Fish lips kiss heel

Has anyone done this heel. I had purchased the directions on ravelry, but I am more of a visual person and it’s all written, with tutorials only on the twin stitches. I have picked back up a sock I had started on months ago. The sock pattern is My Scatterby socks. There is a pattern on top and then stockinette for 34 stitches. So the directions start with: begin on heel side, right side facing row 1: k to 2 stitches from end TSK turn. So am I knitting across all 34 stitches. The pattern is a multiple of 4 and ends with 2 knit stitches. Are those 2 knit stitches also worked across. Didn’t want to include too much of heel directions since it was purchased.


It seems to me that the 2sts on either end of the heel aren’t worked as part of the heel. The beginning of the FLK heel has you knit or purl to 2sts from the end. I would count the 2sts on each end as those same 2sts. So knit the middle 32, twin stitch turn and purl to the other 2 edge sts, twin stitch turn. Then continue with the short rows for the heel.

You can confirm just to be sure with Amy Stringer (phancee on Ravelry) who invites questions.

Thanks for your input. It is kind of confusing since after the set up row for foot it becomes k34 work in pattern to next marker then k2. I have never contacted a designer directly but I might try. Can’t hurt. Not sure it makes that big a difference but it might

When I look at some of the projects on Ravelry it seems that there is a k2 between the pattern stitch and the heel turns. It’ll be interesting to see what the designer says.

Sorry to keep fixating on this. But I’m ready to start this heel. I’ve put in a lifeline. I haven’t heard back from designer yet. So I’m going to do as you suggested and work the 32 stitches for the heel which leaves the pattern of 28 stitches ( 7 repeats of 4 stitches) with 2 k stitches on each end. If this is wrong will it be a big deal?

That’s the way I read it. Does 32sts for the heel give the correct measurement to fit your heel?

The two sts on either side of the short rows show up in this project for example:
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/jtw26/scatterby-socks-2

Has anyone use FLK heel. According to directions if you did a toe up sock once done with heel you should knit in stockinette for one inch before connecting to work in round for leg. I did that and no way would this work. So I frogged back to heel and connected to work in round for leg. Not sure what I missed or interpreted incorrectly. Any ideas. Just hoping it fits ok

So once you finish the short rows, you join to knit around continuing the instep pattern but working stockinette at the heel? What doesn’t work here?

Ok so it was my interpretation. So you’re saying to join then instead of pattern all the way around, I’ll work half in stockinette and half in pattern for an inch before doing pattern all the way around. I thought the the inch was after the heel before joining in the round which definitely didn’t work. So I’ve been doing the pattern all around since joining back in round. Will this make a big difference in fit if I just continue on?

The only difference depends on your pattern. The heel might not be comfortable (or sturdy) in a lace or cable pattern for example.
Can you put the sts on waste yarn and try on the sock?

When I knit socks I use the Fleegle heel. It is so easy and no twin stitches to worry about. You increase at the point you want he heel to start, increase to 2 stitches less than your total number of stitches my total would be 60 sticthes I increase to 58 on the heel neeedle.When I reach the number 58 stitches I knit one plain row and the next row I start the heel turn. .

I’m new at socks knitting and using Fleegle heel too. It was comfortable for my feets that often swell. Other types of heel knitting was tight or complicated for me to try.

I will have to try the fleegle heel next. This one hasn’t proven to be easy for me. And I still have an area with loose stitches. But could be because first time. Maybe the second sock will be better. I have done socks with gusset structure and once with German short rows. But this has almost been my undoing. But practice might improve things

1 Like

If you like a short row heel there are other versions of it. You might check out some You Tube videos. When I worked short row heels my choice was German short row heels. If you like a gusseted heel you might well like a Fleegle heel. Fleegle heels are intended for toe up socks and look different on a cuff down, just so you know to expect differences. There is a cuff down version I believe but can’t recall the name applied to it or how it’s done. I like a faux heel flap and gusset heel. I hate doing a flap and picking up stitches for the gusset and for me working a faux heel flap with gusset increases, heel turn, decreases, is much better. Fleegle heel is kind of like a short row heel on steroids but with only half the heel turn (I may have that wrong) and doesn’t produce the flap effect. The number of stitches needed to increase for the gusset on either Fleegle or heel flap style heels can be adjusted to fit individual feet. My daughter found a small, 22 stitch gusset actually worked better for her than a short row heel that had similar fit; I increase to double the heel stitch count plus two for my gussets. If you’re curious about a particular heel but don’t want to commit to an entire sock for it you can knit some rounds in rib, do the heel style you’re experimenting with, work a few more rounds in rib, try it on to see what you think and do you want to tweak the fit or move on to something else.

I have down and dirty way to know how many gusset increases are needed or how long a heel flap should be but I can’t say it works every time for every foot. For me on a toe up sock the gusset increases begin when the sock as I will wear it hits the bend of my foot on the instep and end below the ankle bone and the gusset needs however many stitches it took to get there. A cuff down flap needs to easily reach from the cuff down to the bottom of the heel and that takes as many rows as it takes.

Sadly I think Sox Therapist is no longer with us.

Oh, ok. I never heard from email I sent but had just assumed I did it incorrectly. These socks aren’t going to be the greatest fit. My foot is narrow, so length is fine but it’s definitely not a snug fit. I should probably have tried a a size smaller needle. I used a size 2 with fingering wt sock yarn. The pattern recommended a size 1 but I had used a 2 before with good results and I used flexiflip needles to do the toe and I only had a 2. I probably should have used the 2 for toe and then switched to size 1 dpn. They will probably get gifted”.

1 Like

It’s all good experience and a lovely gift, I’m sure.

I have narrow arches and AAAA heels. Yeah, fitting socks is personal. I use the knit to fit method and I’ve never knit socks for myself that used 64 sts. - I looked at your pattern and think that’s how many it calls for. I’d probably stop at 58 or maybe 60 and might decrease 4 at the arch and figure out what seems the best way to accommodate the pattern stitches on instep and cuff. Since I learned to knit socks I have never done a gauge swatch like we’re supposed to but do try to hit 8 st/in and will change needle sizes during or after knitting the toe to get closer. Tighter gauge does provide longer wear. Here’s the pattern that I stumbled across when it was just blog posts and it’s been my go to way for knitting socks.

1 Like

So much helpful information. I need to figure out how to file some of this away for future use. This is also the first sock that has a pattern to it. It’s a 4 row pattern with 4 stitch repeat. I’ve struggled to not mess this up ( I keep getting distracted by my grand daughter). Really also my brain wandering. So I put one of those counters on my left index finger and I can use my thumb to click it without too much disruption of the flow ( not a fast knitter anyway). But also can recognize a mistake sooner so keeping from having to frog which has been a frequent thing with this sock. Hopefully I can pick up speed and get this finished.

3 Likes

You can use chain counter, it is right on needles and you don’t need to think did you press button or not :smiley:. It is so easy to make yourself one.
Just number beads and few split rings. It is so expensive on etsy, I prefer to buy yarn instead.
This is my chains. Work in progress has RS and WS that I find easier to follow the chart marking each row from beginning. It is easy to get distracted but chains let me know exactly where I am.

I have never seen this type of counter. Will check it out. Thanks for this suggestion. But I’m struggling more with the stitch pattern. It’s a 4 stitch repeat so 16 repeats per row. So not sure if could work for this.