Heel to the end

If you've made it this far in the pattern, all that's left is the heel. There are several ways to make a heel. The one I'm offering here is only one of many; and because it is worked in garter st, I'm not sure it would work well on a real to-be-worn sock. Remove the waste yarn and put loose stitches on dpns. (In the sample, I knit 40 waste yarn stitches, so I picked up 40 sts on the bottom and 41 on the top for 81 total.) Starting in the lower right and using the contrast color, knit once around. As you do this, pick up an extra st or two at each corner to prevent holes. Purl the next round. Knit the third round, but work a double decrease at each corner (4sts decreased total on the round). I used a sl-2tog-knitwise, k1, psso decrease to make a strong line. If you don't like the central line, just knit all three sts together. Purl the fourth round. Continue alternating a round of knits with double decreases and plain purls until there are only about one-quarter of the original sts left. (If you started with 40 & 41, work until you have 10 & 11.) Kitchener graft those last sts together. Make sure all ends are woven in. Your stocking is done, and looking very fine for the holidays!

Hang up and wait for the holiday goodies to appear inside.