Anyone familiar with George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones books knows that Arya Stark has never had ambitions of being a proper lady. Her journey throughout the books is a difficult one, fraught with challenges, and I wanted to design a sock to represent that.

The overall pattern of this sock is a simple one to knit, consisting mostly of ropes and chains, to represent not only her physical bondage, but also the mental prison of being forced to hide her true identity. Just as all men must die, so must all types of bondage eventually come to an end: the ropes and chains trail off into nothing, both in the heel flap and also as the pattern nears the toe. Despite being a simple pattern to memorize, the socks do present a bit of challenge, if you’re up to it - the left sock has a small Braavosi coin hidden in the inner gusset, and the right sock has a column of stitches on the back leg that marks a perfect spot to conceal a small knife in your boot, in case you can’t access Needle when you need it.

The yarn I used for the sample pair (shown in size Large) is Hazel Knits Entice MCN in the colourway Arroyo, a perfect colour for a little girl disguised as a lowborn boy named Arry, or a Weasel, or even a Cat. Although the colourway may look muddy, don’t be fooled: this yarn secretly contains soft luxurious cashmere, suitable for a highborn lady.

Charts are used for this design where possible, rather than written instructions.