The pattern name has nothing to do with neither religion nor the X-files. Once you’ve started to knit those cute little leaves down the leg of the sock it’s hard to stop - you want to go on, “to beleaf”.

Thanks to variations in the stitch pattern the socks fits well even if the user has calves that are wider than the ankles.

• Women’s Medium, foot and ankle circumference 21 cm / 8½ inches
• Top circumference 24 cm (9½ inches) stretchable to 35 cm (14 inches)
• To fit a 23 cm / 9 inch long foot (minimum foot lenght 22 cm / 8.5 inch, easy to make the foot longer)
• The leg of the sock is about 15 cm (6 inches) long.
  At the end of the pattern you’ll find tips about adjustments to individualize the fit.

Additional material: 12-24 inches of waste yarn

Techniques used:

• Long tail cast on or, as a stretchier alternative, the twisted German cast on.
• Picking up stitches from slipped strands
• Lifted increases, left and right leaning
• A technique to use waste yarn to mark the strands that are created when slipping the edge stitches of the heel flap is described in the pattern

The stitch count varies between rounds due to the stitch pattern

The sock is knit top down with a traditional heel flap and heel turn. The foot has a gusset and a mild arch shaping. The toe is grafted together.

The Wollmeise can of course be substituted with another fingering sock yarn - preferably high wool content.

Some photos showing how to use the waste yarn can be found in these project notes.

This pattern was initially available through Sock Madness 6. It was the pattern for round #3 of the competition in 2012.
The designer took part in the competition and reached round #7 (the finale).