The Art of Twists and Braids

These yoga, ballet, or dance socks keep your feet and ankles warm,
while leaving the heel and ball free for optimal grip on smooth surfaces.
The two-color brioche design features visually pleasing, Celtic inspired crossed stitches and includes a heel flap and a tapering tip on top of the foot for extra coverage and warmth.

The pattern is for shoe size EUR 40-42.
For other sizing systems see this overview of shoe sizes.
Basic advice on adjusting the size is included.

The socks are worked top down and use roughly one 50g (1.76oz) skein of yarn per color of the suggested yarn. The suggested yarn is a light aran weight and can also be substituted by worsted weight yarn.

Techniques used in this pattern:
Two colored brioche, Crossed stitches (a type of cable combination), I-cord border, Italian Cast-On, Backward-Loop Cast-On, Italian Bind-Off, a stretchy Bind-Off, directional decreases and basic crochet.

Stand alone instructions are provided for the Crossed stitches, the Italian Cast-On and the Italian Bind-Off.
Brioche and I-cord border develop automatically, when following the general instructions.

Size specification for needles, hooks and yarn are included in both US and metric units. Crochet terms are in US terminology.