Note: This pattern is available either alone or with the companion pattern “Jigsaw” in the e-book “Stranding Practice Socks”.

This pattern is the second in my duo of projects “Stranding Practice Socks, Part I and II”. (For the full story of why I designed these socks, see Part I: Jigsaw!) My goal: to design a fun, colorful, easily adaptable pattern with a repetitive, constant pattern requiring stranding over only a few stitches at a time, so that myself, and any other knitters wanting a pattern to practice stranded colorwork in the round, might easily execute it. However, I also wanted a project handsome and tailored-enough looking that experienced knitters would also enjoy it!

“Diamonds”, the second in the duo, contains the following attributes:

• A slight step up from the “Jigsaw” this requires stranding across only 1 or 3 stitches at a time;
• Several rounds of one-color-only to give knitters a break between stranded rounds;
• A short row heel requiring no gusset and only 2-6 stitches total picked up
• Eight different size options (see above) means Diamonds can be made to fit any shoe size from kid’s 4 to Men’s 15!
• Possibly one of my favorite attributes to add to any project, a neat knitted-in hem at the cuff that both prevents curling and looks elegant and tailored. Where “Jigsaw”’s hem featured an easy picot edge, I opted for a simple plain hem here.

As an added bonus for those unfamiliar with either a provisional cast-on or a knitted-in hem, I’ve included two pages of step-by-step color photographs to illustrate the entire process.

Though I chose a bright, Crayola-crayon color scheme of blue, cream, and orange, the socks could take on an entirely different feel with varying color schemes. Gray/purple/lavender scheme appeals to me, but I’m also thinking about a fiery scheme of orange/red/yellow…

Happy knitting, everyone! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns - and, of course, I’d LOVE to see your finished projects too :)