I have long loved the look of traditional redwork quilts, and embroidery. Those wonderful pieces created with just one bright, vivid colour on a crisp, clean background were my inspiration for these socks. I pictured a pair of warm cosy socks that would give the same feeling as snuggling into a nice warm quilt on cold, crisp days.

This pattern is fairly customizable. It includes charts for light pattern work on a dark background and dark pattern work on a light background. There are 4 stitch counts for the adult socks so you can choose the side border that you like best and adjust your gauge, yarn or needles to suit, or, you can make a gauge swatch in your yarn of choice and choose the stitch count that will best fit your foot. The pattern is written for fingering weight yarn. You might choose to knit it in Laceweight or DK to get the size and fit that you prefer.

The pattern includes optional chart to lengthen the foot if you find you need extra length after finishing the colourwork chart.

Included in the pattern is a chart for an ornament. You can use the ornament as a gauge swatch with the yarn and needles you want to use to help determine which chart/stitch count works best for your foot. It is also perfect for practicing your tension before you commit to a sock, to test a variety of colour choices in advance, or to try colourwork for the first time.

In my sample, I used 111 yds of white and 185 yds of grey on 2.75mm needles for the colourwork section, to fit a 9.5” foot.
White: Legacy Fiber Artz Steel Toes in “Vanilla Bean”
Grey: Legacy Fiber Artz Steel Toes in “Grey Gardens”

A 100g skein of background and a 50g skein of contrast should suffice for just about any size.