Cat's Sweet Tomato Heel Socks - a Heel Tutorial

[marlibpretty]

this is my first toe up and I love this heel, but how do I eliminate the ladders at the junction of the 2 circs.

[marlibpretty]

wou I really like this heal..............what I wonder is how are you tensioning your yarn when you do the first purl row................looks like portugese style?

[jaemily1000]

I have always struggeled with short row toe up socks. I would always use a different method but never really like the way they looked. I have tried w and t and I just didn't get that either. I just watched both of your videos and I love you! hahahaha! I am so excited to try it and I am going to finsihe the socks I am making and start another so I can try this. You are fantastc and I love your stories!

[deenpac]

At what point (lengthwise) in your knitting should you divide into 1/3 and 2/3 (thereby starting the heel) if you are knitting from toe up?

[ferriswheeljunkie]

Would this work with doing two at a time,do you think?

[elaineflo01]

Okay, Cat, sometimes you're little mnemonics are just a little too much for me - but I just finished my 2nd tomato wedge on my sock - AND IT ROCKS!!! It is so cool - so fun to watch it happen AND WORK...I love it. You are really just too creative...but maybe a little less on the thanks Ma please....

[TeenYarnie]

Is it okay if I do only 2 wedges? Cuz I experimented and three wedges were a lil' baggy.

[itisitsits]

Love this, Cat! You are WONDERFUL!

[marytol]

Cat, you are a genius! Short rows were my least favourite technique in knitting, and never looked tidy, I always had problems picking up wraps. Now all is smooth and neat, and soooo easy!! Thanks for transforming my sock knitting!!

[campingknitter]

wow - I just saw a reference to this heel and checked it out. Ingenious!! I actually like the look much more than the traditional short row heel with those wraps and picking up those wraps. I can't wait to try it :)

[WoolMoon]

I bow to you Cat Bordhi. You are the Master of the Knitting Universe. I am off to start a pair of socks. You have ignited a fire.

JoHanna

[cd1509]

Hi Cat! I was so impressed with this video that I bought the E-book. However, I encountered a couple of issues that were not included as a "problem".

1. As I was doing my short rows, one side was 6 pairs and the other was 5 and I was on the "wrong" side to correct the count. What to do?

2. Is there a way to do a different color heel (and toe, natch) without tons of new ends?

By the way, I am not afraid of socks anymore. I will now finish about 6 pair waiting for years to have the heels turned!

[betternpopcorn]

I do not like socks.......I avoid socks.........butttttttttt of of course my sister wants socks...I made the first sock with your new heel. I am actually looking forward to the heel! YES!...Thank you so much-I will no longer dread making her socks!

[helenkosings]

I'm sure you've been told this many times before: Yer a GENIUS. I will get the ebook as soon as I have the $, but I think I'm gonna rip out the heels of the socks I'm doing now to try this. It's brilliant!

[knitjunky]

Absolutely brilliant! I will be making all my heels this way from now on.

[wickedxninjasxstudio]

cat bordi is my knitting fairygodmother!

[woolgathered]

Cat, you're amazing! About when do you start the heel, would 2" from the end of the foot work? Much love to you,

[vagabondesque]

I'm sitting here wondering if anything like that could be used for a short row toe... but struggling to think of how (if possible) it would be done.

[ekellyo]

Thanks Cat! This is the heel I've used on my last 2 pairs of socks. It is very comfortable& well fitting. I'm so glad you can figure this stuff out!

[lmarianaw]

Cat, I LOVE what you've done for sock heels! I can only hope your muse inspires you to reinvent thumb gussets for mittens. My thumbs are an embarrassment compared to the flawless beauty of this heel!

[jekkalynn]

I just want to say that Cat is my knitting hero! I want to be as awesome as you! LOL. I got a funny look from my fiancé after I watched this video and stated, 'My God, this woman is a genius!' I'm going to use this short row method on my wool diaper covers. All the other methods I've tried have left small holes or wonky wraps and when that cover is all that's between you and a wet cloth diaper, holes are a scary thing! Thank you!

[BeStrixed]

Cat, I made my first sweet tomato heel and I think it came out beautiful! ;^)

Thank you so much :D

Ack! Can't seem to post a link! But if you click on my name and go to "Pages" Photos on the left side menu, the knitting gallery link is there.

(pictures of it are just below the slideshow if you want to see it)

Works up quickly, too, or is it my imagination? Seems like it. And so easy too ! Thanks again so much :D

[BeStrixed]

@BeStrixed

Ugh! It takes you to my channel...Well, click on my "website" link to get to my blog. What a hassle!

I could have sworn I've seen links in peoples' replies...hmph!

[bikrgran]

Why do you do 2/3, rather than the normal 1/2? This really cuts into the pattern, if you are doing a pattern on the sock.

[vagabondesque]

@bikrgran This is the only way that the curve can be smoother as the angle of change of the short rows is not as abrupt. Kind of like the way you need wheelchair ramps to be much longer than stairs.

[SusanMoskwa]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Cat! I love watching your videos -- great techniques, and your mnemonic devices are so endearing (thanks, Ma!).

Do you mind if we use this heel construction in sock patterns, if we attribute it to you?

[catsbell1]

You are a genius! Love you forever, Can't wait to try this. Gotta go do it right this minute.

[carolmelancon]

I bet this would make awesome Sweet Melon bust darts too! As an intermediate (but somewhat opinionated) knitter, I frequently tweak patterns but I haven't had the confidence to tackle adding classic short row bust darts to a sweater pattern; afraid I would get lost without instructions. With your clear explanation of how to read the knitting, I feel inspired to give it a try on my next sweater (especially with a lifeline before I start). Love that it's the same working up or down.

[carolmelancon]

@carolmelancon Somehow I missed lindsepigen's comment until right after I clicked "Post".

[lindsepigen]

wow thank you for illustrating this! I guess this could work in cardigans also??

[catbordhi]

@lindsepigen This short row method can be used anywhere you like!

[desikitteh]

are there written instructions of just this heel anywhere? love it. a lot. also, what do you do if you don't have a number of stitches evenly divisable by 3? (socks for me need 64 stitches, socks for my bf need 80).

[fiberhobbit]

I am in awe of you and your out-of-the-box thinking. Everything I have done from one of your patterns has been great. I love doing them with my homespun which makes them even more special to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Is that enough?) Thanks.

[MaggieRable]

Thank you! This is awesome! I will have to try this on the next socks I knit :)

[wellsmug]

I love it - it's beautiful!

[sweetpo11]

BRILLIANT! I am so thrilled that I found this video! Being a sock knitter, this will really help me produce even better socks. Thanks so very much!

[spankses]

that is simply devine! you are a goddess, your last book for insousiant knitters blew me away and enabled me to conqure the sock for the first time in 20yrs! cant wait for the completed ebook.......

[prettynpinkprincess3]

I love you. Will this work with a toe down sock?

[prettynpinkprincess3]

Oops, I mean top down.

[catbordhi]

@prettynpinkprincess3 Yes, toe up or top down.

[mariat299]

Beautifully done. Thank you so much!!! You are great!!!

[aelievense]

Holy crap! This knitter's mind has just been blown! Good bye wraps and gaps!

[catbordhi]

@aelievense You sure do have a way with words...love it.

[favorablyimpressed]

You never fail to amaze us all.  I wish my brain worked in the same way as yours. Thanks for sharing .

[mommasan]

Fabulous! I am so glad to have stumbled upon your videos. Your approach is simple and your knitting is very intuitive...not fussy at all! Thank you.

[jantexas]

Thanks *so* much! As I've just also learned easy toe-up socks using your video on Judy Becker's cast-on, the process gets better and better. (I also love tendrils!)

[Krempelliesel]

I always like your "unventions" ! This is a great one too. I'll give it a try soon.

Thanks for sharing!

[sazji]

Your videos are always so educational, not only in terms of interesting techniques, but also from the standpoint of the structure of the knitting and how things interact. Understanding *why* a technique like "thanks, ma" or "hungry stitch" works is as valuable as the technique itself. Thanks for sharing!

[catbordhi]

@sazji You are my kind of knitter and thinker and I so appreciate your appreciation of thinking about knitting.

[beyuo08]

Finger Up!!!! :)

[monkehm]

Awesome! Does this work if you use half and half instead, like if you were using this heel in place of one that a pattern calls for?

[catbordhi]

@monkehm

Not too well--you really do need to use 2/3 of the total sts. If you had a really really low instep maybe, but I encourage you to follow the instructions in the book and find out how it works. Originally I tried it with just half the sts, but the result does not fit very well.