The Dala horse (or Dalahäst in Swedish) is a traditional carved and painted wooden horse that has become a symbol of Sweden and of Swedish handcrafts. The man credited with introducing the painting technique still used today also emigrated to the American Midwest around the same time as my Scandinavian ancestor. I designed these socks during the first Covid lockdown with the hope that knitting them would remind people of the wide world that was still out there for us to explore in the future.

Method:
These stranded colorwork socks are knit in the round from the cuff down with a round heel and gusset decreases placed on the sole. These socks can be knitted on dpns, by magic loop, or on a short circular (in which case you will still need dpns for the heel and toe decreases).

Please note the colorwork design in this pattern is charted not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Size:
Although these socks are written for one size this is adjustable to a certain degree.
To increase or decrease the foot circumference you can change the needle size (and therefore the tension) that you knit these socks at.

Please note stranded colorwork does not have the same stretch to it that a plain stocking stitch sock does.

The leg and foot length can be increased by working more plain rounds before or after the charts, or by repeating motifs from the charts (e.g. working an extra band of hearts). Similarly, the leg and foot length can be decreased by working less plain rounds between the bands of motifs or by removing a band completely.

Please bear in mind that any changes to size or tension will affect the amount of yarn required to knit these socks.

Yarn:
You can use any 4 ply (fingering) sock yarn that you like and with which you can get tension/ gauge.

Please note I do not recommend using yarns with a high cotton content as cotton doesn’t stretch as much as other fibers and this will affect the fit of your socks.

This pattern works well with two (or more) solid colors, socks shown use four. Colorwork socks provide the opportunity to play with the contrasting colors in your stash, feel free to vary the colors for the cuffs, heels, and toes and add further contrast colors with the main background color. Be creative but keep in mind changes will affect yardage and number of ends to weave in. The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick and where you choose to use them in the socks. As a guide for the pair shown in green with yellow contrast heels/cuffs/toes I used the following:

MC - Drops Fabel in 112 Apple Green approx. 170 metres (186 yards)
CC1 - Drops Fabel in 100 Off White approx. 50 metres (55 yards)
CC2 - Drops Fabel in 105 Turquoise approx. 60 metres (66 yards)
CC3 - West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in 240 Butterscotch approx. 90 metres (99 yards)