Easy Heel Colorblock Socks in Quartz
Sock knitting is a particularly delightful rabbit hole that we encourage everyone to jump right into! If the twists and turns of heel flaps, short rows, and gussets are keeping you from the venture, our Easy Heel Colorblock Socks are here to clear the way.
If you can knit a tube and work basic increases and decreases (or are willing learn… Our tutorials are here for you!), you’re ready to knit these socks!
You can start your socks at the cuff or toe… Knitter’s choice! Either way, aside from the toe shaping, you simply knit a tube, pausing partway through to prepare the “easy heel.” This step is just knitting back and forth across half the stitches with a piece of scrap yarn.
Once the rest of the sock is complete, you remove the scrap yarn and place the remaining live stitches back on your needles. Then you knit the heel in the round, decreasing to give it a heel shape and grafting what remains with Kitchener Stitch. No short rows, no gusset, no picking up stitches, no sweat!
For this new version of our Easy Heel Colorblock Socks, we went nylon-free with our lovely Quartz, a radiant mix of 65% merino wool and 35% suri alpaca.
Soft enough to spoil your feet, the suri in Quartz glows with a lustrous beauty. Its long fibers also create a lovely halo that floats just above the fabric’s surface. The merino offers breathability, durability, and elasticity to keep your socks snug.
Quartz also comes in nine new colors! The contrast colors we used for our socks are both new hues: golden Yellow Yarrow above and juicy Pink Guava below.
With twenty-nine colors to choose from, find a fetching pair and jump in feet first!
Designed by Purl Soho designer, Jake Canton. Click here to see even more of Jake’s designs!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho, #PurlSohoBusyHands, #PurlSohoEasyHeelColorblockSocks, and #PurlSohoQuartz. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Materials
- Purl Soho’s Quartz, 65% merino wool and 35% suri alpaca. Each skein is 420 yards/ 100 grams.
- Main Color: 1 skein; approximately 210–240 (235–265, 265–295, 285–320, 310–355) yards required, depending on foot length. We used Lavender Moon for one pair and Icicle Blue for the other.
- Contrast Color: 1 skein; approximately 110 (135, 165, 190, 220) yards required. For the Lavender Moon pair, we used Yellow Yarrow, and for the Icicle Blue pair, we used Pink Guava.
- A set of US 1 (2.25 mm) double pointed needles
- A few yards of fingering weight scrap yarn
- For Toe-Up Version: A size B–E (2.5–3.5 mm) crochet hook for Provisional Cast On
- An Easy Heel Colorblock Sock Pattern
GAUGE
34 stitches and 50 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
SIZES
6 (7, 8, 9, 10) to fit kids to adults
Choose a size that is approximately 1–2 inches smaller than the circumference of the wearer’s foot.
- Foot Circumference: 6 (7, 8, 9, 10) inches
- Foot Length: Adjustable
Samples: Both pairs pictured here are size 7.
PATTERN
Our Easy Heel Colorblock Sock Pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download only.
So sorry I do not live in the US. Being in the EU, it makes ordering so much more difficult and expensive : (
However! I’m so grateful that you also share your patterns. So inspiring and beautiful designs.
Warm greetings from Amsterdam,
Jenny
Hi I have 2 balls of santolina. I am looking to knit a hat, or socks with it. Can you please share a pattern I can use it? Thanks
Hi Charisma,
I can absolutely help you find some patterns to use your yarn for! I would recommend picking a hat over socks, because yarn that is primarily cotton isn’t a great choice for socks due to the inelasticity of the fiber. But it can work for a hat, and here are some patterns to consider: Best Friend Hat, Far + Wide Hat. Both of these patterns use two colors of yarn at once, but you can also just use one color if that’s all you have!
All the best,
Lili
Hi there!
How do I know what size to choose? I am making a pair for a friend who wears about a 10 / 10.5 shoe size. I started making the largest size as noted in the pattern, but I am concerned with the sizing. I am not too far in to pivot to a smaller size if necessary.
Thank you!
Hi Tay,
Thanks for reaching out! If possible, I’d recommend asking your friend to measure their foot circumference. You can use that to determine the best possible size based on the finished circumference of the socks.
Foot Circumference: 6 (7, 8, 9, 10) inches
Just remember to choose a size that is approximately 1–2 inches smaller than the circumference of the wearer’s foot so that the sock isn’t baggy!
All the best,
Lili
Hi, can you recommend a yarn I can buy in UK that would be comparable to Quartz? Thanks (I just love the colours)
Hi Francesca,
Thanks for reaching out! I want to let you know that we do ship internationally, so you would be able to order Quartz from the UK. I recommend going through our shipping page for more details on pricing and average delivery times.
If you’d rather use a yarn that you can buy locally though, I’d be happy to describe some of the qualities of Quartz so that you can pick out a suitable alternative! Quartz is a fingering weight yarn (which I believe would be called 4-ply in UK terminology), so you’d want to find a yarn with a similar thickness. It’s comprised of a mix of merino wool and alpaca, which are both very soft fibers, and alpaca in particular has a great drape.
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Lili