High in the mountains stands an old castle. Whilst it looks desolate and abandoned when glimpsed from afar, it is home to Count Vlad and his batty friends. Vlad enjoys long walks in the countryside so why not put him on your feet and go exploring together?

Method:
These stranded colorwork socks are knit in the round from the cuff down. With a heel flap, round heel, and a striped foot they can be worked in three contrasting colors.

Separate Jogless Stripes and Duplicate Stitch photo tutorial pdfs are also included.

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.

Sizes:
This pattern is written in 4 sizes. All instructions that differ depending on the size you are knitting are color coded and indicated with parentheses like this: S (M, L, XL).

Size - Sock Circumference - Approx. UK Sizes
S - 7” (18 cm) - Children’s 13-4, Ladies 1-4
M - 8” (20.5 cm) - Ladies 5-8
L - 8⅞” (22.5 cm) - Men’s 8.5-10.5
XL - 9¾” (24.5 cm) - Men’s 11-13

The length of both the leg and the foot are easily adjustable, notes for doing this are included.

Yarn:
This pattern was designed with Cygnet Truly Wool Rich 4 ply, but you can use any 4 ply (fingering) sock yarn that you like and with which you can get tension/ gauge.

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.

This pattern works well with three (or more) solid colors. You will only need a small amount of CC2 to add the details on Vlad’s face. The amounts of the other colors required will depend on how many colors you pick, where you choose to use them in the sock, and which size you are knitting. As a guide for the pair pictured (size M in three colors) I used the following quantities of Cygnet Truly Wool Rich 4 ply:

MC – 1952 Regal Purple approx. 235 metres (257 yards)
CC1 – 2066 Black approx. 135 metres (148 yards)
CC2 – 2080 White approx. 5 metres (6 yards)