These socks were designed to use Whistlebare’s lovely St Cuthbert Sock yarn, which is nylon-free. The yarn is 80% mohair and 20% Wensleydale and it knits to a somewhat looser tension or gauge than most other sock yarn. This is great because you can get a pair of excellent socks more quickly!
I wanted to make myself some multicoloured socks and tried stranded colour work but it didn’t go very well! The yarn is lustrous and not sticky. It does however work well with slipped stitch patterns and this is the result of my experiments.
The socks are knitted in the round, cuff down, with a heel flap and gusset. Heel stitch is used for the flap and extended around the heel turn and onto the sole for a few rows to provide extra cushioning and durability. This is where I tend to wear my socks out most. The slip stitch pattern continues on the instep, while the sole is worked plain. You only ever work with one colour at a time. The toe is worked with decreases and grafted (kitchener stitch) to finish.
If you want to use “ordinary” sock yarn make sure and use the tighter gauge and sizing described for this. I knitted the samples in WYS Signature 4 ply yarn. In this case you will use smaller needles and each pair of socks takes about 300 metres
You will need two balls of whichever yarn you choose, and you will comfortably be able to make two pairs of socks from these two balls.
The pink & navy and the yellow & navy sample socks are knitted in St Cuthbert’s sock; the rainbow & black and the blue & white are knitted in WYS signature 4 ply.
Charts and written instructions are included.

update 25 feb 2023. Following feedback, I have changed the charts to make them accessible to visually impaired knitters.