Crinkle Socks in Novita Nalle - Downloadable PDF

Crinkle Socks in Novita Nalle – Knitting Pattern Summary

This downloadable PDF pattern by designer Minna Metsänen provides instructions for knitting a pair of Crinkle-Leg Socks using Novita Nalle yarn. The design features a distinctive crinkle or textured leg created through a repeating stitch chart pattern, transitioning into a classic ribbed cuff and a neatly worked heel and gusset. The pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty and is available as a free downloadable PDF.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a pair of knitted socks with a textured crinkle leg, a ribbed cuff, a traditional heel flap with gusset shaping, and a stocking stitch foot. Two sizes are included to fit shoe sizes 32/33 and 38/39, making the pattern suitable for both children and adults depending on the size selected.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Novita Nalle in light beige – 150 g for size 32/33 or 200 g for size 38/39
• Needles: A set of five 3 mm double-pointed needles (DPNs)
• Yarn weight: DK weight

Tension and Gauge

The pattern specifies a tension of 24 stitches and 32 rows to 10 cm, measured over stocking stitch. Achieving the correct gauge is important for ensuring the finished socks match the intended shoe size. Knitters who work loosely or tightly may need to adjust their needle size accordingly.

Techniques Used

• Working in the round on double-pointed needles, distributing stitches across four needles and using the fifth to knit
• Heel flap construction – a traditional back-and-forth heel flap worked over a portion of the stitches
• Short-row heel turning using slip stitches, K2tog, and sl1-K1-psso decreases to shape the heel cup
• Gusset pick-up and shaping – stitches are picked up along both edges of the heel flap and then decreased in a series of rounds to return to the working stitch count
• Reading a stitch chart – the crinkle leg pattern is presented as a chart with an 8-row repeat worked over a 10-stitch repeat
• Even decreasing during the ribbing transition to adjust stitch count

Stitches Used

• 2×2 Rib in the round: *K2, P2, repeat from * to end – used for the cuff and a second ribbed section above the heel
• Crinkle stitch pattern in the round: worked from a chart, repeating rounds 1–8 over a 10-stitch repeat to create the signature textured crinkle effect on the leg
• Stocking stitch in the round: knit every round – used for the foot and gusset sections
• Slip 1 with yarn in back (sl1wyb) – used during heel turning rows
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used in heel turning and gusset shaping
• Sl1, K1, psso (slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over) – a left-leaning decrease used in heel turning and gusset shaping

Construction Overview

The socks are worked top down, beginning with a loose cast-on of 50 or 60 stitches distributed over four double-pointed needles. The leg begins with a 3–4 cm section of 2×2 rib, followed by the crinkle stitch pattern worked from the chart in 8-row repeats until the leg measures approximately 24–32 cm slightly stretched. A further 3 cm of rib is then worked, with a small number of stitches decreased evenly on the final round to prepare for the heel