I bought myself a Christmas present this past December: a new Japanese stitch dictionary! It is full of new and intriguing patterns, and the minute I saw this particular one, I knew it had to be turned into a pair of socks. The combination of the lacework and the gorgeous rich colour of the yarn I was working with reminded me of the velvet curtains in a theatre, so the name was obvious to me.

Available in ladies’ sizes XS (6”/15cm cuff), S (7”/17.5cm cuff), M(8”/20cm cuff) and L(8.5”/21.5cm cuff), this sock is worked top-down, using charted stitch patterns that include yarnovers, ssk/ssp and K2tog/P2tog decreases, and some simple cables. The resulting fabric is less elastic than your standard lace pattern because of the cables so you may need to consider knitting one size larger than you usually do, or use a heavier weight yarn. Please note that testers of the size Large did end up using just a bit more than a standard single skein of sock yarn - I recommend that you have 120g/5oz or 490yds/450m available for this size.

The pattern is suitable for advanced beginner sock knitters who are familiar with the basics of sock construction and keen to try something a bit more challenging than a basic “vanilla” sock.

Those of you with an eye for detail may notice that the socks in the photographs have two different toes; pattern instructions are for the stockinette toe only, but if you’re really keen to try the other one, send me PM and I’ll try and help you out!