A simple lace rib pattern adds interest to these socks

Time for another free pattern, this time honouring Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity and generosity, both material and spiritual.  She is also the embodiment of beauty, purity, grace and charm.

The lace rib pattern in these socks reminded me of the stream of coins running from one of her hands (her four hands represent the four ends of life: dharma, or righteousness; kama, or desires; artha, or wealth; and moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death).  There is a photo in the pattern pdf file of our statue of Lakshmi that shows her bestowing her coins of prosperity.

The rib pattern is quite stretchy, and the socks have a generous instep, so they are good for people with a tendency to swollen ankles.  I stopped the patterning at the end of the gusset to make the socks more comfortable to wear in shoes.  My socks were done in some superwash fingering weight merino that I dyed myself, but 300 – 400 yards of any sock-weight yarn should work just fine.

The simple lace pattern is both charted and written.  You will need to know how to knit into the back loop, and how to knit two stitches together through the back loops.  If you’re uncertain how to do that, take a look here — knittinghelp.com has wonderful instructional videos.

The goddess is always calm and loving

Ok, here’s the file: Socks of Abundance

I’d love to hear from you if you make them!