In addition to the eye candy of harmonic symmetry, the intriguing effect of tessellation is that your focus flips back and forth between different motifs that may appear as pieces in a puzzle. The motifs are often shown in two colors that give the impression of positive and negative forms.

For this sock pattern, I chose a tessellation of stars and small squares worked in different stitch patterns. Because I chose a single yarn, the optical effect is subtle. For a more prominent effect, use the stranded colorwork technique to work each section in a different color.

Sizes: About 7 (7¼)“ (18 18.5 cm) foot circumference, unstretched, and 9½ (10)” (24 25.5 cm) foot length from back of heel to tip of toe (length is adjustable). To fit U.S. women’s shoe sizes 7–8 (8½–9½); European shoe sizes 38–39 (40–41).