Help!

I'm just doing some Tech Guy (http://www.magknits.com/feb06/patterns/tech.htm) sock. I've done the leg, now I'm at the heel which is a short row heel ..... I've never done one of these before.

Anybody got any tips?

Do they use a wrap technique for the short rows? If they do I found that making sure that my wraps were tight really seemed to help...other than that I just followed the instructions I think when I did the Elfines. Oh I never did work out how to get rid of a hole left at the top of the heel (I think Hecate had the same problem but seem to remember W4B or possibly Amelie had some tips on how to get rid of those). I did do the yarn over technique too for the dragon socks and found that one a bit more difficult also had to make the yarn overs very tight to get it not too holey.

Edit - just had a look and its yarn over (Doh says so in your title too)but not how I did it I think:o I will see if I can find the useful link and get back to you...ah yes here (http://avocations.blogs.com/ShortRowHeels/index.htm) it is

I have done short row heels with yarn overs but having tried both ways I prefer wrapping the yarn around the stitch. It's possibly because that's the way that I learned first. What the pattern doesn't tell you to do is the one sure fire way of avoiding holes at the corners. Pick up a stitch after working the last (knit) row of the heel, work across the instep, pick up a stitch in the corner before you then work the stitch and yarn over at the start of the heel as directed. On the next row just decrease the two extra stitches away. I have the picked up stitches on the instep so my next row would be knit one, (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over), knit to last three stitches on instep, k2 together, knit one. If your corners are gapingly huge, pick up two stitches. It works on all sorts of heels, the extra stitch just fills in the hole nicely. It's certainly faster than adjusting the tension on the row by tweaking the stitches after you've finished knitting.

The other thing I just thought of - on the first heel take yourself off somewhere so you don't get distracted. If the phone rings, ignore it. Don't under any circumstances risk losing a needle out of your knitting - I made my first heel three times. I couldn't see how to put it back on the needles when it had a brief encounter with a plastic toy and came off the needles. I had to pull it back. I lost my place and couldn't read my knitting to figure out what I should be doing so I had to pull it back again.

Thanks you two. I'm not trying it tonight now, got headache and still wound up from work. I'll give it a go though and soon as I do, I'll let you know.

Do you think I could just do an ordinary heel if I don't get on with it?

Yes, a heel is a heel. Just knit a heel flap until it is square, turn it as usual and pick up down each side.

I might chicken out and do that then, life is too busy to have to think about what I'm doing at the minute!

Yes, a heel is a heel. Just knit a heel flap until it is square, turn it as usual and pick up down each side.


Does that work with a reverse heel then W4B? Is it really that simple?

Jules socks are cuff down so she can sub the short row heel with the heel flap and gusset that she's made before. If she was working toe up then she would need to sub with another heel that works toe up such as the reverse dutch heel or similar (as you said). The thing you have to think about when subbing heels is where you're switching a heel with a gusset with one without a gusset because it's going to affect the fit around the ankle. If you've got a non-stretchy fabric, something cabled or like Jaywalkers then you will need the gusset to be able to get them on. In that case there is a really good design reason for choosing a gusset heel and if you choose another heel you would want to add a gusset anyway by increasing by a couple of inches worth of stitches in the rows leading up to the heel. The risk here is that adding a gusset to the Tech Guy socks will make them too loose around the ankle but they're ribbed anyway and that usually makes for a self adjusting sock.

I'm trying to think of cases where it really matters what heel you use and other than the very simple "you won't get it on without a gusset" then I'm struggling.

I nearly finished the heel flap this morning, just got 5 more rows to do, I will have a go at toe ups and short rows one day though, honest!

Well, I finished the sock without using the short row heel. Its not a brill pic but I put one in my blog.