The Hamsa Hand, is a popular, universal symbol of good luck and a talisman believed to ward off evil. It has various meanings and significance across all the major religions of the World. This pattern is to knit a pair of socks starting from the toe, incorporating a sole gusset (the riverbed heel made famous by the late Cat Bordhi) and an integral slip stitch heel flap, which doesn’t require any picking up of stitches!

SIZE: To fit average UK Ladies size 5. Go up or down a needle size to adjust size, or add/subtract rows on toe or leg to adjust length.

YOU WILL NEED:
Needles for knitting socks in the round; you may use any method you prefer, but for simplicity’s sake, I am writing the instructions as though for the Magic Loop method using one long circular needle. If you use any other method, just use stitch markers to differentiate the sole stitches from the instep stitches. Needle sizes required are:

2mm for casting on the toe (makes for a neater cast-on), and knitting the cuff.
2.25mm for the toe, foot, heel-turn, and leg, and casting off the cuff.
2.50mm for the heel-flap.

Needle sizes depend greatly on your tension and on your own style of knitting. The sizes I’ve given here may be adjusted up or down if you are a tight or loose knitter, or if you want a larger/smaller sock.

4 ply sock yarn: 50g each of two strongly contrasting colours.

Stitch markers.

Wool needle with a large eye for weaving in the ends.

To make these socks, you should have some experience of knitting stranded colourwork socks. Other skills you should be familiar with are: Judy’s Magic Cast On.
Right and left-leaning lifted increases.
Wrap and turn short rows. There are plenty of excellent tutorials on line for all these techniques and I don’t explain them in this pattern.