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As a child, I used to love reading vintage boarding-school stories, and always imagined that the girls in them would wear cute little ruffled socks while eating their midnight feasts and drinking ginger beer. The Bobby socks are the first in a series of sock patterns: the Midnight feasts collection, which pays homage to these books with a series of cute ankle socks, all featuring a frill around the cuff: show them off by wearing them with circle skirts and Mary-Jane shoes, or let the cuff peep out of the top of a pair of ankle boots for a really cute look. All the socks in the collection are knitted from the top down using a standard heel flap and gusset construction. The ruffled frill and first half of the turned-back cuff are knitted first, then inverted using a short row before knitting the rest of the sock. The foot length of the socks is adjustable to fit.

The Bobby socks are perfect for summer and early autumn: the lace allows your feet to air so they’re nice and cool, but as autumn approaches the socks can be worn with shoes, letting the lace frill detail peep out over the top of your shoes.

Instructions are given for both two-colour and single-colour versions. The lace stitch pattern is given as both a chart and written instructions. Tutorials are included for the inversion round and blocking the ruffle.

The pattern is written to be needle-neutral and can be knitted using either the magic-loop technique, short circulars or DPNs, depending on your individual preference. The pattern also features helpful hints for beginners.

Sizes
S (M, L)

Finished sock circumferences: 16 (20, 24) cm [6.5 (8, 9.5) in]; for the best fit, choose a size that is approximately 2.5 cm [1 in] smaller than your foot circumference.

Leg length to heel: 9 (10, 11) cm [3.5 (4, 4.25) in].

Foot length is adjustable.

Tension
30 sts and 44 rnds = 10 cm [4 in] in both stocking stitch and lace patt worked in the rnd on 2.5 mm (US 1.5) needle(s) after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

Yarn
4ply-weight sock yarn in the following colours and amounts (yardages are approximate as the amount of yarn used will depend on the length of the foot, which is adjustable):

Single-colour version
• 260 (325, 390) m [285 (355, 425) yds]

Two-colour version
• MC: 235 (295, 355) m [260 (320, 385) yds]
• CC: 25 (30, 40) m [30 (35, 40) yds]

I would recommend using a dedicated sock yarn that is tightly plied wool and has some nylon content for durability.

Needles
• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) DPNs, 15 cm [6 in], set of 5, or
• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) circular needle, at least 80 cm [32 in] in length to work magic loop, or
• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) circular needle, 22.5 cm [9 in] in length

Notions
• Stitch markers x 5

Pattern notes
The instructions are for the smallest size, with larger sizes in parentheses: S (M, L).

If you are using a multi-coloured or self-striping yarn:
• You can make two matching socks by starting both at the same point in the colour repeat of the yarn.
• To avoid the colour jog that may occur at the transition between the leg and the foot, work the heel flap and heel turn from the opposite end of the ball of yarn.

The sample details are as follows:

1. Multi-coloured, single-yarn pair: Stylecraft Head Over Heels (4-ply, 400 m per 100 g ball, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon) in 3102 Olympus. Knitted in size M.

2. Blue pair with white ruffle: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply (4-ply, 400 m per 100 g ball, 75% wool, 25% nylon) in 325 Cornflower (MC) and Drops Fabel (4-ply, 205 m per 50 g ball, 75% wool, 25% polyamide) in 100 Off-white (CC). Knitted in size L.

The version in Knit Now contains the pattern, but not the tutorials.

The Midnight Feast Collection will be released over the course of 2020. The Bobby socks pattern is the first pattern in the collection.

This pattern was first published in Knit Now issue 90.

Pattern edited by Jo Torr.