Q & A: Number of pegs to use for a sock heel

We have gotten a few questions in the past few days. One of them has to do with socks and sock heel numbers.

How many stitches do I use on to create the heel of a 50 peg sock?

We first are going to divide the total number of pegs used by 1/2. 50/2=25

Second, from that 1/2, we are going to short-row until 1/3 of that number remains. The number is not exact, it can be rounded up or down. 25/3=8.33. I would short row, until there are 8 pegs wrapped at each side and then the center 9 are unworked. It should be 8 wrapped, 9 unwrapped, 8 wrapped.

General formula:

x=number of total pegs used in the sock

z=round up or down to obtain the wrapped number of pegs.

Proceed as follows:

x divided by 2=y

y divided by 1/3=z

3 thoughts on “Q & A: Number of pegs to use for a sock heel

  1. I have just bought a sock loom and excitedly tried it out. It is now in the cupboard and I doubt I will be using it again. The stitches were tight and as I have arthritis? I had all sorts of problems getting the stitches off the pegs. The tool supplied was hard to manage and I was and am very dissapointed I wasted the money I paid for it. I have no trouble knitting gloves (with needles) and they are fiddly but socks have always eluded me. I followed the instructions again and again but my knitting was always the same. I envy you all who have one and can use it with ease. If anyone would like mine I will send it to you, it may get some use that way.
    Hln

  2. I am right with you, Helen. Maybe 3 hours isn’t long enough to learn to cast on. I tried and tried and cried and cried. I couldn’t get past the part where you pull the stitches up after the first 6 or 7 it was just too tight and they wouldnt pull up. And I have searched this site and other to try to figure out what they are counting as cast on stitches since you go around with the “e stitch” twice and then pill up the stitch how many is that one per peg, 3 per peg. I can’t figure this out. maybe I am too stupid to knit and I will just stick to sewing

  3. Oh dear ladies! The sock loom and sock yarns ARE slightly more difficult than other looms – I attribute it to the skinny metal pins and the bulky wood.

    You can knit socks on the blue Knifty Knitter loom! They will be thicker (though that could also be attributed to the fact I used Worsted Weight), so you’ll have more of a slipper sock, but you WILL have socks!

    Brienna – You wrap the yarn around 1 time, then go around again, so you have 2 wraps on every peg. Now you will pull the bottom loop over the top on each peg, so there’s only 1 again. Now you wrap the yarn around so there are 2 again, then repeat. You CAN make multiple wraps, which will make a tighter weave. In THAT case, you would pull the the bottom loop over the others, then the next one over, until there was 1 loop again.

    Perhaps, too, you are wrapping too tightly? I wish I could see what you are doing so I could offer better advice, but I hope what I said above makes some sense?

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