How to knit a sock heel: Master the technique with our step-by-step guide
Learning how to knit a sock heel can feel daunting for beginners. While there are many techniques, the classic stockinette or reinforced heel is the best place to start.
Size: EU 38(42)46.
Yarn: Novita 7 Brothers (75% wool, 25% polyamide). You’ll need 150 g for the socks. We used color Ice (014) for the stockinette heel and Stone (043) for the reinforced heel.
Double-pointed needles: 3.5 mm (US 4).
Gauge: 20 sts in stockinette stitch = 10 cm.
How to knit the sock heel
Start by knitting the leg of the wool sock. Cast on 48(52)56 stitches and divide them onto four double-pointed needles—12(13)14 sts on each. Work the leg in the round in the rib stitch of your choice. End by knitting the sts on Needle IV.
Stockinette heel for a wool sock
The wool sock heel consists of a heel flap and a heel turn, after which you’ll work the gusset.
Heel flap
The heel flap is worked with half of the total stitches, that is, on Needles I and IV. The remaining stitches are set aside.
Start by knitting the sts on Needle I onto Needle IV (=24(26)28 sts). Set the other sts aside. Turn the work and begin working the heel flap:
Row 1 (wrong side, i.e. inside of the heel): Slip the first stitch purlwise (yarn in front), purl the rest of the sts. Turn the work.
Row 2 (right side, i.e. the outside of the heel): Slip the first st knitwise, knit the remaining sts. Turn the work.
Repeat rows 1–2 until the height of the heel flap is about 3/4 of its width in centimeters. End with a right-side row.
Heel turn
To work the heel turn, divide the heel flap sts into three parts. You can do this before starting the heel turn or on the first row. If it’s not an even split, place the extra sts on the middle needle. For size 38 socks, it’s 8+8+8; for size 42, 8+10+8; and for size 46, 9+10+9.
You’ll knit the heel turn on the middle needle’s sts, decreasing its last st together with the first st on a side needle.
Begin the heel turn decreases:
Row 1 (wrong side): Slip the first st purlwise. Purl until 9(9)10 sts remain. Purl 2 sts together, turn the work.
Row 2 (right side): Slip the first st knitwise. Knit until 9(9)10 sts remain. Make an skp decrease (= slip 1 knitwise, knit 1 and pass the slipped st over), turn the work.
Continue decreasing in the same way until the side needle stitches are used up. On each row, 1 st from a side needle decreases. Remember, the middle needle’s stitch count should stay the same.
When all side needle sts have been decreased, end with a right-side row and divide the heel turn sts onto two needles as 4+4(5+5)5+5.
Gusset section
Pick up a total of 13(14)15 sts along the left edge of the heel flap: 12(13)14 from the chain and 1 between the flap and Needle II. You can pick them up with a spare needle or a crochet hook, then transfer to a needle.
Knit the sts on Needles II and III. Pick up 12(13)14 sts along the right edge of the heel flap plus 1 st between the flap and the needle.
Knit the 4(5)5 sts on Needle IV. Now Needles IV and I have 17(19)20 sts (= a total of 34(38)40 sts). Continue working the sock in the round. On the first round, knit the picked-up sts through the back loop. Begin the gusset decreases on the next round.
Tip!
- There’s an easy rule of thumb for how many stitches to pick up along the heel flap: pick up the same number of stitches you had on one needle for the leg. For example, if you had 12 sts per needle for size 38, pick up 12 sts plus one extra between the needles to prevent a gap.
- Pick up the heel flap sts by catching both loops of the edge stitch. If you only catch one loop, you might get holes at the side of the heel.
Reinforced heel
A reinforced heel wears better than a regular stockinette heel. The difference is that on the wrong side of the reinforced heel, every other stitch is worked and every other stitch is slipped. If you wish, you can work the reinforced pattern on the right side instead.
Heel flap
The heel flap is worked with half of the total stitches, that is, on Needles I and IV. The remaining stitches are set aside.
Knit the sts on Needle I onto Needle IV for a total of 24(26)28 sts. Set the other sts aside. Turn the work and start working the heel flap:
Row 1 (wrong side, i.e. inside of the heel): Slip the first st purlwise (yarn in front), *purl 1 st and slip 1 st purlwise*, repeat *–* and purl the last st. Turn the work.
Row 2 (right side, i.e. the outside of the heel): Slip the first st knitwise, knit the rest of the sts. Turn the work.
Repeat rows 1–2 until the number of rows in the heel flap matches the number of stitches (= 24(26)28 rows). End with a wrong-side row.
Note!
In reinforced knitting, every other stitch only shows every other row, so be sure to count rows from a spot that shows each row.
Heel turn
Divide the heel flap stitches into three parts either before knitting the flap or while working the first row. If the division isn’t even, put the extra stitches on the middle needle. For size 38, the split is 8+8+8; for size 42, 9+8+9; and for size 46, 9+10+9.
Keep working the reinforced stitch pattern and start the heel turn decreases:
Row 1 (right side): Slip the first st knitwise. Knit until 9(10)10 sts remain. Make an skp decrease (= slip 1 knitwise, knit 1 and pass the slipped st over), turn the work.
Row 2 (wrong side): Slip the first st purlwise. Work the reinforced stitch pattern until 9(10)10 sts remain. Purl 2 sts together, turn the work.
Continue the heel turn decreases in the same way until the side needles’ stitches are used up. When all side stitches have been decreased, end with a right-side row and divide the heel turn stitches onto two needles: 4+4(4+4)5+5.
Gusset section
Knit the gusset the same way you did in the stockinette heel.
