Inspired by #renegadeplantlife

Pretty flowers cascading down over the bricks, brightening your day as you pass by. These socks were inspired by those resilient flowers that pop up in urban settings - you know the ones, they peek out from between the bricks and cracks in the paving! They are the ones you spot where you least expect to see beautiful blooms peeking out at you.

These socks are worked from the top down and combine structured twisted rib columns with delicate trailing lace patterns. The pattern flows onto the heel flap creating a beautifully patterned heel, perfect for showing off in open backed shoes. If you need a stronger heel just pop in a slipped stitch heel instead.

This design originally appeared in The Knitter December 2014.

Materials

Ginger’s Hand Dyed Sheepish Sock (fingering; 80% Bluefaced Leiscester, 20% nylon; 365m / 400yd per 100g skein.
Shade: My Little Pony x 1

Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply (fingering; 100% superwash Merino; 365m / 399yd per 100g skein)
Shade: Spiced Plum x 1

2.5mm / US 1.5 needles suitable for working small circumferences in the rnd
3 stitch markers

Gauge

32 sts and 44 rnds over 10cm / 4in of stocking stitch working in the rnd and blocked, using 2.5mm / US 1.5 needles

48 sts and 44 rnds over 10cm / 4in of twisted rib working in the rnd and blocked, using 2.5mm / US 1.5 needles

40 sts and 44 rnds over 10cm / 4in of lace rib working in the rnd and blocked, using 2.5mm / US 1.5 needles

Sizes

S, (M, L)
Finished circumference (unstretched):
15 (17, 19)cm / 6 (6.75, 7.5)in
To fit foot circumference approx:
19.5 (22, 24.5)cm / 7.5 (8.5, 9.5)in
Leg from cuff to base of heel flap approx:
19 (20, 22)cm / 7.5 (8, 8.5)in

The length can be adjusted by knitting shorter or longer cuff, or by adding or removing chart repeats in the leg section. The sock may seem very narrow when you are knitting it but the rib and lace pattern has a lot of stretch and provides a good fit.