How to Knit an Afterthought Heel!

Knit a true afterthought heel with me! I'll explain where to start, how to cut and knit in the heel.
4 3 2 1 Toe, (or afterthought heel)
Decrease Round: **k1, ssk, knit across half of the stitches, k2tog, k1**Turn your sock, repeat from **4 sts decreased.Knit 4 rounds plainDecrease roundKnit 3 rounds plain
Decrease roundKnit 2 rounds plain
Decrease roundKnit 1 round plain
Decrease round.Now decrease every round until you reach the number of stitches you prefer to graft.
Jana's Rounded Toe (or afterthought heel)
Decrease Round: **k1, ssk, knit across half of the stitches, k2tog, k1**Turn your sock, repeat from **4 sts decreased.Knit 4 rounds plainDecrease roundKnit 3 rounds plain
Decrease roundKnit 2 rounds plain
Decrease roundKnit 1 round plain
Decrease round.Now decrease every round until you reach the number of stitches you prefer to graft.
Kitchener Stitch
• Kitchener Stitch witho...
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[@CarrieMtn]

I sure like your teaching method. You have super clear directions and demonstrate everything you talk about. Thanks

[@PurlTogether]

Glad it was helpful!

[@teresaharp]

Awe I love that James got to knit with you 😺. I used to have a Percy cat that loved to knit or crichet with me 😊

[@theastewart6721]

Very through tutorial. Afterthought heels tend to scare me but you have made it much less scary. Thanks for your clear and concise instructions.😊🤗

[@goswamigeeta]

Thank you for this clearly explained and shown video. Would love to see some other types of heels. I love to knit socks . Thank you once again.

[@suemettee1949]

Love your helper - I have 1, same color and about 5 years old. She still likes to help me!!

[@djones7130]

Love to watch you knitting English style,it’s so relaxing.I knit continental, I’ve tried many times to learn English style but no luck. Guess I’m stuck, but I love knitting. Love your videos, learned a lot.

[@cruisepaige]

Stick w continental! I had so many arm/shoulder/wrist/hand problems before I switched.

[@pattyrushing9756]

Love your instructions!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to show us the way!

[@MaideninMaille]

I'd never heard of an afterthought heel before, very cool and I'm excited to try it out!

[@cives2008]

Wow! I was holding my breath when you snipped your stitches! BUT I now know I could do this with confidence. Thank you!!

[@PurlTogether]

Wonderful!

[@MsNordicPrincess]

I hadn’t seen the after-thought heel done before. I can see the advantage of placement but what I didn’t care for was the decrease “ridge” in the heel. My favorite is the shadow wrap heel you’ll see in Denise Desantis’ “Socksploration” pattern.

[@krisvanallen]

I use open/close stitch markers as I go along, to count rows by the tens. Putting them in the first stitch of the round keeps the stitch count for the heel easier for me.

[@sheilal3172]

Excellent tutorial! I'm just learning to knit socks and am eager to do a toe-up and an afterthought heel by your method. Thanks so much! Couldn't knit without my cats Boots and Phoebe!!

[@knittingsinmyDNA]

Haha! Love baby James! My orange cats hang out with me when I knit, too. 😻

[@kerrycastellani4172]

Thank you for this, I knit a pair of socks anticipating using an afterthought heel, I am afraid of the heel gusset, your instructions are clear and easy to follow! I hope to be wearing my new pair of hand knit socks very soon ! 😀

[@morrowvich]

Thank you for the video, always wanted to try this but couldn't find a video that I understood!

[@jean-jn3nq]

This is great! Thanks so much for this super helpful tutorial.

[@anitawessels3932]

Hi Jena. Thanks for the tutorial. I do not like the after through heel. I like the heel turn and gusset. The upside down one that is on your channel or the new heel turn and gusset one the South Africa design as recently released. I mostly knit toe-up socks.

[@cynthiataylor3761]

Awesome video!! I learned how to do after thought heel!😊🎃

[@p_broom426]

I like the afterthought/forethought heel with self striping sock yarn. I’m a cuff down knitter and do the heel about 20 rounds or so after placing markers where I plan to put the heel. That way when I Kitchener the toe, the sock is done! 😊

[@robinbaharav4627]

9o

[@p_broom426]

@@robinbaharav4627 ?

[@lacyalexander8273]

Thank you so much for this! I've done the waste yarn and forethought heel, because I was too nervous about not getting placement right. That running stitch up the side...Brilliant!

[@PurlTogether]

Glad it was helpful!

[@recusa6519]

I really love how you teach. Starting my first ever sock today! I think an after thought heel will be easier. Wish😅me luck!

[@kaylemoine1571]

Excellent and specific instructions. The finer points of the procedure. Will save video for further reference. Thanks.

[@PurlTogether]

Glad it was helpful!

[@margueritefoley1262]

Heel flap and gusset for me because I have a high instep and it always fits and because I love the magic of turning a heel!

[@krisvanallen]

I use the running waste yarn to count rows, also. Outside, inside, ten rows each.

[@annh.8290]

I love your little Baby James. This is great, thank you. So, it looks to me like this could also be used to put in an "After thought" internal pocket, for a sweater, am I right??

[@dhurd4099]

You say “V’s” and all I can see is “A’s”. 😂 This happens when I count stitches in my swatch too. 😵‍💫

[@annwithaplan9766]

I know what you mean. I had to adjust my eyes so I could see them. I think because the "As" are more apparent in that direction.

[@valeriekoochin3569]

My eyes jump back and forth! When I have to count stitches in a swatch I have a heck of a time!!

[@inc1961]

I’ve been learning this heel, but I usually do the toe last. I struggle with sizing. Will try toe first and measure like you did and subtract toe. I use the magic loop method which make cutting a bit easier as I have the cord dimension, not needle dimension pulling up the slack. A bit more room to work with. I also like the shape of your toe so will check that out. Thank you ❤

[@barbmaddox8336]

I just watched your afterthought video and I thought it was very good and you are a really good teacher. On an unrelated subject I’ve always wondered before buying yarn how do you know when it’s vera gated if it will come out and stripes or totally random pattern?

[@boopsloops7277]

Never tried this, but with your video, here goes! 😂

[@boopsloops7277]

Say! When do you start this AT heel? Like, measure from toe tip to what spot?

[@kzookid2051]

@@boopsloops7277 Watch from the start. She shows how to tell where to place the heel and how to adjust the position if needed.

[@marciahighsmith4820]

Excellent, thank-you!

[@lynnewilcox8169]

Where are the links to the different heels you mentioned? You did say in the video there would be links to the heels.

[@PurlTogether]

Whoops! Thanks for the reminder. I've added the instructions for the other toe methods (or afterthought heels) Thery're now in the video description.

[@lynnewilcox8169]

@@PurlTogether thank you 🙏

[@martabalintovagalbava5660]

Thank you, super ! :-)

[@jeandekeyser6262]

Jana, thank you once again for a great video. I heard you say that one could use Lynne Ashton's toe sequence, in your links both the toes instructions look the same to me. The overall process looked more "fiddly" (a perfect word you have taught me) but I look forward to trying this on my next pair of self-striping yarn. This may also give me the courage to try a Forethought Heel. Your videos are the absolute best!!!

[@jeandekeyser6262]

Oh yes and recently I started doing the fleegle heel which I really like! I like the look of it better than the heel flap and gusset.

[@kathrynrogers4079]

Thanks!

[@dianedean521]

So there is no eye of the Partridge stitches to prevent the back of the heel from wearing out.

[@PurlTogether]

You could certainly add that!

[@kzookid2051]

Awesome tutorial. If you knew the size of the heel from previous afterthought heels, would it be possible to make some ahead of time to use? And, instead of knitting the heel onto the sock, would it be possible to join a pre-made heel with kitchner stitch or other graft? Thanks for sharing your info.

[@PurlTogether]

I would think so. Try it and let me know!

[@krisvanallen]

When you are talking about adjusting for a larger heel, you mention knitting a few extra rounds “right here”. Did you mean on the leg or on the heel?

[@PurlTogether]

The heel

[@sonfederman8212]

Wouldn’t it be easier to knit in a line of waste yarn where you heel should be and then continuing to the toe? I love the toe decreases.

[@PurlTogether]

You certainly could, but planning ahead for the placement of the heel makes it a "forethought" heel, not an afterthought heel.

[@cruisepaige]

Orange kitty!!!!

[@smuep]

Thank you so much your video has been a great help,can you please let me know what length circular knitting needles you're using in this video?.I'm new to sock knitting and I use 9 inch circulars at the moment.

[@PurlTogether]

I prefer a 40" (100 cm) cable. It's a little longer than actually necessary, but that way I have the option of knitting two at a time, if I choose.

[@krisvanallen]

Have you seen anyone use the 4321 to the Kitchener spot, but instead of doing the Kitchener they start up with 1234 increases?

[@PurlTogether]

Do you mean knitting the heel by beginning with casting on a few stitches and increasing to the point where you'd attach to the sock? Then you'd have to Kitchener to graft the heel onto the leg.

[@krisvanallen]

@@PurlTogether I wasn’t clear on that, sorry. I was wondering about the toe. Maybe inverting the decreases to increases, to start toe up

[@boopsloops7277]

Would you use the 4-3-2-1 heel with toddler socks?

[@PurlTogether]

I think it would depend upon how many stitches you've cast on. Are you using a light fingering? DK? Since you probably don't have more than 48 sts, I'd go ahead and try it and see if you. like the shape. It's not much to tear out and reknit if you don't care for it.

[@angelesbarquin3689]

Yo quiero un ayudante tan guapo

[@knittysong]

Great video! Question- how do I know if I have a high instep?

[@PurlTogether]

Do you normally require any extra arch support?

[@knittysong]

@@PurlTogether No, but I need at least some, I can't wear shoes with totally flat insoles.

[@kevinorr6880]

I found it difficult to pick up the stitches in a true afterthought. A tight fit for the needles. If I had a knitting machine it would be worthwhile, but, since I'm hand knitting forever, it just doesn't save me much.

[@user-tp2rr5nc9c]

Dem needles need to move, human.