Midsummer wreath socks are one of the patterns from the Summer Sock Collection 2020. This collection is a story about Latvian Midsummer traditions.

One of the most beautiful midsummer traditions in Latvia is making and wearing wreaths from wildflowers. The usual choice for girls’ flower crowns are daisies, cornflowers, and clover. But, as the saying goes, everything that grows on midsummer can be used! (In Latvian: visa laba Jāņu zāle) In turn, men can wear crowns made from oak leaves. These wreaths are must-have accessories during Ligo and because it is believed that they have a protective power and absorb negative energy, they are not thrown away after the festival but kept all year long. Latvians usually hang them on the wall as decoration until next Ligo. And when the next Ligo rolls around, these old wreaths are thrown onto a bonfire at midnight. Then all the bad energy they have absorbed burns up with them. Another belief surrounding wreaths is that one can tell the future by throwing them into a tree! If someone wants to know how many years they should wait before getting married, he or she can throw their wreath up into the branches of a tree. The number of throws it takes to get the wreath caught on the branches equals the number of years one should wait before getting married.

Materials

Yarn: Fingering weight yarn, 400 m in 100 g.
Approximately 186 (208, 262) yards, 170 (190, 240) m, 43 (48, 60) g, for both socks.
Yardage may vary if your gauge/yarn is different.

Gauge: 32 sts & 42 rounds to 4” (10cm) in stockinette on US #1 (2.25 mm) needles.

Needles: US #1 / 2.25mm DPNs (or circular for magic loop).
Or as required to meet gauge.

Other notions: stitch markers, darning needle.