by Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario

Grey skies making you a little blue? It's time to whip out those needles and some gorgeous yarn and knit a bouquet of long stemmed roses. Even better, these are roses that won't soon wilt and fade.

These socks were inspired by the loveliest of cerise and yellow yarns by Knitsch. It might not be so outrageous to soon find a rose garden tucked up in my sock drawer!

A simple, classic sock construction using an old rose leaf pattern from Barbara Walker's second treasury with an art deco influenced rose motif and picot cuff, these socks are something a little bit bright and special for chilly days.

SIZE
Adult M[L]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Foot Circumference: 8.25[9.5] inches
Foot Length: adjustable to fit
Leg Length: 6[6.25] inches [adjustable to fit]

MATERIALS
Yarn
Knitsch Yarns Sock [100% New Zealand merino; 167m/182yd per 50g skein]; :
Red: The 9th Rose; 2[3] skeins
Yellow: Yellow Brick Road; 2[3] skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
US #1.5/2.5mm needles for working in the round

Notions
stitch marker
yarn needle

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Grafting:
Instructions for grafting can be found here.

DIRECTIONS
Cuff
CO 64[80] stitches. Distribute sts across needles as preferred and join for working in the round.

Picot Cuff
Rounds 1-6: Knit.

Round 7, turning round: [K2tog, yo] around.

Rounds 8-14: Knit.

Round 15, create hem: Fold work inwards at the turning round. With tip of left needle, pick up 1 st from the CO edge, and work it together with a live st. Work across round.

Leg
Upper leg round: Work appropriate size Rose Bloom Chart 4 times around.

Work as set until Rose Bloom Chart is complete.

Lower leg round: Work appropriate size Rose Leaf Chart 4 times around.

Work as set until 4[3] full repeats of the Rose Leaf Chart are complete.

Heel
The heel flap is worked back and forth on the first 32[40] sts of the round.

Row 1 [RS]: [Sl1, k1] 16[20] times, turn.
Row 2 [WS]: Sl1, p31[39], turn.

Repeat Rows 1-2 16[18] more times, and work Row 1 once more.

Heel Turn
Row 1 [WS]: Sl1, p18[22], p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 2 [RS]: Sl1, k7, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 3 [WS]: Sl1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 4 [RS]: Sl1, k9, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 5 [WS]: Sl1, p10, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 6 [RS]: Sl1, k11, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 7 [WS]: Sl1, p12, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 8 [RS]: Sl1, k13, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 9 [WS]: Sl1, p14, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 10 [RS]: Sl1, k15, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 11 [WS]: Sl1, p16, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 12 [RS]: Sl1, k17, ssk, k1, turn.

Medium size only: 20 heel stitches remain. Proceed to Gusset.

Row 13 [WS]: Sl1, p18, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 14 [RS]: Sl1, k19, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 15 [WS]: Sl1, p20, ssk, k1, turn.

Row 16 [RS]: Sl1, k21, ssk, k1, turn.

Large size only: 24 heel stitches remain. Proceed to Gusset.

Gusset
Gusset setup round: With RS facing, pick up and knit 18[20] sts along the first side of the heel flap, work across instep sts in pattern as set, pick up and knit 18[20] sts along second side of heel flap; k 10[12] to center of heel. This is the new start of round; rearrange your stitches and mark as required. 88[104] sts.

Gusset round 1: K to 1 st before instep, k2tog; work across instep in pattern as set; k to end of round. 87[103] sts; 31[39] sts on instep.

Note: From here, start instep on st 2 of chart pattern.

Gusset round 2: K to 2 stitches before instep, k2tog; work across instep in pattern as set; ssk, k to end of round.
Gusset round 3: K to instep; work across instep in pattern as set; k to end of round.

Repeat Gusset rounds 2-3 until 63[79] stitches remain: 32[40] sole stitches, 31[39] instep stitches.

Foot
Work even in pattern as established until sock is 2[2.5] inches less than desired length.

Toe
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: Knit to 3 stitches before the start of the instep, k2tog, k2, ssk, knit to 3 stitches before the end of the instep, k2tog, k2, ssk, knit to end of round.

Repeat these 2 rounds until 23[31] sts rem.
Setup for graft: K to start of instep.

Cut yarn, leaving a 12 inch tail. Using Kitchener stitch, graft the toe stitches together.

FINISHING
Weave in ends and block.

Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario makes a living writing and talking about fairy tales at a university. Her Scottish terrier supervises all her knitting.

She blogs here and you'll also find her on Ravelry.