I have always been intrigued by owls and loved to collect – and make - all kinds of things having to do with these nocturnal birds of prey. It comes as no surprise to those who know me that one of my first knit designs would combine two of my passions – owls and knitting socks! These two color stranded socks are knit from the cuff down and feature a short row heel and a stylized owl design which repeats around the leg and graphic designs on the foot. I’ve written the pattern for DPNs because I find it easier to keep my floats more evenly tensioned in this way, but you can use circular needles if preferred.

The socks are sized to fit an average (med) size woman’s foot when knit on a US 1 (2.25mm) needle. To size them larger, use a US 2 (2.75mm) needle. The length can be varied by knitting more (or fewer) rounds from the foot charts.

Sizing: Medium has a leg circumference of approx. 8 ½” unstretched when measured just below the ribbing.
Large has a leg circumference of approx. 9 ¼” unstretched when measured just below the ribbing.

Yarn: Fingering wt. sock yarn; amount will vary depending upon cuff and heel/toe color combination chosen as well as the size. The sock on the left (medium) was knit on US I needles and used 130 yds of off-white and 185 yds of brown. The sock on the right (large) was knit on US 2 needles and used 115 yds of lime green and 240 yds of brown.

Needles & Gauge: US 1 (2.25mm) : Gauge = 8 sts per inch
OR
US 2 (2.75mm) : Gauge = 7.75 sts per inch

Errata: The second line under the Leg section should read: Knit 8 stitches in MC. (not CC as originally stated.) I have uploaded a corrected PDF to reflect this change.