I created a version of these cables for a valentine project, but I liked knitting them so well I had to adapt them to something new, and a quick-knitting light-worsted sock was just the thing.

The cheery heathered green rescues them from a sentence of February-only appearances, and all the wee little cables will give you an easy way to practice cabling without cables.

The afterthought heel is quick and painless to knit and smooth and comfy to wear. You simply knit in some waste yarn to hold the place for your heel, then continue working the rest of the sock as a tube. Afterwards, pick out the waste yarn and you’re ready to knit your heel with simple paired decreases on both sides of your new hole. You’ll avoid the gaps on either side of the waste yarn row by lifting up a stitch on either side of each row and working it together with its neighbor (think of it as a simultaneous pickup and decrease).