fleece does not felt readily (some even claim that the resultant yarn is dryer-safe!), and I'm hoping that it will wear better because of the extra twist. It's 100% wool with no nylon. Apparently it is also quite warm, again thanks to the high crimp, which traps air.

I'm not a very consistent spinner (yet) and am still working on spinning "thin enough" for sock yarn, so that this stuff is on the thick side (sportweight at least). The socks are definitely "boot socks"! The yarn is not soft - this is not merino - but softness is not a requirement for me, for hiking socks. They feel like those grey work socks you get at WorkMart.

[3-ply yarn, sportweight]

I am trying a variant of Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel on these. I am knitting 2 at a time, toe up. Here is the recipe:

• divide sock in half if you've not got it this way already, with 1/2 the stitches on one (side of the circular) needle and 1/2 on the other.
• start heel when you reach the end of your arch, as shown below. For me, this is when I "just barely" feel the needle under my heel when I fit the sock on.

  

[where to start the heel, when knitting toe-up]

• increase the number of stitches on your sole needle as follows (I typically have a multiple of 4 stitches on each needle): K2, m1, [K4, m1] to last 2, K2. This is about a 25% increase.
• execute 3 or 4 wedges of sweet tomato heel (video here). My variation: I don't use Cat's method of hiding the gap. I use "hoiked stitches" when I do the short rows (in a nutshell, knit - or purl - to end, turn, always slip 1st st of new row PW WYIF, pull yarn over back of needle to hoist 1st stitch up, raising its two legs onto the needle, keep yarn tight, then continue purling or knitting to end of row). When knitting over these "hoiked" stitches treat their two legs as one stitch and "knit them together".
• Note that when I'm doing 2AAT with these heels, I will do a complete wedge on the first sock, then move onto the second, and then knit the "boomerang" rows all around both socks. This brings be around to the first sock again, so I'm ready for the next wedge on the first sock. 
• when finished 3 "tomato wedges", knit a row all 'round the sock, and try it on. If the sock comes over the biggest part of your heel, you are done. If not, make another wedge. I find that 4 wedges are required for my heel. It depends a bit on where you start the heel. The further back (towards the heel) you start it, the fewer wedges you will likely need. It also depends on the number of stitches you started with, and the shape of your foot...
• Once you're satisfied with the fit, knit a few rows all around the sock(s), keeping in plain stockinette on the sole side. After 2 or 3 rows, decrease away all those extra stitches you added on the sole: K1, K2tog, [K3, K2tog] to end. You might need to fudge it a bit, but you'll need eventually to have the same number of stitches on the front and back of each sock, just like when you started.
  
  
  
  
  [sweet tomato hybrid, done over 1/2 the sock sts, 4 wedges]
  
  

That's it!

This gives you the option of the sweet tomato heel, but doesn't require you to use 2/3 of the stitches, like Cat's original recipe. I find that the traditional recipe is a pain to execute 2 at a time, and also it interferes with most designs on the front of the sock.

But, I am still not 100% satisfied with this recipe. I find that it is still a little tight across my instep (see how some of the stitches at the "edge" of the heel are stretched out in the photo above?), and also that the 4th wedge is just a little too much (I get a slight bulge above my heel where the excess sock fabric collects). So be warned: some tweaking might be required! Put in a lifeline before you start your heel, and that way you can always rip it back easily.

Possible tweaks: increase every 3rd stitch rather than every 4th for a 33% increase in the number of heel sts. I judge I probably need 4 more stitches for a good fit. Then,  make the last tomato wedge narrower (instead of turning when you're 2 stitches short of the end of the row, turn when you are 3 or maybe even 4 stitches short). This will reduce the width of the last wedge by a few rows.

I will be putting these socks to the ultimate performance test this fall: a 5-day hike in the French Tarn Gorge!

Stripes, Heels and Toes

I've been knitting with a lot of self-striping yarns lately, exploring different design options - I must say I'm not overly fond of letting the yarn do all the work; I get too bored! But in any case, there's always thinking to be done at the heels and toes when using self-striping yarns (or indeed, when making any kind of striped sock). The thinking is required because the stripes in self-striping yarn are affected by:
1. changing the number of stitches you are knitting (ie. increases or decreases), and
2. knitting back-and-forth rather than in the round

Of course, toes and heels are where these two things happen, so you are guaranteed to "destroy" the stripe pattern when using self-striping yarns, at these places.

The easiest design solution is to make the heel and toe out of some plain yarn - either contrasting or co-ordinating. Then you can put in whatever heel you please because it won't interfere with your striped pattern. The photo below shows a flap heel done in one colour (green/camo); I continued in that colour for a couple of rows before the heel to make the same stripe go around the front of the sock).

[striped sock with flap heel in solid colour]

If that's not what you want, here are some ideas:

At the toe, the stripes will naturally get wider, because you are knitting over progressively shorter rows. This can be prevented (ie. make the stripes the same size as on the rest of the sock) by cutting your self-striping yarn and "skipping ahead" to the next colour change, as required. Lots of ends to finish when you're done!

 For the heel, I think the best solution is a "forethought" heel. To make it fit better, don't use little gussets; instead, increase the number of stitches on your heel side by 20% or so evenly on the first row you knit of the heel (if your total number of stitches is divisible by 4, this is easy: k2, [m1 k4] until the last 2 sts, k2). This makes it easier to control the stripe width. You can control the width of the stripes on the heel the same way as you did for the toe, above. The result will look something like below, with a kind of bull's-eye at the heel; the stripes will line up all 'round the heel. (The sock in the photo was made with 2 balls of yarn of different colours, so not really self-striping, and I did use gussets on the forethought heel. But you get the idea.)

[forethought heel with gussets - nice bull's-eye heels]

Heels that really play with the self-striping nature are:

• anything with slipped stitches - slipping stitches changes the striping design completely.
  
  
• any short-row heel, including the Sweet Tomato, because you aren't guaranteed the stripes will line up:

[short-row heel with self-striping yarn -
note stripes do not line up around heel]

• any flap-style heel (which involves back-and-forth knitting) - this includes the Fleegle/Strong - this will insert an area of different striping at the heel. Additionally, because of the gussets usually involved, the rows leading up to the heel get longer, and this will also change the width of the stripes. What you get will depend on the "rhythm" of your self-striping yarn, and is hard to predict. With "busier" yarns it isn't so noticeable, while with simpler stripes it can be quite obvious. You can "fix" this by doing surgery on your yarn to pick out the colours you want.

[flap heel on self-striping socks -

 note flaps have wider stripes due to decreased width of knitting]

[Fleegle/Strong heel on self-striping socks -

while the stripes continue across the gussets, note the small blue triangle

at the base of the heel, due to back-and-forth knitting]

You can always play around with this by putting in a lifeline before you start your heel, so if you don't like the result, frogging it is easy.

Boomerang Heels, Revisited

A while back, I blogged about so-called boomerang heels.

These are basically short-row heels with a row (or two) of knitting all 'round the sock right in the middle of the heel after you've finished your first wedge (short-rowing to the smallest part of the heel). The boomerang row serves to clean up all the wraps, yarn-overs, hoiked stitches, or whatever hole-hiding technique you used...it works well. It also really helps with the gaps that sometimes plague the corners of short-row heels.

The one thing I've never liked about short-row heels is the fit. They are too tight across the instep for me. But I didn't like any of the remedies I could think of, either:

• making a gusset - increasing the number of stitiches gradually as you approach the heel
• using more than 1/2 the stitches to make the heel

The first one I don't like, because it means I have to preplan and measure, which I really have a hard time with. Far, far better if I can fit the sock on, and know what to do when I hit a well-defined part of my foot.

The second one I don't like either because it means it is much harder to do the socks 2AAT - one has to move stitiches around which is a total pain. Also it interferes with the sock design on the front of the leg.

But, thanks to a fellow Ravellist and prolific sock knitter, I've found a new tip: simply increase the number of stitches on your heel by about 25% (ie. "make one every 4th st") right when you want to do it, then execute your short-row heel, and right after, make those sts disappear again.

Works like a charm.

As for when to start your heel if you are doing toe-up socks, start them at the same point as for "forethought" heels: when your sock just hits the beginning of your heel:

[where to start your short-row heel]

When you hit this point, increase 8-10 sts evenly over one row on the sole side of your sock. Knit the boomerang heel (or other short-row heel) and then decrease them away again.

For a higher-looking heel back, continue straight knitting (ie. not in pattern) for another few cm's up the back of the leg, until you are just below the ankle bone.

Now I'm gonna try this technique with Sweet Tomato Heels (with boomerang rows between the wedges) to see if I can get those to fit me on 2AAT socks...

Afterthought Sweet Tomatoes!

Thought I'd give "sweet tomato heels" a try.

Do watch the video if you've not tried this type of heel before. It is very good and I'm not going to repeat Cat Bordhi's instructions here.

But, because I don't like to do the heels 2/3 - 1/3 (as Cat suggests) - I don't like how this messes with my stitch patterns, and it is much harder to do 2AAT because of the planning involved - I will do them over 1/2 my sock sts. In this way, 2AAT is possible, and it's dirt-simple to keep track of the fancy patterns you pick for the top and leg of your sock.

But, because I know the resultant heel will be too tight over my instep, I will adapt them to my "afterthought heel with gussets".

To execute, I do my usual "improved" afterthought heel, right to the point where I've completed both short-row gussets in the "corners" of the heel slit. There are absolutely no changes up to this point - I've even put the heel in the same place as per usual (which I like, because I don't need to do any measuring - just fitting!).

[you can see the little gusset and the sweet-tomato-wedges]

Now come the changes. Here's an EZ-style summary:

Reposition the sts so that one needle contains all the sole sts, and the other all the "back of the heel" sts. You should have an EVEN number of sts on both needles, if you are going to do slipped-stitch reinforcement like I did. Make it so.

[reposition sts. You will be knitting the heel on the needle closest to you in this photo, towards the sole of the foot]

Now knit the sweet tomato heel onto the "back of the heel" sts. The sts on the other needle are left alone. I did 3 tomato wedges. I like the fact that you can do slipped-st reinforcement on this type of heel, and that very little thinking is required while knitting.

When you're done, graft the slit closed - about 30 sts worth. If you started the heel on the back of the leg sts, the grafting will be on the sole of the foot, where nobody will see it. You'll probably have gaps/holes at the 2 extreme sides of the heel - neatly close these with duplicate stitch after you've done grafting.

Improving Afterthought (or Forethought) Heels

To knit this type of heel, you first knit a tube sock (ie. one without a heel at all). Then afterwards you rip out one row, where you want the heel to appear, and pick up the stitches to insert the heel. So here's how to do that. Except that I'd use a darning needle and scrap slippery yarn to pick up the sts, rather that fighting through them with a knitting needle, as the Yarn Harlot does. Then after you've unpicked the row in between, you can transfer to a needle. It's easier.

If you know in advance where the heel is supposed to be, you can make life easier by knitting in one single row of waste yarn, which is then what you rip out. Then it's what Elizabeth Zimmerman calls a "forethought" heel. Here's a tutorial on that technique. And note the cute trick of knitting the scrap yarn, and then going back to the beginning of the row to continue overtop with the "real" yarn. This trick has many, many applications!

My improvements for the forethought heel:

• right before you knit the scrap yarn in, put in a lifeline.
• knit in the scrap yarn
• after you've knit the row on top of the scrap yarn, put in another lifeline.

These lifelines will make it much, much easier to pick up the stitches long the top and bottom of the "heel slit", after you've ripped out the scrap yarn. No need to pick up any stitches, they're already picked up and waiting to be transferred to the needle!  Here are some photos to illustrate:

[forethought heel: green embroidery thread = lifelines before and after knitting in 1 row of pink scrap yarn.]

[unpicking the scrap yarn]

  

I usually start picking up the lifeline sts in the middle of the sole of the foot, not at one of the edges of the slit. This is because I want the new yarn join to be hidden on the bottom of my foot, and also because I find it easier to do short-rowing and decreasing in the middle of a needle, rather than at the end of one. There's a picture below.

Once you've unpicked the yarn and are transferring the lifeline sts to your needle(s), you might want to pick up a stitch or two at the slit's edges ("corners of the mouth") to close up the hole neatly:

[transferring the sts on the lifeline to a needle...and picking up 2 extra sts]

Now, about the decreases: you will see that both of the tutorials I've linked to above use exactly the same method of creating the heel; namely, the same construction as you would use for a "wedge toe", complete with kitchener-grafting the last row together. There are a couple of issues with this design:

1. Personally, I don't like the look of that wide diagonal band. But that's easy to play with, we'll explore some alternatives in this post. In fact, you don't have to knit this type of "wedge-toe" construction at all! You could substitute a "round" construction (where the decreases are distributed all 'round the needles, not concentrated at the "corners"), or a "star" construction (where the decreases form spirals). Think of your heel as a "hat"! If you take this further, it will lead you down the road to this... Note that hat-style constructions also remove the need for grafting!

2. the fit isn't great; this heel suffers from the same weakness as short-row heels in that it is tight across the instep. So we should discuss improvements to the fit.

Both the fore- and afterthought heels are easily reinforced by knitting in reinforcement thread, and are very easy to replace if they wear out. You just pick them out and reknit 'em, just like I do for toes. For this reason they are also called "peasant" or "depression" heels (as in, the Depression years). The bottom of the heel extends further than the usual "flap" style, so you may find that repair-by-reknitting is enough. The Winter 2011 edition of Knitty has a pattern with a variation after-thought heel that is larger than usual, if you find that your heel wears beyond the range of the afterthought heel.

The true afterthought heel has the added advantage that socks made this way are easily "gifted". You can just knit a bunch of tube socks in some generic size, and once you have a recipient in mind you can put the heel in the right spot to customize the things.  The right spot is where the recipient's heel footprint starts. Measure down from the top of the sock (tips of the toes) to the place where the pink arrow shows on the example footprint below:

[the afterthought heel is inserted at this point in the tube sock]
note: you can also use a cardboard template 
to decide where to put the heel, as shown here

In fact this is how I fit toe-up "forethought" heel socks as I knit 'em. Once the recipient tells me the knitting needles are at the right place I know I'm ready to knit in that scrap yarn.

Of course, if you really have no idea where the heel is going to be, you have to be a bit accomodating with the stitch design. All around? Front only? Guess at where the heel might go before starting (or stopping, depending on if you're knitting top-down or toe-up) the pattern?

As always, when playing with different heel constructions, put a lifeline into your work (or keep them in, after unpicking the slit!) so that if you have to rip it out, it's easy to restart. 

So, here's the good stuff:

Alternatives to wedge construction

I like a smaller, less obtrusive design on the decreases. There are unlimited numbers of these, but here are some I like. In prep, you should mark the single stitch in the "corner" of the slit on each side of the sock (as in, the corners of your mouth). This will define the center of the diagonal line that runs from your heel to you instep.

[sts picked up - note I've started in the middle of the sole...the stitch markers at either side show the edges of the slit, where the decreases will be.]

• P3tog at each of the slit's "corners", every second row. The 2nd stitch in the 3-stitch cluster should be the one before the marker, so you'll have to adjust that marker every time. There's a photo at the bottom of this post.
• 3 before marker, K2tog, P1, SM, SSK ... every second row.
• 2 sts before marker, sl 2 tog KW, remove marker, K1, p2sso (translation: slip 2 sts together knitwise, K1, then pass the two slipped sts - which will be glommed together as one unit - over the knit st. This can be a bit of a struggle.), and replace marker. Gives a single, centered, stitch with no slant - see photo below. You can purl the centered stitch the next round for a "seed" effect. 

The purl sts I've indicated give a little "seed" effect on the diagonal line which I really like. You could try knitting them instead. Explore different double-decrease types. K3tog doesn't work well though. It has a slant and isn't nice.

Other alternatives include putting 4 markers around the sock at even intervals (either starting in one corner, or starting exactly between a corner and halfway 'round the heel), and

• doing a K2tog before every marker, every second row. This creates a "spiral". Doing SSKs makes the spiral go the other way. You can alternate K2togs and SSKs on alternate decrease rows and the spiral will straighten.
• making "spokes" - do a double-decrease (sl 2 tog KW, K1, p2sso) at the marker, every 4th row.
• moving the decrease locations around so they do not create a pattern (concentric rings) - try this one with stripes and you'll get a bulls-eye heel. Could be fun on a man's black socks!

Fit Improvements

There are two approaches. If you know in advance where the heel is to be, start increasing the number of sts on either side of the heel, creating a gusset, until you've increased the stitch count by about 10%. Then put in that scrap yarn for the heel "slit", and proceed as usual.

The other approach, which I find works a bit better and doesn't require that you know where to put the heel or do math beforehand, is to do a few short rows in the corners, once you've made the slit and have got the stitches set to go:

• starting at one corner, K8, place marker, and turn (performing your favourite hole-hiding technique such as wrap 'n turn, YO, double sts, or dig 'n lift).
• P16, place marker, and turn - again performing your favorite hole-hiding technique.
• K14 (to 2 before the first marker), turn while hiding your hole.
• P12 (to 2 before marker), turn while hiding the hole.
• K10 (to 2 before the first marker), turn while hiding your hole.
• P8 (to 2 before marker), turn while hiding the hole.
• knit across to the other corner, dealing with the wraps, YO's, or lifts to finish hiding the holes.

So here I go far away from the corner, and then slowly back to up it. You can do it the other way, too: start close to the corner and stray further and further from it as you go back and forth - I find this one a little easier.

• starting at one corner, K2 beyond marker, turn (performing your favourite hole-hiding technique such as wrap 'n turn, YO, double sts, or dig 'n lift).
• P4, to 2 beyond marker, turn - again performing your favorite hole-hiding technique.
• K6 to 4 beyond marker, dealing with the wrap or YO or whatever as you come to it, turn while doing your YO, wrap, or what-have-you.
• P8 to 4 beyond marker, dealing with the wrap (YO, lifted st...) as you pass it, turn while performing your hole-hiding.
• K10 to 6 beyond marker, dealing with the wrap or YO or whatever as you come to it, turn while doing your YO, wrap, or what-have-you.
• P12 to 6 beyond marker, dealing with the wrap (YO, lifted st...) as you pass it, turn while performing your hole-hiding.
• knit across to the other corner, dealing with the wrap, YO, or lift to finish hiding the last turn. 

Repeat either procedure at the other side of the heel slit. Finish up at the first corner again, and then start the decreases for the heel shaping.

These short-rows create two little "half moon" shapes about 1cm wide, and add just enough ease to the instep to improve the fit. You might want to add a different number of short-rows depending on the instep clearance required - I've found that 3 passes back and forth - as I've listed - is sufficient for my family's feet. note: If you add more short-rows than the guidelines above, you'll find that the little crescent-gusset will start to "bump out". To counteract this, you will then also need to start your diagonal decreases during the short-rowing.

[crescent-shaped short-row gusset on afterthought heel. This gusset started wide and narrowed. note: the decrease line here is P3tog every other row.]

[another example; this gusset started small and grew out. This decrease line is a "double decrease" with no purl sts]

Note: I have made up a "recipe" or "template" pattern for this type of sock, it's available for download here.

Improving the Fit of Short-Row Heels

The problem with short-row heels is that if you use the "default" recommendation of using 1/2 the total stitches for the heel, then the result is a heel that sits very low (doesn't come up over the back of the heel very far) and is quite tight across the instep. Depending on your foot shape, it may not fit well at all. If you google "high instep short row" you'll see this is a common problem!
So there are a few ways to address this. I've found four:

1. use garter stitch for the heel: instead of using stockinette, knit every row back and forth. Garter stitch is thicker and uses more wool over the same length of stockinette. Because of this, it is stretchier, and this may be just enough to improve the fit for you! As an added advantage, if you use the wrap 'n' turn technique for hiding holes in your short rows, there is no need to lift and knit the wraps. Just leave them where they are. They will be invisible in the final product. Here's a garter-stitch wrap 'n turn heel recipe. Of course, a garter stitch heel looks different from a stockinette one, so keep that in mind for your design.

2. use more stitches for the heel: instead of using 50% of the stitches for the heel, use 60%.  When you divide the stitches into thirds when you turn the heel, adjust so that the middle third - the part that you never short-row - is still one third of half of the total stitches - unless you also want a wider heel.

example: total 60 stitches around the whole sock; "default" heel size would be 30 sts. That means middle third = 10 sts. For improved fit, use 36 sts for the heel (60% of 60), and divide the heel sts as follows: 13-10-13 (instead of 12-12-12).

This is hard to do if you knit 2-at-a-time on magic loop or 2-circs, because it involves either planning ahead when you cast on and putting more sts on one side of the magic loop than on the other, or moving stitches around when it comes time to knit the heel. It will also bite into the design on the instep of the sock. For these reasons, this isn't my favourite.

3. knit in a gusset: about 10 rows before you get to the point where you are going to start your heel, start increasing the number of sts on the side of the work that will become the heel. As a rough guide, increase the stitch count by 15% (rounded off to be an even number). Traditionally, you'd increase every other row on each side of the sock, but you can play with this (increases distributed evenly over sock? originating from central point?). note: depending on how many stitches you plan to increase, you may have to start increasing sooner, or maybe later. Or increase faster or slower than every other row.
Once you've finished the increases, you turn the heel over the new, larger number of stitches. Again, unless you want a wider heel, keep the middle "third" the same size as if you hadn't made those gussets.

When you've completed turning the heel, get rid of the gussets by decreasing back to the original stitch count.

note: Of course you can also put the increases on the instep side of the work, where they will not be participating in the heel construction. Again, remove them by decreases when you've finished turning the heel. Such a construction is a little more visible than hiding them in the heel.

4. knit a flap: you can knit a small flap (10 rows or so) before starting the heel. Just knit back and forth for a number of rows, using a chain selvedge, to create a flap. Then turn the usual short-row heel. When you've finished turning the heel you'll  pick up the sts on the sides of the flap (about 4-5 of them on each side) and then decrease them away as you start knitting in the round again. This is basically a flap heel construction, but with a "mini flap". Knitters averse to the whole idea of a flap are unlikely to want to incorporate one into a short-row heel, since the whole idea is to get away from picking up those sts along the flaps. Right? So I'm not gonna waste more e-ink on this solution.

Final, important tip:If you want to try any of these ideas to see if they work, put a lifeline** into your knitting before you start the heel construction. Then if you don't like the end result, ripping it out is much easier.

**lifeline: thread a darning needle with some thin, slippery yarn - dental floss or cotton embroidery thread - and just run it through all the sts on your needles. This will act as a stopper when you rip out knitting. It will also enable you to quickly pick up the sts again.

A Study in Short Rows - Yo-yo or Boomerang Heel with Double Sts

So here is another option for a short-row heel (or toe). This one is a bit obscure, but works very well. This construction features the double stitch / tight yarn-over hole-hiding technique, with a variant of the opposing trapezoid construction for shaping.

For reinforcement on this heel, the easiest option is to knit in some hard-wearing but elastic thread ("woolly nylon" meant for sergers) or yarn - polyester sewing thread works quite well edited: don't use sewing thread! It cuts the yarn! - by simply holding it together with your working yarn and knitting as one. The fit on this heel isn't the greatest for me - I find it too tight over my instep without making some pattern adjustments. I'll cover these in another post, but meanwhile let's just concentrate on the basic technique.

As with previous posts, the pictures show a practise heel that's smaller than you're likely to make, out of thicker wool so it's clearer for photos. And it's only over the heel sts, not the whole sock! I find it useful to do a practice heel before working up the real one so I can familiarize myself with the techniques...

1. Get your heel sts on a single needle. Divide into thirds (roughly), making sure that the two edge portions have the same number of sts. If you have a wide heel, put more sts in the middle. Place 2 markers, one on each side of the middle third (I like split-ring markers).

[divide heel sts into thirds and place markers]

2. start on a RS row. Knit across the row. Turn.

3. Now slip the first st of the row PW, wyif. Pull at the working yarn, hauling it backwards over the needle, tightening it so that the legs of the st below come up, and then over, the needle. Keeping the working yarn taught so the stitch stays hoisted up,  purl the next st. Purl across the row to the other side. Turn.

[hoisting up a stitch on the purl side.]

4. Hoist up the first st, by slipping it PW, wyif, and pulling at the working yarn, hauling it backwards over the needle, tightening it so that the legs of the st below come up, and then over, the needle. Keep the working yarn taut, and knit across the row to the first double stitch on the other side. Don't knit this double stitch. Turn.

[Now on the knit side: pull the working yarn to hoist up the slipped st.]

5. Hoist up the first st, purl across to the first double st on the other side of the heel. Turn.
6. Hoist the first stitch, knit across to the first double stitch on the other side of the heel. Turn.

...repeat rows 5 and 6 until you have hoisted up all the sts on either side of you heel. The middle part, between the markers, stays "unhoisted". You should see a nice row of "double stitches" indicating where you've been:



[all the edge sts have been "hoisted".]

7. When you've finished hoisting all the stitches on either side of the middle section, it's time for the boomerang row!  You'll probably just have finished step 5, and have just hoisted your last stitch, and have the knit side facing you. Knit across the middle third and all the way across to the end, slipping both markers as you go. Continue and knit the doubled stitches, knitting the two legs of each hoisted stitch as one. Turn once you've knit the last st on your heel needle(s).

8. Hoist the first st and then purl all the way across to the other end, slipping the markers, and purling the two legs of each hoisted stitch as one. Turn. Hoist the first st and knit to the second marker.

note: as described here, this boomerang is a two-step process. It's more like a yoyo, going up and then down the row (Ha! Yoyo heel! Get it?). It can also be knit as follows: instead of turning at the end of step 7, you keep going: knit across the instep stitches and go all the way around the sock (in pattern, of course!), coming back to the heel sts and knitting them until you get to the second marker. Kinda like a .... boomerang! In both the "yoyo" and "boomerang" variants, you've knit over all the hoisted sts - either up and down, or around. I prefer the boomerang over the yo-yo because knitting all the way 'round the sock really helps prevent those "holes" you get at the corners of a short-row heel.

You are half-way done, and have knit one trapezoid. Now it's time to start the upside-down one.

9. You should have the RS facing again, and be at the second marker. Slip the marker, knit the first st past the marker. Turn. 

10. Hoist the first st. Purl to 1 st past the first marker - on the other side of the heel - slipping both markers as you go.  Purl that st. Turn.

11. Hoist the first st. Knit to next hoisted st (it'll be past the 2nd marker on the other side of the heel), slipping both markers. Knit the hoisted st.  Turn.
12. Hoist the first st. Purl to next hoisted st (it'll be past the 1st marker on the other side of the heel), slipping both markers. Purl the hoisted st.  Turn.

Repeat rows 11 and 12 until you are about to hoist the very first st of the heel (you should be on a RS row). This will be your last row. Hoist the first st, and knit across to the very end. You are finished turning the heel and ready to continue knitting in the round.

Update!
Just blogged about a neat trick on improving the fit of this type of heel!

A Study in Short Rows - Garter Wrap 'n Turn

As promised, here's the first in a set of recipes for short-row heels. I talked about hiding holes and trapezoidal construction techniques in previous blogs.
This first recipe will feature garter stitch, wrap 'n turn to hide the holes, and the standard opposing trapezoid construction.

I should mention that the garter stitch results in a softer, thicker fabric, because garter stitch is reversible. So it should wear harder, right? If you want, you can add reinforcement thread to make it super-tough. Also, because the garter stitch is thicker, it has a smaller row-gauge (takes more rows to go the same distance), so the resulting heel/toe is shallower and more rounded. It is also stretchier than a stockinette heel, so I find it fits me much better! But do a test first to see if it fits with your design. Finally, because of the garter bumps, the wraps remain hidden, and there is no need to lift them out of the fabric to knit them in when working up the second trapezoid. This is the only time that I, personally, use wrap 'n turns (because I have a hard time seeing the wraps on dark, fine wool).

Here we go. The pix show a practise heel that's smaller than you're likely to make, out of thicker wool so it's clearer for photos. And it's only over the heel sts, not the whole sock!

1. Get your heel sts on a single needle. Divide into thirds (roughly), making sure that the two edge portions have the same number of sts. If you have a wide heel, put more sts in the middle. Place 2 markers, one on each side of the middle third (those split-ring markers come in handy because you can just slide 'em in!).

[divide heel sts into thirds and place markers]

2. start on a RS row. K until 1 st remains, slipping the markers when you get to them. Wrap (the last st) and turn. Photos below if you don't know how to wrap and turn (note: pictures show garter stitch, but the technique is the same no matter what stitch you are knitting).

[stop before last st. Bring yarn forward...]

[slip last st to RH needle...]

[bring yarn to back...]

[slip that st back to the LH needle...]

[turn your work and put the yarn to the back ready for kntting again. That last st is "wrapped" with a loop around its feet. You don't knit it. Ready to start knitting the next row.]

Tip: Don't choke up on the wrap. It shouldn't be tight, it shouldn't scrunch the wrapped stitch over to its neighbour. If you tighten it too much, it causes "holes" in the fabric.

3. K until 1 remains, slipping the markers when you get to them. Wrap (the last st) and turn.
4. K until 1 st remains before last wrapped st, slipping the markers when you get to them. Wrap and turn.
5. repeat step 4 until you've wrapped all the sts on either side, and only the middle portion of the heel, between your markers, remains unwrapped. Knit across the middle sts, slipping the marker, and stop when you reach the first wrapped st (which should be the first st after the marker).

[here are a bunch of wrapped sts - kind of hard to see, but they all have their feet tied. Click to enlarge.]

You've completed the first trapezoid and now it's time to start increasing the row lengths as you climb up the second, upside-down, trapezoid.

6. Slip the marker and wrap and turn the first st. It will now be double-wrapped.
7. Knit across the middle third, slipping the markers, to the first single-wrapped st on the opposite side. Just knit any double-wrapped sts you encounter (on the first time across, you won't encounter any, but after that, you will!). Wrap this single-wrapped st and turn. It is now also double-wrapped.
8. Repeat step 7 until you've double-wrapped (and then knit, on the next pass) every stitch on both sides of the heel.

[here is the practise heel. Click to enlarge. There are no holes.]

You are done with turning the heel. Easy, eh? No picking up those wraps required! It's all invisible thanks to the bumpy garter sts!

Knit across the instep - you may need to pick up a stitch in the "corner" between the heel and the instep, which you can k2tog on the subsequent round, to seal any holes.

This construction can also be used as a toe, in either top-down or toe-up constructions (both for a later post). Notice how round it is?

[same practise heel, folded the other way, for use as a toe!]

This is what it looks like in action (Cookie A design, Malabrigo sock yarn in Abril, worn lots!):

[wrap 'n' turn short-row garter heels]