Please note: gauge differs between one-color Stockinette stitch in the round and Stockinette stitch over Chart pattern in the round

28 sts and 40 rounds = 4” / 10 cm in one-color Stockinette stitch in the round
36 sts and 32 rounds = 4” / 10 cm in in Stockinette stitch over Chart pattern in the round

Pattern inspiration

Like many buildings in outposts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, the central market hall in Budapest features a patterned tiled roof. (Vienna’s Stephansdom, or St. Stephen’s Cathedral, is another impressive example, but the color changes required to achieve it in yarn would make most knitters cry).

This sock is based directly on the main roof pattern of the Nagycsarnok, or Great Market Hall. If you look up images online, you will see that it has been extensively renovated in recent years, with new Zsolnay porcelain tiles replacing the ones hurriedly slapped on its exterior during post-WWII rebuilding efforts. Shopping at the Nagycsarnok reminds me of my beloved West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio, which is only slightly younger and far less ornate, albeit beautiful.

This design is worked in Fair Isle-style stranded colorwork. Carry the color not in use loosely across the wrong side of the work. Keep your tension loose. Stranded colorwork knitting can pull in and become inelastic without enough slack in the floats (strands on the back of the work). When in doubt, make the floats looser than you think they should be.

You can work this design on double pointed needles, two circular needles, or one long circular needle for Magic Loop. The pattern uses markers to orient you within the work.

Thank you!

Many thanks to my sample knitters Sarah Jo Burch and Koren Wade, as well as to my resident sock guru tech editor Kate Atherley and the entire Twist Collective staff!