On my sister’s wedding day, vintage family kimonos, which have been in our family for four generations, were brought out. This traditional motif, taken from one of the kimonos, of diamond flowers in a hexagon, is called “Kikko Hanabishi.” I designed these socks to commemorate that special day.
Worked from the top down using two circular needles, this two-color stranded sock fits snugly to keep your feet warm during winter. Work the socks from the same chart, just swap main color and background color to make this coordinated pair!
Gauge
30sts/28rws at 4” in two-color stranded stockinette stitch on US 2 / 2.75mm needles
Sizes and Measurements
Women’s Small
Materials
- Diakeito Diagold [100% wool, 218yd / 199m per 50g skein]; color: Navy Blue and White; 1 skein each
- 2 US 2 / 2.75mm circular needle, 24 inch or longer
- tapestry needle
Directions
(Popknits uses knittinghelp.com's standard abbreviations)
Special Stitch Instructions
Twisted Rib pattern: (ktbl,p) repeat
Leg
Using Main Color (MC), cast on 56 sts. Join in a round, being careful not to twist stitches.
Work next 8 rows (or your desired length) in Twisted Rib pattern.
Kikko Hanabishi Pattern:
Set- up: With MC, K54, p2tog [55 sts total].
Begin Kikko Hanabishi Chart by attaching Background Color (BC). At the end of every row, purl in BC.
Continue working the chart until Row 42.
Heel
The first 28 sts on Needle1 (N1) will be worked back and forth.
Set- up: Leaving a long tail, cut BC. Leave sts on Needle 2(N2) [27sts to rest].
Row1 (RS): Sl 1 purlwise with yarn in back, k 1, repeat these two sts to the end. Turn.
Row2 (WS): Sl 1 purlwise with yarn in front, p to the end. Turn.
Repeat Row 1 and 2 , 13 times more [14 times total].
Turn Heel
Continue working back and forth as follows:
Row 1 (RS): k16, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 2 (WS): Sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p5, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 3: k7, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 4: sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p7, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 5: k9, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 6: sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p9, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 7: k11, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 8: sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p11, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 9: k13, ssk, k1. Turn
Row 10: sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p13, p2tog, p1. Turn
Row 11: k15, ssk. Turn
Row 12: sl1 purlwise with yarn in front, p14, p2tog. [16 sts total].
Gusset
With RS facing, k all 16 sts. With the same needle (N1), pick up 15 sts along left side of heel in Stripe Sole Pattern A. After 15 sts, pick up 1 more st in BC and slide the st on N2.
Work Row 1 of Instep Chart, (remember to k the purl st in BC at the end of the row). Place a marker. (This will remind you of the border between instep sts and sole sts).
With the same needle (N2), pick up 15 sts along another side of heel in Stripe Sole Pattern B.
You have 31 sts on N1, 43 sts on N2. [74 sts total].
Guesset Decreases:
N1: K to last 2 sts in sole pattern, k2tog.
N2: Work next 28 sts in instep pattern, sm, ssk, continue in sole pattern.
Repeat this round, 8 more times. [56 sts total].
Foot
Distribute your sts evenly on two needles [28 instep sts and 28 sole sts]. You can remove a marker as you do this procedure.
Continue working on instep and sole chart until your desired foot length is reached. You may want to try it on before decreasing toe stitches.
Sample (S size) ended at Row 47 of Instep Chart indicated in bold line.
You can continue with the Instep Chart for a longer foot.
Toe
Set-up: Cut BC, K all 56 sts in MC.
N1 (instep): K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.
N2 (sole): Repeat as N1.
Repeat this round until you have 4 sts on each needle. [8 sts total].
Finishing
Cut MC, leaving 8cm tail.
With a tapestry needle, use Kitchener St to graft instep sts and sole sts together.
Weave in all ends.
Block as desired.
Second Sock
Knit same as first, switching colors for Main Color and Background Color.
Charts
Kikko Hanabishi Socks (leg chart)
Kikko Hanabishi Socks (instep chart)
Kikko Hanabishi Socks (sole pattern)
Click on images to see larger size on Flickr or..
Download these chart as a PDF
About the Author
Born in Tokyo, Izumi is an avid knitter since 2005 who also teaches Ipponbari knitting now in Nagano, Japan. A yarn addict, she loves to travel for yarn and see a full suitcase of it returning home. She and her yarns can be found on her knitting blog, http://somethingy.exblog.jp/.
Credits
Photos by Izumi Ouchi
Model: Izumi Ouchi
From Flickr
Do you have a photo of this item you'd like to share? Tag your photo on Flickr with popknits-kikkohanabishisocks. (only the 6 most recent photos will appear here at any time.)
Errata
There are no reported errors in this pattern. Found something? Please Contact Us.
License
Kikko Hanabishi Socks by
Izumi Ouchi is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at
http://www.popknits.com/index.php/patterns/page/kikko_hanabishi_socks/.
