March 20, 2023: I wanted to try the Strong Heel and so I chose to make these socks. However, I wanted the socks to signify Spring (it’s been a long winter) and so I chose different colors compared to the original pattern.

I wanted a taller sock than usual. I also did not want the colorwork to get too stretched and distorted when wearing the socks.

So I GTCO 72 sts on US 2.5 (3.0mm), 9” circulars. Changed to US 1 (2.25mm) for the ribbing and the first 4 rows of the chart. I worked the entire colorwork on 9” circulars and liked the process and results. I found it was easier to control my tension for the colorwork on the short circulars.

Changed to US 1.5 (2.5mm) for the colorwork. Changed back to US 1 for the last 4 rows of the chart and the rest of the sock body.

I did 4 k2tog evenly spaced on the first row of the light green stripes to make a total stitch count of 68.

The Strong Heel
The Strong Heel gets its name from its designer, Gerdine Crawford Strong. The technique was first published in Knitter’s Magazine, Fall 2003, Issue 72 and is called Basic Strong Heel Socks. Here is a great video by The Chilly Dog on the technique.

The Strong Heel is worked on the 2nd half of the sts. So if you have 68 sts, you will work the heel increases on the 2nd set of 34 sts. With magic loop, that would be on Needle 2.
Round 1: knit across Needle 1. Work k1, M1L, knit to the last stitch, M1R, K1.
Round 2: Knit all sts across all needles.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until you have four less than the original number of sts. In my case that is 68 - 4 = 64 sts.

Next, you will work back and forth on Needle 2 only, starting with a WS row.
Row 1 (WS): sl1, p until half the sts remain (p31 in my case), p1, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 2: sl1, k3, ssk, k1, turn
Row 3: sl1, purl to within 1 st of gap, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 4: sl1, knit to within 1 st of gap, ssk, k1, turn
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all side stitches have been worked, and there are 34 (half of 68) sts on Needle 2.
The above should end on Row 4. You are back to the BOR with the original number of sts, in my case 68. Continue with the foot.

Four rows into the foot I reduced 2 more sts for a total of 66 for the foot. I reduced 2 more sts a few rows before starting the toes for a total st count of 64.

The foot has 51 rows ending with a light green and both yarns at the BOR. Then I knit 8 rounds in dark green before starting toe decreases. If I make these for my US size 8 foot again, I would knit 6 - 8 rows more of the colored stripes.

Toe: Decrease on alternate rows until half the sts remain. Then, decrease every row until 8 sts remain. Kitchener close.

Measurements after blocking:
Cuff to beginning of heel increases: 14cm
Cuff to end of heel increases: 19.7cm
Back of the heel decreases to the tip of the toe: 19.2cm
Ankle (diagonal): 11.5cm
Width-leg: 18cm
Width-ball of the foot: 18cm (to fit a 22cm-wide foot)

Note: A Fleegle Heel sock is a strong heel knit toe-up.

Here is a video on 3 color helical rounds

Some other Strong Heel patterns on Ravelry:
Basic Strong Heel Socks
Heather Socks
Melitta Socken

Colors are accurate in the first photograph.