I love playing around with textured sock patterns and I love playing around with stranded sock patterns so I guess it was inevitable that the two would eventually collide. My Grid System Socks make the best of stranding with a wild variegated yarn plus a solid color yarn while at the same time bringing in some of the 3-D quirks of garter stitch and ribbing to produce these eye grabbing socks. And did I mention they are S-T-R-E-T-C-H-Y? Well, they sure are! You do your part by casting on nice and loose and keeping those floats generous and this pattern will do the rest with this easy to memorize and knit textured pattern.

Combining a crazy variegated yarn with a contrasting solid yarn tames the craziness and adds to the depth of this pattern. Or, go nuts and use a whole bunch of different scraps for the contrasting color! Scrappy socks rule, and here’s a pattern that is happy to take them all in.

These socks are knit from the top down with a standard heel flap. The gussets are located on the bottom of the heel to make a neat wedge and to not interfere with the stranded patterns. The pattern is suitable for advanced beginners or intermediate knitters who have done stranded knitting and made a pair of socks before. For the best effect, choose a solid color for the main color and a variegated, self-striping or flecked color of yarn for the contrasting color. The stitch pattern is written out AND charted.

Note: I knit socks on 4 DPNs at a time, I have attempted to generalize my instructions for folks who use other needle set ups.