Fair Isle Sock MKALendar

With the Fair Isle Sock MKALendar you'll create a pair of mid-calf or knee-high socks in 25 days while waiting for the holidays. The mystery KAL is released in 25 daily clues: 24 days of colorwork charts for the advent and a peasant heel with short-row mini gussets on Christmas Day.

Each day's clue is presented as a stranded colorwork chart. All charts can be worked with just two colors but you can use as many as you wish! Your color choices determine whether your advent will be filled with classic or modern interpretations of traditional Fair Isle motifs. Regardless of how many colors you pick, all colorwork rounds are knit with just two colors and short floats.

The socks are worked from the toe up in stranded colorwork using all sorts of fingering-weight sock yarn leftovers, scraps, half-a skeins, unicorn tails, or advent calendar minis. The pattern comes in five sizes with adjustable foot length, leg length, and leg circumference. For mid-calf socks, work clues 1–12 of the MKAL on one sock and clues 13–24 on the other. For knee-high socks, work clues 1–24 on both socks.

Download the MKAL info sheet now and cast on the toes today! The pre-release information package comes with a list of materials, a detailed schedule, tips for planning your color palette, and instructions for casting on the toes. Join my Mighty Networks community to access the daily colorwork clues starting December 1, 2023.

The pattern is written with both metric and US terminology. Only charted instructions are given for the daily colorwork patterns.

MKAL Schedule

This pattern is free for a limited time! The clues will be available free in my Mighty Networks community from December 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.

Sizing

• XS [S, M, L, XL]

• 56 [64, 72, 80, 88] sts in foot

• To fit shoe size approx. EU 30/31 [36/37, 39/40, 43/44, 47/48] / US kids' 12–13 [adults' 5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12]

Finished Measurements

• Foot circumference: approx. 16.5 [19, 21, 23.5, 26] cm / 6½ [7½, 8¼, 9¼, 10¼]"

• Foot length: approx. 18.5 [22, 23, 25.5, 27.5] cm / 7¼ [8½, 9, 10, 10¾]" or adjustable within pattern

• Leg circumference: approx. 16.5 [19, 21, 23.5, 26] cm / 6½ [7½, 8¼, 9¼, 10¼]" or adjustable within pattern

• Leg length, mid-calf: approx. 18.5 [17.5, 17.5, 19, 21] cm / 7¼ [7, 7, 8¼, 10]" or adjustable within pattern

• Leg length, knee-high: approx. 44 [43, 43, 44, 46] cm / 17¼ [16¾, 16¾, 17½, 18¼]" or adjustable within pattern

As colorwork is not very stretchy, start with a size with approx. 0–5% of negative ease in foot circumference. Leg circumference can be adjusted as the sock progresses.

Yardage

Fingering-weight yarn leftovers, scraps, half-a skeins, unicorn tails, or advent calendar minis in as many colors as you want (at least 2)

• for mid-calf socks: approx. 300 [350, 400, 470, 560] m / 320 [380, 440, 510, 610] yd in total

• for knee-high socks: approx. 570 [620, 700, 780, 890] m / 620 [680, 760, 850, 980] yd in total

Gauge

• 34 sts × 42 rnds = 10 cm / 4"

Needles

• 2.5 mm / US #1½