Novita Violet Socks in Novita Viola - Downloadable PDF

Novita Violet Socks in Novita Viola – Pattern Summary

Designed by Minna Metsänen and published by Novita, the Violet Socks are a charming pair of colourwork knitted socks featuring a repeating pansy motif worked in multiple colours of Novita Viola yarn. This is a free downloadable PDF pattern suitable for intermediate knitters who are comfortable with two-colour stranded knitting, toe-up construction, and heel shaping. The finished socks are sized for a European shoe size 38.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a pair of knitted socks with a decorative colourwork panel running up the leg. The design centres on a repeating pansy flower motif, giving the socks a botanical, feminine character. The colourwork panel features three full repeats of the pansy chart around the leg before transitioning into a neat ribbed cuff. The socks are constructed from the toe upward, meaning knitters begin at the tip of the toe and work toward the cuff, which is a popular method that allows for easy length adjustment and a tidy toe finish.

Construction and Structure

The sock begins with a provisional cast-on using a crochet hook: a chain of 12 stitches is made, and stitches are picked up from both edges of the chain to create 24 stitches distributed across four double-pointed needles, with 6 stitches on each needle. This technique creates a seamless, rounded toe without a visible seam.

Toe shaping is achieved through yarn-over increases worked at the beginning of needles I and III and at the end of needles II and IV, with the yarn overs knitted through the back loop on the following round to close the hole. Increases continue on every other round until there are 17 stitches on each needle, with one final increase round worked on needles I and II only, bringing the total to 70 stitches.

Once the foot reaches 18 cm in length, an hourglass heel is worked in Navy. The hourglass heel is a traditional short-row style heel that creates a well-fitted, rounded heel cup without the need for picking up gusset stitches, making it a clean and elegant choice for toe-up socks.

After the heel, the colourwork continues up the leg. When three complete repeats of rows 2–31 of the chart have been worked — representing three full rows of pansies — the leg transitions into the cuff. A round of Off White is knitted, followed by an evenly spaced decrease round reducing the stitch count by 6 stitches to 64 stitches. Stitches are redistributed to 16 per needle. One round of Navy is then knitted before working 8 rounds of twisted ribbing, finishing with a standard bind-off.

Colourwork and Chart

The colourwork section is worked in stranded stockinette stitch in the round, following a charted pansy motif. The chart repeat is 14 stitches wide and is worked 5 times around the circumference of the sock. Rows 1 through 31 are worked once to establish the pattern, then rows 2–31 are repeated for the length of the leg. The colourwork uses Navy (shade 170) as the main background colour, with Off White (shade 010) and Tide (shade 109) providing the contrasting flower and detail colours. Stranded colourwork at this scale requires the knitter to carry two yarns across the back of the work, keeping floats manageable within the 14-stitch repeat.

Stitch Patterns Used

• Stockinette stitch in the round – all stitches knitted on every round, used for the toe, foot, and colourwork sections
• Stranded colourwork – stockinette stitch worked following the pansy chart using multiple yarn colours
• Twisted ribbing – worked as *k1 through back loop, p1*, repeated around, used for the 8-round cuff; knitting through the back loop twists the knit stitches, creating a crisper, more defined rib with good elasticity
• Yarn-over increases worked through the back loop