Hanafubuki - 花吹雪
Petal rain: when a gust of wind makes many petals fall at once and they resemble a snowstorm.

One of the pleasures we cherish most at home is to stroll the paths that wind through the neighboring hills, in the typical Mediterranean forest. It is common to find oaks and holm oaks, alder trees, and hazelnut groves. However, in the fields surrounding an old farmhouse, stands a single and solitary cherry tree, which I have a special fondness for. Every spring we visit it, witness its blossoming and, when the time comes, we contemplate how the wind undresses its branches… a shower of petals carried by the wind with a fairy beauty that speaks of how ephemeral and treasurable life is.

In Japanese there is a wonderful word to describe this shower of petals: Hanafubuki. It is composed of hana 花 (flower) and fubuki 吹雪 (blizzard or snowstorm). It literally means “flower blizzard.” It names the phenomenon of a group of flowers falling together from the tree because of a gust of wind. Like a gale of flowers, hence the name hanafubuki or “flower blizzard”.
This beautiful Japanese word is closely related to the word Sakura, the Japanese word for “cherry tree”. The reason is that Hanafubuki is used especially to refer to the rain of Sakura petals caused by spring winds, which is quite a visual spectacle. The sakura kanji itself is one of the most beautiful characters in Japanese. It is composed of the tree radical 木, water drops 水 and woman 女.

Hanafubuki socks is a classic cuff to toe sock pattern, with a reinforced heel-flap and short row heel turn.
The pattern differs for the right and left leg. Follow the instructions for both legs, unless otherwise stated.
A photo tutorial for Dutch heel and toe is provided in the pattern.
Please, note the colorwork is charted only.
Please, read the whole pattern carefully before you start knitting. As the pattern gives detailed calculation for all sizes, I recommend that you highlight all numbers related to your size in order to have an easy overview of the pattern.

Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5)
Adult Extra Small (Small, Medium 1, Medium 2, Large)

Yarn Any sock or fingering weight yarn,
Sample shown in
MC — Mondim by Retrosaria Rosa Pomar shade 300 — 50 (50, 50, 60, 70) g
CC1 — Mondim shade 110 — 10 (10, 10, 15, 15) g
CC2 — Mondim shade 205 —20 (20, 20, 25, 25) g

Needles 2,5 mm / US 1.5, 24” — 32” circulars or 4 dpns
Note, the pattern is written for magic loop technique, but it can be easily adapted to dpns or other sock knitting technique.

Notions 1 stitch marker (you may need 2 other markers for heel — optional) • tapestry needle

Gauge 32 sts x 40 rnds in stockinette st = 10x10 cm / 4x4’’ knit in the round and blocked