I really thought for a moment that I wouldn't make it. I would be into August and the second sock would still be missing the heel or even the cuff. But, my friends, I pulled through.

The pattern, which can be found on Yarnspirations, was fun and I wouldn't mind using it again. I did have to make sizing adjustments, something I'm still not an ace at doing so the second sock ended up a bit small. One thing I loved a lot about this pattern was the cuff. I'm so used to making the cuff first (with top down socks) that I was very skeptical about how this pair (toe-up) would have that same accordion-like finish. But it worked! After the last round of the ankle, a set of chains were added to do the back loop only rows. At the end of every other row, I would slip stitch into the last round of the ankle. Definitely want to use that technique again with toe-up socks.

This was my first time making an afterthought heel and I was delighted when it turned out to be a relatively easy process. It's similar to how you would finish the toes in a top-down sock - you place markers on opposite sides of the opening and make decreases at each marker, then sew the seam. I really found this way of making sock heels less complicated (I'm looking at you, short row heels).

I'm excited to experiment with these two newly-learned techniques, which is why I'm now on the hunt for the August sock pattern. And if you'd like to join the crochet sock fun you can find out more in the Year of the Sock Facebook group.

Yarn used for these socks is from Mountain Colors and you can read the full review here.