I mentioned in my previous post that I like the Eye of Partridge heel flap.  It has a dimpled diamond stitch appearance and I just think it looks cool.  The technique is very similar to the more common Slipped Stitch Heel flap (below).

As with a lot of knitting stitches, the Eye of Partridge may be called something else.  I’ve also seen it called V-Heel flap (below).

I’m not going to explain the how’s of the heel flap, just the basic stitch pattern for the EoP flap on a typical top-down sock.

Eye of Partridge Stitch

Divide the heel stitches according to your pattern.  I the case of a 64-stitch sock, work the heel flap on 32 stitches leaving the instep stitches on the other needle(s). I find it easier to work the heel flap on two dpns than circulars.

Row 1: (Right side) * Sl1, K1*, repeat across, ending with K1.
Row 2 and all even rows: Sl1, purl across row.
Row 3: Sl1, Sl1, * K1, Sl1,* repeat across row ending with K2.
Row 4: Repeat Row 2.

Repeat these four rows until ready to turn the heel, usually 32-33 rows.  This pretty knitting stitch offsets the slipped stitch every other row, which results in a diamond pattern.