I love self-striping sock yarns like this one, but they can be harder to use than you might expect. We want the stripes to work out perfectly but they rarely do. A hand-dyed yarn is always going to be slightly uneven, no matter how good the designer’s work. And no matter how well you knit, you’re going to experience some variation in tension that can cause surprisingly big differences in the patterning. And then there’s the worry about “breaking” the stripes. Sock knitters often resort to using an afterthought heel so that the color progression isn’t interrupted between the leg and the instep, but the afterthought heel is generally a pretty poor fit for most adult feet.

So for this pattern, I’ve decided to go the opposite way: to absolutely not match them. The two socks are entirely different, and I’ve let the (color) chips fall where they may. Don’t overthink it! This uses my favorite all-purpose all-fitting top down, with reinforced heel flap and heel turn, and a no-graft wedge toe sock.

SKILL LEVEL
Intermediate

NOTIONS
Digital scale to weigh out the yarn
Tapestry needle

FINISHED SIZE
To fit foot/leg circumference:* 6.5 (7, 7.5, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10)“ / 16.5 (18, 19, 21.5, 23, 24, 25.5) cm*

Foot and leg circumference: 6 (6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9)“ / 15 (16.5, 18, 19, 20.5, 21.5, 23) cm

Sample shown in Pep.

This pattern is featured in the September 2020 Knitcrate Sock Membership Crate.