FLK heel

Fish Lips Kiss Heel

No, that's not a typo.

Yes, the Fish Lips Kiss Heel is a REAL thing. In fact, in the knitting world... it's a pretty big deal.  This heel pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry for just one buck.  Yep, just $1.00 and it's worth every penny.  I kept seeing folks using this heel in socks and purchased the pattern over two years ago. Imagine my surprise when I downloaded the pattern and I printed out 16 pages of instructions... just for a heel.  I was so over whelmed that it took me over two years to finally sit down and make heads of tails of this heel.

A few weekends ago, I sat down with the instructions and worked through the heel process.  I found a spot in the pattern on page 8 where the instructions for inserting the FLK heel in a cuff down sock begins so that's where I started.   I just cast on a sample sock, knit ribbing for about 10 rounds, knit in stockinette for about 10 rounds, and then dove in head first with that heel.

The pattern has great video support on YouTube with links contained in the written pattern.  There are two special stitches used in the heel and the videos were an amazingly great help. I worked the stitches several times following the videos.  In fact, I had two windows open on my computer so I could alternate between the two videos.  The two special stitches are "Twin Stitch Knit" and "Twin Stich Purl" and I kept watching the videos over and over until I finally got these stitches memorized.  You end up using these two stitches so many times that you eventually memorize the stiches, but they seemed rather tricky at first. 

After making my way through the FLK heel process on a sample sock, I tried out the heel in a sock I've been working on FOREVER.  It turned out great!  I look forward to finishing up this pair of socks and seeing how I like the feel and fit of the FLK heel. I'll be sure to give you a full report and share those socks when they are all done.