Double Heelix Socks
Completed Apr 2012 (updated Jun 2025)
Last week I MADE SOME SOCKS.
I’d been working on a self-designed piece for a while and needed a bit of a break from all that thinking. For some reason, I decided that a pattern rated ’extra spicy’ would be good for this. I’m smart like that.
The pattern is Double Heelix, from Knitty. I was attracted by the clean, simple lines of the pattern, and as a big fan of the toe-up sock, I was intrigued by the idea of a heel-out pattern. I was not disappointed.
The helix was a little confusing to begin with, but before long I was spiralling like a champ. Then the toe and the ankle were perfect look-ma-I’m-not-even-looking material.
After my most recent equipment failure, I felt a little nervous of magic looping once I got to the ankles and was working on both socks at the same time. So I finally looked up how to knit with two circs at the same time.
Mind. Blown.
I don’t know how I thought it worked before this point, but it was such a beautiful moment of wide-eyed wonder when it twigged. If you’ve not done it before, here’s a link to a great tutorial with colour-coded pictures.
I also learned that while I’ve mastered the technique of photographing socks from the front, trying to get a good pic of an unusual heel involves contortions previously seen only in comic books.