Hive Socks in West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply - DBP0235 - Downloadable PDF

Hive Socks Knitting Pattern by Winwick Mum – West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply

The Hive Socks pattern by Winwick Mum is a downloadable PDF knitting pattern for a pair of hand-knitted socks, worked in West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply yarn. Inspired by the geometric beauty of a honeycomb, this design brings a tactile, textured finish to a classic sock silhouette. Rated at an intermediate difficulty level, the pattern is well suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic sock construction and are ready to explore more detailed stitch work.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a pair of hand-knitted socks featuring a distinctive hive-inspired textured pattern. Socks are a perennially popular knitting project, prized for their practicality, portability, and the enormous variety of stitch patterns that can be applied to them. The Hive Socks design by Winwick Mum adds a decorative, honeycomb-style texture to the sock fabric, making them a rewarding make that goes beyond a plain everyday sock.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern is designed specifically for West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply yarn. This yarn is composed of 75% wool and 25% nylon, a blend that is widely regarded as ideal for sock knitting. The wool content provides warmth, elasticity, and breathability, while the nylon reinforcement adds durability and resistance to wear — particularly important in high-friction areas such as the heel and toe. Each 100g ball yields approximately 400 metres (437 yards), giving excellent yardage for a pair of socks.

• Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply
• Fibre content: 75% wool, 25% nylon
• Ball weight: 100g
• Yardage: 400 metres / 437 yards per ball

Needles and Tension

An important note specific to this pattern: although the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply ball band recommends 3.25mm needles (US 3), the Hive Socks pattern instructs knitters to use 2.5mm needles instead. This deliberate deviation from the ball band recommendation is intentional — working at a tighter gauge produces a firmer, more hard-wearing fabric that will stand up better to the demands of everyday sock wear.

The target tension for this pattern is 30 stitches to 10cm (4 inches) in stocking stitch. As with all sock patterns, achieving the correct tension is essential to ensuring a good fit, so knitters are encouraged to swatch and adjust needle size as needed to reach this gauge. The fabric should feel firm but not stiff.

• Recommended needle size: 2.5mm (not the 3.25mm / US 3 stated on the ball band)
• Target tension: 30 stitches over 10cm / 4 inches
• Needle types supported: double pointed needles (DPNs), short circular needle, or magic loop method

The pattern notes that it is often easier to cast on using DPNs before switching to a short circular needle if that is the preferred method. Knitters who favour the magic loop technique can cast on using a larger circular needle before transitioning to their working needle size.

Techniques and Construction

The Hive Socks are constructed using techniques standard to top-down or small-circumference sock knitting in the round. The pattern makes use of a range of knitting abbreviations and methods that intermediate knitters will recognise, including:

• Knitting in the round — worked continuously on DPNs, short circular, or magic loop
• K2tog (knit 2 together) — a right-leaning decrease used in shaping
• P2tog (purl 2 together) — a decrease worked on the purl side, used in shaping sections