The inspiration for these socks comes from junk food fiction, which I devour in copious amounts on a regular basis (yum!). One of my current favorite urban fantasy characters is a 5,000 yr old demon named, Algaliarept, from Kim Harrisons’ Hollows Series. Rachel Morgan, a bounty hunter witch meets him one day while trying to borrow the wrong spell book from the forbidden section of the university library. Al’s a tricky devil, and just like him, these socks have more than a few surprises.

Designed to be knit in either sport or fingering weight yarn in 4 different sizes, these socks also feature a patterned flap-style heel with a hidden decrease panel and a ribbed gusset and arch on a shaped sole for a comfortably tailored fit. The unique all-over slip-stitch pattern looks impressive and intimidating (much like the demon himself), but is really simple to make and creates a wave in the body of the sock as it is worked, resembling curling smoke, or flames licking their way up the foot and leg. Just like Al, the charm to these devilish socks is in the details.

And just for fun, maybe listen to this while knitting and think of Algalirept :)

ERRATA: Rows 17-32 of the left leg chart should match rows 1-16 of the right leg chart.