The Jinx socks

Yes, I think I'm going to call them the Jinx socks. I had to work back several times into the top ribbing before I finally stopped crossing yarns. (I also had a dropped stitch I missed, which contributed to the constantly crossed yarns).


Now I'm going along swimmingly with the leg and I read her instructions for doing the heels at once and I just don't think I'll do that, for two reasons...


A) I hate wrapped short rows
B) I'll end up crossing yarns again, I just know it.


So, like the other pair I started and didn't finish, I'm going to do the heels one at a time. It's just a simple matter of having an extra needle to put each set of heel stitches on, which I will have if, on the last row of the leg I simply knit all of the heel stitches onto one needle (I'm using a set of five needles)...UNLESS, I decide to try something else that she didn't cover at all-the Granny heel.


What is the Granny heel? Well, it's also called the Afterthought heel because you simply keep knitting until you finish the sock, go back to where you want your heel, cut your yarn to expose live stitches, slip your needles into them and knit a heel like you would a toe-using decreases. The easier way to do this is to simply knit the leg of the sock until it's as long as you want it, get a scrap piece of yarn, knit the heel stitches with the scrap yarn, go back and knit these stitches off with your working yarn. Now, not only will you know where your heel stitches are, you'll also have an easier time getting to the live stitches-all you have to do is pull the scrap yarn out and the stitches are exposed. In these DK socks, you would need two scrap pieces of yarn (preferably a contrasting color). I know this will work because I used the same technique to do the thumb hole on a pair of fingerless mitts that I DKed. If  you use the scrap yarn and plan where  your heel is it couldn't be called an Afterthought heel, so folks named it the Granny heel instead-same difference, you're exposing live stitches at the heel of the sock. This style is really the most easy thing to do for any knitted sock, and makes it easier to rip out an old heel and replace it when you get a hole in it-no more darning socks.