Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Turning two heels

Well folks, it's that time - I have to decide how to handle the heel of my Second Socks. My First Socks were a toe-up with, apparently, a short row heel that was a little tricky to figure out but fits nicely now that it's done. For that pair, I followed the essential construction of Shelia January's pretty Little Shells socks in The Knitter's Book of Yarn.

This time around, however, I'm doing top-down without any pattern at all, save the same number of stitches that worked last time, and a slight variation on the ribbing that runs down the front (so as to ensure a good fit.)

I have some lovely pink yarn to use for the heels and toes, and I want a heel that will show the contrast in stripe length to advantage, but which? I've been leafing through The Knitter's Book of Yarn, Homespun Handknit (which has wonderful sidebar summaries of tips and techniques), and The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, and I still can't decide.

I think really the short row heel is my favourite for seamlessness and not-picking-up-stitchiness. But will it really work for a colour change?

Should I just knit the heel part of the first heel row in scrap yarn so I can carry on with my stripes, and go back and tuck in the heel later?

Might it not be best, really, to take a little break for a Fudgsicle and some shawl plotting?

1 comment:

Kathleen Taylor said...

short row heels are the best for striping yarns. Any heel with a gusset will change the stitch number and affect your striping. I like short row heels because they're faster and use less yarn, and that whole not-interrupting-the-stripes thing, though there are socks where a gusset/flap is the best (yarns/patterns with little or no elasticity, for example)