Chinstrap Heel Socks
The Chinstrap Heel Socks are inspired by Pygoscelis antarcticus, the Chinstrap Penguin. They are a very social Antarctic penguin with a distinctive black line under their beak. Though they are small and cute, they are surprisingly tough — in fact, they are considered the most aggressive of all penguins. These socks use a heel with three wedges, the middle of which wraps around the back of the heel like a chinstrap.
This pattern is a straightforward sock with a textured stitch pattern. Worked toe-up or cuff-down (instructions are provided for both directions of knitting), it includes instructions for a contrast toe, heel, and cuff. The main feature is the rounded wedge heel I developed — it is worked using no-holes short rows that are formed using increases and decreases.
This pattern requires the knitter to be able to knit a small circumference in the round (the pattern is method-neutral to suit your preferred technique for socks — double-pointed needles, magic loop/one circular needle, two circular needles, short circular needle, etc. — and the socks can easily be worked two-at-a-time) and clearly explains all techniques required. There are links to useful video tutorials for many of those technique as well, so this pattern is accessible to relatively inexperienced sock knitters.
These socks are very flexible in size, so yarn requirements will vary widely. A child-size sock fitting approximately a US 1 shoe size uses approximately 150 m / 165 yards total of fingering-weight sock yarn. Adult socks of average length and height will require 80-120 m / 90-130 yards of Contrast Colour yarn and 200-300 m / 220-325 yards of Main Colour yarn.
These socks are perfect for self-striping or gradient sock yarn because they have a smooth, continuous transition from foot to leg around the heel and the stitch count does not change significantly in those sections. However, the simple texture detail will suit any colourway you choose!
All my sock patterns featuring the Chinstrap Heel can be found here.
