This pattern includes a second PDF version that is formatted for knitters with low vision. It has black text, size 22 or larger text in a sans serif font, no italics, no columns, and fully-written directions. The chart is still included but is not needed to work the pattern. Many thanks to Gemma Thompson (gemmabelle here on Rav) and the Accessible Patterns group for their guidance in formatting patterns in a more accessible way.

This year’s edition of the Golden Honey Sock Club is named for classic romance novel cover elements, and I had to start with the most classic of them all: the clinch cover.

You know the ones I’m talking about. They feature two people embracing, usually in varying states of undress, often with the wind blowing through someone’s hair, always with smoldering gazes locked on each other. By the time I was a kid, these covers were so common that they’d become a bit of a cliché, and we all made fun of them.

Now, as an adult, I appreciate them. They tell you exactly what you’re getting in your book, and they’re not shy about what that book is. Some of them are also downright gorgeous, if I’m perfectly honest.

So these socks celebrate the clinch covers of past, present, and future with lots of 1x1 cables holding each other tightly. The pattern is graded to five sizes, knit from the cuff down, and finished with a wedge toe. The heel is a classic heel flap and gusset for the best range of fit.

Sizes

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Finished sock dimensions: 6.25” (16 cm), 7.5” (19 cm), 8.75” (22 cm), 10” (25.5 cm), 11.25” (28.5 cm) circumference (Note: most people like their socks snug, so choose a finished sock size that is slightly smaller than your actual foot)

Materials

Fingering weight yarn, 280-440 yds (256-403 m)

Sample shown knit in Scheepjes Arcadia Tones, 75% supewash virgin wool, 25% polyamide, 433 yds (396 m) per 3.5 oz (100 g)

Gauge

4” (10 cm) square = 32 stitches x 40 rows in stockinette

Needles

One set of needles for your preferred style of small-circumference knitting in a size to match gauge listed above

Suggested needle size: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)

Tools

One stitch marker for beginning of round; optional additional markers to mark pattern repeats

Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Skill Level

Intermediate. Techniques include decreases, increases, knitting in the round, cabling, stockinette grafting