This pattern was originally published by SweetGeorgia for the 2021 Soctober event.

Nostalgia time! When I was in middle school, multicoloured gel pens were all the rage. Neon ink and “milk pens” with pastel colours were a must-have school supply! These socks are an homage to the things we used to draw in the margins of our school notebooks with the pen colours we weren’t allowed to use for assignments. Have fun with these colourwork socks that your inner 12-year-old will adore!

Pattern Description

These socks feature four different doodle-inspired colourwork motifs — the spiral, the heart, the “super S”, and the 3-D box — each in their own bright colour. They have a rounded Chinstrap wedge short-row heel that is worked in the fifth contrast colour. Knit toe-up, the pattern is written for three adult foot circumferences and the socks are adjustable in length. Corresponding written instructions are provided for the charts, and video resources are linked for all important techniques.

This pattern requires the knitter to be able to knit with two colours at once on a small circumference in the round (the pattern is method-neutral to suit your preferred sock-knitting technique). It clearly explains all techniques for increases, decreases, and short rows. With assistance from the resources provided in the pattern document, it is accessible to an intermediate sock knitter who is still relatively new to stranded knitting.

Yarn Requirements and Sizing

Sizes available: Adult Small (Medium, Large) to fit foot circumferences of 18 (20.5, 23) cm / 7 (8, 9) inches; 60 (70, 80) stitches. The foot length is completely adjustable.

This pattern requires a Main Colour — approximately 250 (275, 300) m / 275 (300, 325) yards required, depending on foot length — and five Contrast Colours, with up to 40 m / 45 yards required for each of them.

The sample pictured is a Medium; it used SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Snowfall (MC) and SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock Party of Five set in Aurora (CCs).

These socks are rated 3/5 — Intermediate — on my sock pattern difficulty scale. This is because while they require some stranded colourwork, the colourwork patterns are intuitive and only very rarely require catching strands.