Are there buy buttons on the side of the page? If so, you've caught this pattern on one of the handful of days every year when it's available! If not, read on for details of where it went and what to do if you want to be notified the next time it's available.

A few years ago I got overwhelmed by my back catalog, retired most of my earlier work, and launched Tiny Nonsense. That gave me space to make Cool New Stuff! But some people missed the earlier things, so I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days once or twice a year.

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available! You can buy it just like usual.

• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available. It will probably be available the week after Thanksgiving and for a few days in June or July.

• If you want to hear when the retired patterns come back, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Wrack noun seaweed or other vegetation cast on the shore

You’ll want this pattern in your bag of tricks. It’s got just enough going on to be interesting, without ever being too hard. It works great for folks who insist on having fairly sedate socks (you know who you are…just because you like a mellow sock does not mean it needs to be boring). And it comes in a wide range of sizes and works with a huge array of yarns.

Plus the socks are awfully darn cute! Something about the combination of cables and ribbing is undeniably classic, without being boring. I suspect you’ll find yourself knitting this one more than once.

They’re written in six sizes (56, 60, 66, 72, 78, and 84 stitch cast ons), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit of the sock. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a sturdy sock fabric with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 7, 8, or 9 stitches per inch, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for the size you need. With that range of sizes and gauges, the socks will fit a foot (measured around the ball of the foot) between 7.25 and 11.5 inches (with lots of points in between).

These are perfect for you if:

• You want a pattern that works for a huge variety of yarns and sizes
• You love mirrored socks
• You want a sock that’s classic but still holds your interest

They’re not for you if:

• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)
• You hate swatching (you need to swatch to check your needle size)