Socks with massaging Soles in Regia 6 Ply and Schachenmayr Brazilia - 5835 - Downloadable PDF

Socks with Massaging Soles – Pattern Summary: Regia 6 Ply and Schachenmayr Brazilia

This free downloadable PDF knitting pattern produces a pair of cosy, textured socks featuring an innovative massaging sole created through a traditional German Biesentechnik (tuck or pleat) technique. The soles are built up with raised, folded ridges of yarn that provide a gentle, cushioned massage effect with every step. Both socks are worked identically, making this an excellent pattern for knitters who want to explore a distinctive construction method while producing a practical, wearable accessory.

What Is Being Made

The pattern produces a pair of knitted socks with a rolled cuff, a ribbed cuff band, a smooth stocking-stitch leg, a Bumerang (boomerang or short-row) heel, and a foot finished with a band toe. The defining feature is the massaging sole, which runs from the second half of the heel all the way through the foot and toe, built up using repeated decorative tuck pleats in a contrasting colour.

Yarns and Materials Used

• Schachenmayr Regia 6fädig (6 Ply) – 100 g in Fb 2002 Kirsche (Cherry) as the main colour for the leg, heel, and foot
• Schachenmayr Regia 6fädig (6 Ply) – 50 g in Fb 2080 Superweiß (Super White) for the tuck pleat ridges that form the massaging sole
• Schachenmayr Brazilia – 50 g in Fb 00001 Weiß (White), used for one round of stocking stitch and eleven rounds of ribbing in the cuff section
• Prym double-pointed needle set (Nadelspiel), size 3–4
• One thin auxiliary needle (Hilfsnadel), essential for working the Biesentechnik pleat construction

Needle and Gauge Information

The socks are knitted in the round on a Prym double-pointed needle set in size 3–4. The stated tension (Maschenprobe) is 22 stitches and 30 rows/rounds to 10 × 10 cm worked in stocking stitch (glatt rechts). Achieving this tension is important for correct sizing and for the pleat ridges to sit evenly across the sole.

Construction and Techniques

The sock is worked from the top down, beginning with a cast-on of 48 stitches in Kirsche. Construction follows this sequence:

• Rolled cuff (Rollrand): Three rounds of plain knit stitches, which naturally curl to form a neat rolled edge.
• Cuff band: One round of stocking stitch in Schachenmayr Brazilia Weiß, followed by eleven rounds of Bündchenmuster (1 × 1 rib: one knit stitch, one purl stitch alternating), then continuing in stocking stitch in Kirsche.
• Leg (Schaft): Worked in stocking stitch in Kirsche to approximately 8 cm in height, then the foot is begun.
• Bumerang heel (short-row heel): The first half of the boomerang heel and the following two rounds are worked in standard sock-knitting technique. The massaging sole construction begins during the second half of the heel.
• Massaging sole via Biesentechnik: After the heel, stocking stitch continues across the entire foot length, with a tuck pleat worked in Superweiß after every 4 rounds. In the heel area, the first pleat over the centre stitches is worked without double stitches; no double stitches are worked during any pleat row.
• Band toe (Bandspitze): The toe is worked in the established pattern, with pleat ridges continuing to the very tip.

The Biesentechnik – Tuck Pleat Technique