Short-row heels

#1

hi everyone - i’ve been experimenting with short-row heels but can’t seem to avoid holes up one side of the heel. there seem to be a million and one different patterns/approaches on the internet and one that is mentioned a few times is the “no wrap” technique by oz yarn. does anyone know how to do this? oz yarn used to have the instructions on their site but they are now out of business.

i do have the PGR book (simple socks) that uses the yarnover method vs. wrapping, but i can’t seem to get that one right either. aargh!

thanks for any help!

holey in halifax,
martha :slight_smile:

#2

does it have to be the no wrap technique?

#3

hi there - not necessarily, it’s just that i seem to have trouble with wrapping. but if you’ve got some advice i’d be so grateful!!!

cheers :slight_smile:

#4

Hi novaknitter,

Sorry I don’t have the Oz Yarns PDF for the no-wrap socks, but I do have the PGR book and her technique really does make for excellent no-wrap short-row heel/toes once you get the hang of it. If you need any help with that, let me know.

Another really good no-wrap technique is Mary Lycan’s Sherman heel. Details of that are here:

http://hipknitism.com/classes/basic_ribbed_socks/index.shtml

(When I use this heel, I still always use PGR’s sizing technique as I find the hypknitism heel/toe too pointy).

#5

thanks salsa! i’ll give that a go - i’ve just read through it and think i need to absorb it and try a few swatches. and i love the hipknitism site - fabulous.

p.s. i’ll also give PGR another shot; i just kept finding that even though i thought i was following the instructions to the letter that my stitches wouldn’t line up properly - i.e. she would say “your next two stitches should be yarnovers” and i’d be one off. i’ll give it another chance and try and figure out where i go wrong exactly.

thanks again…

#6

novaknitter, I have to agree about PGR’s instructions. They’re a bit confusing at times.

i.e. she would say “your next two stitches should be yarnovers” and i’d be one off.

This happened to me too when I first did it! What I worked out was this:

When you start increasing again, you knit up to the first “pair” of stitches (formed by your yarnover on the previous row). The first stitch in the pair will be a knit, and the stitch after that is a yo. You have to knit that first stitch in the pair, otherwise you will always be one off.

I have included a picture with this post (hoping it helps)…

#7

hey salsa - that is great, thank you so much! i think that’s what i was doing wrong - haven’t tried doing it yet but am going to give it a shot this weekend. just yesterday, i finally conquered the garter stitch short row heel from lucy neatby - have never tried posting a link before i hope this works. http://www.inknitters.com/Issue1/lucy.pdf- pic attached. the secret seemed to be in pulling the stitches super tight at the beginning of each short row. i ran into some funny stuff at the end but with the help of 4 or 5 (eek) picked up stitches in the heel corners it’s not too bad.

happy nether-knitting to you!

#8

That looks GREAT! And, what a FUN Color! :thumbsup:

#9

Novaknitter, that looks fabulous! :slight_smile: That short-row join looks nice and tight. :thumbsup: Thanks for posting the link to the pattern you pattern you used - I will have to give it a try!