This pattern was the High-Octane sock for Lap 4 of Supersock World Championship 2023! You can find chat, answers to questions, additional tips from me, and FO photos for this pattern in the SWC group forums!

The Screen Burn Socks are inspired by playing video games on old CRT monitors. Did your parents ever get annoyed with you for leaving Donkey Kong on pause for a long time on the family computer, because they were worried that the image would stay on the screen permanently? Well, if you did accidentally burn some of those 8-bit ladders into the monitor, maybe it looked a bit like these socks!

Pattern Description

These toe-up socks use slipped elongated stitches to create this graphic geometric effect as one main colour is alternated every row with one of two contrast colours using the jogless helical stripes method. The pattern fills the instep and flows seamlessly around the leg. The spiralling single-round stripes extend to the toe, cuff, and afterthought heel as well, making these a truly unique addition to your sock drawer!

This pattern requires the knitter to be able to knit a small circumference in the round (the pattern is written in a method-neutral manner) and clearly explains all required stitches. Corresponding written instructions are provided for all charts. Within the pattern, you will find links to some of my video tutorials as well, so the pattern is accessible to an intermediate sock knitter. (It’s much more intuitive than it might appear!)

Yarn Requirements and Sizing

Sizes available: Adult Small (Medium, Large) for foot circumferences of 18 (20.5, 23) cm / 7 (8, 9) inches — 56 (64, 72) stitches — with adjustable foot lengths and leg heights

This pattern requires fingering weight yarn appropriate for socks in three colours:

• Colour A (grey on both socks in the sample photos): 140 (160, 180) m / 155 (175, 195) yards
• Colour B (blue on one sock and green on the other in the sample photos): 70 (80, 90) m / 75 (85, 95) yards
• Colour C (green on one sock and blue on the other in the sample photos): 70 (80, 90) m / 75 (85, 95) yards

This pattern is designed for three colours that contrast well with each other. If they are too similar to each other, or they are variegated with colour overlap, the effect of the pattern may not be clear. To make fraternal socks like the sample pair, simply swap Colours B and C on the second sock.

These socks are rated 4/5 — Adventurous — on my sock pattern difficulty scale. This is because this pattern requires managing a minimum of two yarns at all times, and although the charts become intuitive with practice, they are wide and they require managing three yarns throughout the main body of the sock.