With huge thanks to all my lovely test knitters: bookworm33329, thejasperpatch, ionai, DebsKnits, ftmhling, craftylii, and Pegdog!

I love knitting toe up socks and I love wearing heel flap and gusset socks. Unsurprisingly, I also love well fitting socks where I don’t have to rip back and turn the heel three times to knit the right size. I’m even a big fan of socks that aren’t a bit baggy around the instep because I wanted a nice sized heel flap. To avoid these issues, I started playing around with different techniques and ended up with what has become the Pewter Heel.

In essence, this heel aims to recreate the look and fit of a top down heel flap and gusset sock, but knit toe up. It includes

• a nice long heel flap (but not too long, and no baggy feet!)

• a distinct ‘gusset line’ (like the decreases in the top down version)

• instructions on when exactly to put in the heel (no more knitting the same heel three times)

Sizes

The pattern includes instructions for socks using 56 (60, 64, 68, 72) stitches.

The range of sizes should cover socks that fit the feet of large child to ones that fit a large man. Further help on sizing is included in the pattern.

Yarn

100g of sock / fingering weight yarn

Gauge

8 stitches and 12 rounds per inch

Exactly matching the pattern gauge is not required. The gauge used should create a fairly dense fabric to ensure longevity of socks.

Happy knitting