Soft, warm, and utterly luxurious, the Cheyenne Lake socks are worked in a heavy sport or light DK-weight yarn, making them quick to knit and gloriously indulgent to wear. These are more “house socks” or “boot socks” than under-your-ordinary-shoe socks, but that gives you even more opportunities to show them off! A hint of stitch-patterning on the cuff adds a bit of visual interest, while simple stockinette worked over the gusset and foot makes for a relaxing take-along project. The Cheyenne Lake Socks would make for a great first sock project for a newer sock knitter, or a soothing, simple project for an old pro. I designed these in Anzula’s squishy, opulent “Cricket,” a merino-cashmere-nylon blend (because really, why shouldn’t hand-knit socks be a special treat for yourself?), but the pattern works equally well in a wool or wool-nylon blend yarn with resiliency and good stitch definition.

Construction note: Socks are knit top down, using a “conventional” gusset and turned heel. The sock is worked in the round to the heel flap, and then half the stitches are put on hold while the heel flap is worked across the other half of the stitches. The heel turn is shaped with short rows, and then stitches are picked up along the sides of the heel flap to work the gusset in the round. The gusset is worked by decreasing in the round, and then the remainder of the foot is worked even in the round to the toe. The toe is shaped with decreases and then grafted together using the Kitchener stitch.

Sizes: Adult S (M, L); 7.25 (8.5, 9.75)” / 19 (22, 25) cm circumference at cuff, 9 (10.25, 11.5)” / 23 (26, 29) cm foot length (adjustable), 9.5 (10.5, 11.5)” / 24 (27, 29) cm cuff-to-bottom of heel (adjustable).

Yarn: Anzula Cricket (80% superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 250 yards / 225 meters per 100 grams), or approximately 200 yards / 180 meters of heavy sport- or light DK-weight yarn. (Note on yarn substitution: I know they’re somewhat ephemeral, but the idea here is to use something luxurious, warm, and really special for these socks. They’ll work with any heavy sport or light-DK wool or wool-blend yarn, but why not treat yourself a little? Just this once… A special note for hand-dyed yarn: I’d aim for something with a modest degree of variegation, at most. The stitch patterning at the top may be obscured by a very bold self-striping yarn.)

Gauge: 26 sts and 32 rnds per 4” / 10 cm in stockinette stitch, after blocking.

Needles: One long (32” / 80 cm or longer) circular needle (for magic loop) or five double-pointed needles in size US 4 / 3.5 mm, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Notions: Stitch markers; tapestry needle.

Skills Required: decreasing; picking up stitches; knitting in the round; short rows (wrap and turn); small-circumference circular knitting using double-pointed needles or magic loop; grafting using Kitchener stitch.