It’s early December, let’s head to the loft and dig out the Christmas decorations. The boxes aren’t just full of shiny sparkly things, they are full of memories! School-project decorations made from egg boxes, souvenir decorations from holiday markets around the world, glass decorations handed down from Grandparents, paper streamers from the 1970s, and quite a collection of brightly coloured shiny decorations from the 80s. Every decoration has a story to tell (even the plastic ones you bought as a box-set from Woolworths in the 1980s!). It’s the 1980s decorations that have inspired this sock pattern. I found a photo of a foil Christmas decoration on Pinterest, and the colours spoke to (shouted at) me: all the bright colours, plenty of sparkle, these socks keep your attention the whole way through! I worked with Quack yarn to create a colour palette that matched that original decoration, and I love what Fiona came up with.

The socks are knitted from the cuff down, and feature a slipped-stitch stripe pattern that is easy to memorise. The pattern includes instructions for both afterthought and short-row heels, so you can choose whichever version works best for you. The pattern uses the Barn toe, which is my favourite as it doesn’t involve any grafting – if you use the short-row heel, you can skip grafting completely.

This pattern is perfect for a mini-skein set, a yarn advent, or for using up scraps of yarn. If you’d prefer to use a single colour for the main colour, I’ve included the yardages for that option too. Of course you can switch the colours up to something more muted than my samples – they’d look great knitted in a gradient set.

You can knit this pattern for the whole family – the pattern is written for 9 sizes, with circumferences from 7.5 cm (3 in) to 27.5 cm (11 in). The smallest size makes a great Christmas decoration, and the biggest one would make a very respectable stocking!

Sizes
A (B, C // D, E, F // G, H, I)

Finished circumference:

• 7.5 (10, 12.5 // 15, 17.5, 20 // 22.5, 25, 27.5) cm
• 3 (4, 5 // 6, 7, 8 // 9, 10, 11) in

Designed to be worn with approximately 10% negative ease. Choose a sock with a finished circumference approximately 10% smaller than the measured circumference of your foot around the widest part.

Tension
32 sts and 48 rnds = 10 cm (4 in) in stocking stitch worked in the round on 2.5 mm (US 1.5) needles after wet blocking, or size needed to obtain correct tension.

2 repeats of the Christmas Cracker stitch pattern 22 (22, 22 // 26, 26, 26 // 30, 30, 30) rnds measure approximately 4 (4, 4 // 5, 5, 5 // 6, 6, 6) cm 1.6 (1.6, 1.6 // 2, 2, 2 // 2.4, 2.4, 2.4) in.

Needles
This pattern is written to be needle-neutral. You can use your preferred method for knitting in the round.

• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) DPNs, 15 cm 6 in, set of 5, or
• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) circular needle, at least 80 cm 32 in in length to work magic loop, or
• 2.5 mm (US 1.5) circular needle, 22.5 cm 9 in in length

Yarn
4ply yarn in the following colours and amounts:
Cuff (pair of socks)

• 6 (10, 14 // 20, 26, 34 // 42, 51, 61) m
• 7 (11, 16 // 22, 29, 38 // 46, 56, 67) yds

Heel (pair of socks)

• 7 (9, 12 // 16, 19, 24 // 29, 33, 39) m
• 8 (10, 14 // 18, 21, 27 // 32, 37, 43) yds

Toe (pair of socks)

• 4 (8, 12 // 16, 22, 28 // 35, 43, 52) m
• 5 (9, 14 // 18, 25, 31 // 39, 48, 57) yds

Each CC stripe (for scrappy socks)

• 2 (2, 2 // 3, 3, 3 // 4, 4, 4) m
• 3 (3, 3 // 4, 4, 4 // 5, 5, 5) yds

Each MC stripe (for scrappy socks/mini skeins)

• 3 (4, 5 // 7, 9, 10 // 13, 14, 16) m
• 4 (5, 6 // 8, 10, 11 // 15, 16, 18) yds

Want to use the same MC or CC throughout?
These values assume that you are working a short-row heel, and that your sock has a total of 5 (7, 9 // 8, 10, 12 // 11, 12, 13) MC stripes and 6 (8, 10 // 9, 11, 13 // 12, 13, 14) CC stripes 1.5 (2.5, 3.5 // 3.5, 4.5, 5.5 // 5.5, 6.5, 6.5) stripes on the leg and 3.5 (4.5, 5.5 // 4.5, 5.5, 6.5 // 5.5, 5.5, 6.5) stripes on the foot.

This gives you a sock with the following approximate measurements:

• Leg length (measured from cuff to top of heel): 5 (7, 9.5 // 12, 15, 18 // 21, 24, 24.5) cm 2 (3, 3.75 // 4.75, 6, 7 // 8.25, 9.75, 9.75) in
• Foot length (measured from back of heel to tip of toe): 10 (13, 16.5 // 17.5, 21.5, 25 // 26.5, 27.5, 32) cm 4 (5.25, 6.5 // 7, 8.5, 10 // 10.5, 11, 12.75) in

Note that yardages are approximate as the amount of yarn used will depend on the length of the leg and the foot, both of which are adjustable.

CC stripes (one CC used, pair of socks)

• 13 (23, 35 // 38, 54, 72 // 75, 90, 107) m
• 15 (26, 39 // 42, 60, 79 // 83, 99, 118) yds

MC stripes (one MC used, pair of socks)

• 28 (52, 83 // 111, 161, 221 // 273, 331, 394) m
• 31 (57, 91 // 122, 177, 242 // 299, 363, 432) yds

Additional information on yarn choices
I used a set of six 80 m (88 yds) minis to knit a pair in size F. I had plenty left of each of the MC colours, but only a tiny scrap of the CC. If you want to use a mini skein set, I recommend having some spare CC to hand. If you are running short of some of the MC colours, switch up the order of the stripes in the second sock to use more of the yarns you had less of in the first sock.

Note that yardages are approximate as the amount of yarn used will depend on the length of the foot, which is adjustable.

I would recommend using a dedicated sock yarn that is tightly plied wool and has some nylon content for durability.

Notions

• Fixed stitch markers x 2
• Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• Darning needle for grafting

Pattern notes
The instructions are for the smallest size, with larger sizes in parentheses: A (B, C // D, E, F // G, H, I). If only one number is given, it applies to all sizes.

The sample is knitted in Quack Yarn (4-ply, 80 m per 20 g skein, 75% superwash merino, 20% nylon, 5% stellina) in Christmas Cracker. Size F with afterthought heel. Yarn support was provided by Quack Yarn, to check out all the yarn Fiona dyes, head to https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/QuackYarn

This pattern was tech edited by Jo Torr.