“The Barber of Seville” (Il barbiere di Siviglia, 1816) is a lively comic opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, that is set among the everyday places and characters of 18th century Spain.

In the famous aria “Figaro! Figaro! Fiiiii-garo!” the flamboyant barber boasts that he is also a doctor, a letter carrier and an adviser to the lovelorn—in short, Seville’s most sought-after citizen. Figaro’s advice and actions lead to the misadventures and mistaken identities and finally the happy end for which the opera is so well known and loved.

In the pattern of these socks you can easily see the barber’s pole, a staff with a helix of colored stripes that signifies (since the Middle Ages) a place or shop where barbers perform their craft.

The pattern is simple enough (2-row stripes using only knit and purl stitches) to be suitable for a beginner, but still interesting enough not to be boring.
Depending on your color choices, this pattern can become no-nonsens male business socks or fun play socks for a girly girl.

Worked in fingering weight yarn, the sizes will fit a woman’s small (medium, large). Work the smallest size in sport weight yarn & larger needle and you’ll have a sock to fit a man with larger feet.