All knitters are familiar with cables, big and small. Handsome on a sweater or sock, as an isolated pattern repeat or even as an overall fabric. They are really quite versatile. One thing they don’t do, however, is run horizontally. Until now! These sideways cables are organically part of the leg of this sock—they are not knit separately and then sewn in (although there is some picking up of stitches at one point).

This pattern is appropriate for expert knitters who are comfortable with dpns and are familiar with basic sock construction from the top down. The heel flap is rather basic as written here, feel free to switch out to the heel of your choice.

Note: I knit socks on 4 DPNs at a time, top down--usually I try to generalize my pattern writing so folks who use other needle set-ups can also use the pattern. In this instance, however, I do not see how any other needle configuration would work for the complicated sideways cable, so I encourage you to knit in that way or get in to big trouble that I won’t be able to help you with.

A word of warning about this pattern: heavily speckled, self-striping or self-patterning yarn is not a great choice—the pattern will be completely lost. Best to stick with solid colors or slight tonals as shown here.

Please note that I have used 100 g (395 yds) of yarn to make the size M socks pictured here. Thus, If you make a size L or XL, you will need more than one skein of 100 g.