Last year I knit myself a pair of socks over the holidays (once all the gift knitting was done) and I decided it should be a tradition. These are my Christmas socks for 2012.

These were, without doubt, the perfect socks for holiday knitting. The pattern is easy to memorize and easy to execute, but looks impressive to non-knitters when you’re knitting in public. They’re also really quick, and I knit the pair in a week, while also doing lots of non-knitting activities, finishing a pair of gloves and knitting a hat. Super speedy (and I have size-9 feet!).

I used way less yarn than I expected (I could just about make an identical pair with the leftovers), so Koigu’s small skeins were perfect. The subtle variegation also gave a little more dimension to the three-colour formula without looking muddy. Truth be told, the knit fabric looks almost like chenille, which is weird, but I’m kind of digging it.

Update: These ended up too big for me after a couple of washes, so they’ve been gifted to my boyfriend. They’re his first hand-knit socks, and he seems quite pleased with them.