This is the round 2 pattern of Sock Madness 19, and is currently exclusive to participants. It will be released to the general public after the competition ends in June.

The idea for this pattern came about over two years ago, when I was exploring bias knitting and looking for applications where bias knitting is the best approach. I don’t like to make my knitting complicated for no good reason; if I’m doing something complicated, it has to either have a practical purpose, or achieve an effect that is hard to reproduce with easier techniques. It occurred to me that a chevron pattern on the bias makes a cool staircase design that is otherwise hard to do. Thus began a lot of swatching, sketching, and charting; many months later, I finally have something I’m happy with, and I hope you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort. The name comes from the Alan Jackson hit, because the way the pattern flows reminds me of a river.

For the main colour, I strongly recommend using a self-striping yarn, or even better, one of those awful self-patterning yarns with speckly “fair isle” sections that eat up all your pretty cables and lace. Some variegated yarns might work too. This design will get lost in a solid yarn.

There is only one size, approximately equivalent to a 70-stitch vanilla sock; however, the bias chevron fabric is very stretchy. The pattern is charted where possible. It’s a rather long pattern, not because it’s difficult, but because the unusual construction doesn’t lend itself well to repetition.