Doodle House Socks (knit in the round)
Small, cheerful house motif designed to sit on the front of a sock leg. Worked in stranded colorwork with two yarns (MC background, CC house). This pattern is written for an average adult woman’s medium sock (64 sts around). It includes full instructions for cuff, leg, placement of the doodle-house chart, heel flap, gusset, foot and toe. Techniques used: stranded colorwork in the round, slipped-stitch heel flap, heel turn, gusset decreases, Kitchener graft or 8-needle toe decrease and sew.
Designer notes
Keep floats loose when knitting the colorwork; catch long floats every 3-4 sts. If you prefer, knit the chart using duplicate stitch after knitting plain MC background to avoid floats.
Materials
- Yarn: Fingering / Sock weight yarn.
Suggested: MC (background): 100 g (approx 3.5 oz), ~400 yards / 366 m. CC (house): 25-50 g (approx 0.9-1.8 oz), ~100-200 yards / 91-183 m. (Adjust amounts if you make a pair.) - Needles (in the round): recommended for fingering socks. Use whichever produces correct gauge for your yarn and tension. Options:
- US 1 (2.25 mm) — UK (old) 13 — 2.25 mm
- US 2 (2.75 mm) — UK (old) 12 — 2.75 mm (if you prefer a slightly looser fabric)
For magic loop use one 24” / 60 cm circular, or double-pointed needles in the same sizes. - Notions: stitch marker, tapestry needle, scrap yarn for lifeline (optional).
Finished measurements (one size shown)
- Circumference unstretched: 8.5 in / 21.5 cm
- Recommended stretch to fit: 8–11 in / 20–28 cm (depends on yarn elasticity)
- Leg length before heel: 6.5 in / 16.5 cm (adjust to fit)
- Foot length (to end of toe): 9.25 in / 23.5 cm (adjust to wearer)
Gauge
32 sts = 4 in / 10 cm in stockinette (in the round) using US 1 (2.25 mm) needles. If your gauge differs, change needle size.
Abbreviations
- k = knit
- p = purl
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- CO = cast on
- k2tog = knit two together (right-leaning decrease)
- ssk = slip, slip, knit (left-leaning decrease)
- pm = place marker
- rep = repeat
Stitch counts used in instructions
This pattern assumes 64 sts around. If you change stitch count, you can still place the 17-stitch-wide house chart; see “Placing the chart” below.
Chart
Chart is 17 stitches wide x 9 rows high. Read in the round: every row is worked right-to-left. Row 1 is the bottom row of the motif. Legend: H = CC (house), . = MC (background), W = MC window (same as background visually), D = CC door (same as house color)
Row 9 (top): ........H........
Row 8: ........HHH.......
Row 7: ......HHHHH......
Row 6: .....HHHHHHH.....
Row 5: ....H..HHH..H....
Row 4: ....H.......H....
Row 3: ....H..W.W..H....
Row 2: ....H...D...H....
Row 1 (bottom): ...HHHHHHHHH...
Note: Each line above is 17 characters. Replace spaces in HTML with dots for clarity: “.” denotes MC stitches. Example bottom row (Row 1) text exactly: "...HHHHHHHHH..."
Placing the chart
For a 64-stitch sock: to center the 17-stitch chart on the front of the leg, begin the first chart stitch at stitch number 24 (i.e., there will be 23 sts before the chart and 24 sts after). If you cast on a different number of stitches, calculate start stitch = floor((total sts - chart width)/2)+1. Mark that stitch with a removable marker before you begin the chart.
Pattern
Cast on and cuff
- CO 64 sts. Join for working in the round carefully and place marker for round start.
- Work 1x1 rib (k1, p1) or 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 1.5 in / 4 cm, or desired cuff length.
Leg (before chart)
- Switch to stockinette in the round (knit every round) working MC (background). Work until leg measures approx 1.5–2.0 in (4–5 cm) above the cuff if you want the motif near the cuff, or longer if you prefer the house lower.
- When ready, position your marker at the stitch where the chart will begin (see “Placing the chart”). Begin the chart in CC and MC.
Working the chart (stranded colorwork)
- Read chart Row 1 first (bottom row). In the round, read each chart row right-to-left.
- Carry the unused color loosely across the WS so floats do not pucker the fabric. Catch floats every 3 stitches where necessary by twisting color strands.
- Work through all 9 chart rows. After the chart, continue knitting in MC until leg measures approximately 6.5 in / 16.5 cm from the top of the cuff (or desired length before starting heel).
Heel flap (slip-stitch)
- Work heel flap on next 32 sts (half the round). Slip next 32 sts onto one needle / DPNs and work back and forth in rows as follows:
- Row 1 (RS): *sl 1 wyif, k1* repeat to end of row across 32 sts.
- Row 2 (WS): sl 1 wyif, p across to end.
- Repeat these two rows until heel flap measures approximately 2.25 in / 5.5 cm (or desired depth), ending with Row 2.
Turn heel
- Next row (RS): knit across first 18 sts of heel flap, k2tog, k1, turn.
- Next row (WS): slip 1, p across to 3 sts before end of heel flap, p2togtbl, p1, turn.
- Next row (RS): knit to 1 st before gap, k2tog, k1, turn.
- Repeat turn decreases every RS and WS row until all heel stitches are used and you have 18 sts on the top of the heel and 14 remaining on the instep (or the typical arrangement after turning). The exact sequence depends on where you started; you should have the gusset base ready with heel center stitches forming a cup.
Gusset and picking up gusset stitches
- Pick up and knit stitches along one side of the heel flap: pick up “heel flap pick-up” stitches (usually about 16–18 sts depending on row count) along the edge of the heel flap, then place the 18 heel-turn center sts on a needle, then pick up the same number of stitches along the other side, and finally knit across the remaining instep stitches (32 sts). Your total should return to 64 sts.
- Round 1 (gusset decrease round): Knit around to three sts before instep, ssk, knit across instep in pattern (stockinette), knit 2tog, continue around.
- Rounds 2–: repeat Round 1 until you are back to 64 sts total (i.e., decreasing the gusset back to the original round count). The decreases are worked only on the gusset portions: ssk before the instep and k2tog after the instep on every right round until gusset stitches are reduced.
Foot
- Once gusset decreased back to 64 sts, knit around in the round in MC (unless you like adding a small motif on the instep) until the foot measures about 0.75 in / 2 cm less than desired total foot length (measured from the back of the heel to the tip of the toe).
Toe
- Begin toe decreases (example for 64 sts): place markers dividing round into 4 equal sections of 16 sts each.
Round 1: *knit to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1; slip marker; k1, ssk, knit to marker* repeat around. (Decreases occur at 2 points per quarter round = 8 decreases per round)
Round 2: knit round.
Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 until you have 32 sts remaining. Then decrease every round until 16 sts remain.
- When 16 sts remain, break yarn leaving ~8–12 in / 20–30 cm tail and graft toe using Kitchener stitch, or switch to DPNs and decrease to 8 sts and close with a 3-needle bind-off or sew closed.
Finishing
- Weave in ends on WS. Tidy colorwork floats by twisting strands. Block gently by steaming or soaking briefly and shaping to size.
- Repeat for second sock. If using stranded colorwork, swap which sock knits CC from which skein so colors match left/right if desired.
Tips
- If you are new to stranded knitting, practice on a swatch before working the chart on the sock. A small duplicate-stitch house after knitting in MC is an easier alternative.
- To keep floats from snagging, catch the unused yarn every 3 stitches. Do not pull floats tight.
- Adjust chart placement for smaller/larger calves by altering start stitch as described in “Placing the chart.”
Support
Pattern and support from PurlJam: https://purljam.verde.uk. For questions email team@verde.uk. Share your makes with #purljam on socials.