He lives in an oak-wood and has a great wooden house; and as a man he keeps cattle and horses… … He does not eat them; neither does he hunt or eat wild animals. He keeps hives and hives of great fierce bees, and lives most on cream and honey..

-- J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Hobbit, describing Beorn

A match for the Beekeeper Mittens, these snug boot cuffs will keep wind and snow (and bees?) out of your boots this winter.

The shafts of these boot cuffs are worked in 2x2 ribbing that hugs the leg. The fold over cuffs are worked in a slipped stitch fabric that resembles the honeycomb shapes built by bees. The pattern is written for leather lace-up ankle boots, but includes instructions to customize the fit to your favourite pair of boots. Keep in mind that a larger cuff will use correspondingly more yarn; I would roughly estimate an additional 40 yards of yarn per inch, with the original size snuggly fitting a 13” outside circumference.

Materials Needed:

• @16o yards of worsted weight yarn
• 4mm (US size 6) dpns or circular needle large enough for magic loop, or needle size needed to meet gauge
• end/start round stitch marker

Gauge:

16 stitches = 10cm (4”) in mock honeycomb stitch (row gauge is not important for this pattern)

Instruction Style:

The pattern is fully written and partially charted; the ribbed shaft instructions are written only, the textured cuffs are both written and charted.

Pattern updated in 2020