I created these socks to remind me of a place that has a very special place in my heart, the Moray Firth. When my children were young we had a caravan in one of the small villages along this coastline and, from March to October, we spent a lot of time there. All the motifs on this sock are inspired by this area, from the seagulls and sailboats to the shells and starfish we would find along the beach and in rockpools.
I chose to use a modified Eye of Partridge heel flap to represent the fishing nets commonly seen down by the harbour, and Marianne @runningyarn graciously allowed me to use her clever gusset construction so I could hide a special motif in the triangle under the heel. The Moray Firth is home to the most northerly colony of Bottlenose Dolphins in the world and, if you are really lucky, you will see one or more of these elusive creatures on your visit. If not, only you will know you can find one hiding under your heel!

Method: These stranded colorwork socks are knit from the cuff down, featuring a modified Eye of Partridge heel flap and gusset decreases placed on the sole. This top-down triangular sole decrease method was developed by Marianne at Running Yarn and is used here in it’s original version with her kind permission.

These socks can be knitted on dpns, by magic loop, or on a short circular (in which case you will still need dpns for the heel and toe decreases).

Please note the colorwork design in this pattern is charted not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Size: Foot circumference 8” (20.3 cm) Ladies UK 5-8.
Although these socks are written for one size this is adjustable to a certain degree.

Firstly, to increase or decrease the foot circumference you can change the needle size (and therefore the tension) that you knit these socks at. Please note stranded colorwork does not have the same stretch to it that a plain stocking stitch sock does.

Secondly, to increase the leg and/or foot length you can work more plain MC rounds before or after knitting the charts, or between pattern bands. You can also repeat motifs from the charts (e.g., work an extra band of fishes).

Similarly, the leg and/or foot length can be decreased by working fewer plain rounds between the bands of motifs or by removing a pattern band completely.

Please bear in mind that any changes to size or tension will affect the amount of yarn required to knit these socks.

Yarn: You can use any 4 ply (fingering) sock yarn with which you can get gauge. You will need at least two contrasting colors of yarn, but this is a great pattern to experiment with color! You might choose to use three colors as I have done to highlight the little boats in the pair shown, you might choose to add a contrast color just for the cuffs, heels, and toes; you could even use a totally different color for each pattern band to use mini skeins or leftovers from your stash! Be creative, have fun, but keep in mind changes will affect yardage and the number of ends to weave in. Please note I do not recommend using yarns with a high cotton content as cotton doesn’t stretch as much as other fibers and this will affect the fit of your socks.

The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick and where you choose to use them in the sock. As a guide for the three color socks shown:

MC – Approx. 240 metres, 263 yards
CC1 – Approx. 120 metres, 132 yards
CC2 – Approx. 10 metres, 11 yards