Several interests of mine collided in these socks: my love for garter stitch patterns, folkloric type designs, and scrappy knitting; all of these favorites came together to produce these joyous sock loaded up with fun primary colors. And if that wasn’t enough, I then decided to explore the foreign territory of creating actual knee socks which I had never designed before.

I had a really great time working out all of the stitch patterns, their sequence and their colors. There is a little bit of stranded color work here and there but most of the designs you see are garter stitch and zig zag based. I kept the foot a smooth simple stockinette as a visual a textural contrast and for the comfort of wearing inside a shoe.

While I initially set out to knit knee socks, I eventually decided that some folks would appreciate to end the socks earlier for a cuff that hits the mid calf. Thankfully, this was an easy option to integrate into the pattern. Thus, directions are given for both versions here and since these socks are knitted from the toe up, you can actually wait to decide which you are making until you have actually knit part of the leg and see how it looks on you! I’ve added some additional choices for the knee sock version as well: a slim or more generous upper calf version for the working the cuff. I have worked the more generous version in the pictured socks.

All stitch patterns are given as charts only. Two sizes are given: S/M and L/XL. The L/XL size is shown in the photos and fits a US size 10 (European size 41). Although garter stitch by itself is very stretchy laterally (lots of positive ease), the many decreases and increases in these stitch patterns minimizes this quality somewhat. This means that, unfortunately, I cannot recommend this pattern for those with larger calves (unless you are willing to closely monitor the ease as you go by frequent trying on and using larger needles or making more calf increases etc.). High insteps, and thick ankles are OK as the the heel flap construction is quite amenable to a good amount of expansion on that part of the foot.

This pattern is suitable for intermediate knitters who have worked a toe up sock before and are comfortable reading charts.

Yarn suggestions: Solid colors with high contrast are highly recommended. Variegated yarns are not appropriate here as the multiple color patches will obscure the zigzag patterns. This is a great project for scrap knitting—just pay attention to the amount needed for the foot and the cuffs.