How to Avoid Color Pooling from Variegated Yarn on Sock Heels

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I absolutely loved this gorgeous tonal yarn from Knit Picks so I broke my ban on variegated yarn and bought it anyway. I try to stay away from variegated sock yarn because I hate the way it pools around the gusset of a sock.

See how the sock was a lovely striped kind of pattern, but then all the white pooled up on the top and the pink on the side & bottom:

The funny thing is that I was on a six-hour flight when I was knitting this heel and I spent the entire first half of the flight knitting the heel flap and gusset, then I decided I couldn’t live with the pooling so I ripped the whole thing out.  The person sitting next to me was totally shocked! haha!

But, never fear – there is a way around this pooling problem! You can avoid pooling by swapping your gusset heel for an afterthought or a short-row heel, so I opted for the latter.  (If you know of another way, please tell!!)

I’ve been wanting to take another stab at the Fish Lips Kiss Heel so this seemed like a good opportunity. I’m very pleased with how it cured the pooling problem!  (TBD on how the sock fits without my favorite flap & gusset construction! Stay tuned to find out!)

Check out the new heel: