Mermaid socks (Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks, Warm Feet) are supposed to be good for striping yarns. That's what I'm planning to use for some of my more 'interesting' LL colorways!

I second the Neatby book, it's a real gem! Also, I was planning to make this really cool sideways sock for my pal (if my yarn ever arrives, harumph...)

http://www.ptyarn.com/sidewaysopal.html

Hey, Alison -- I love the Chevron sock pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks for self striping yarn. JayWalker-ish but none of the fit issues. Sorry I missed Sockapalooza 4 this year -- untimely vacation placement!

Broadripple socks from Knitty are great for self-striping. I've knit two pairs!

I can't help on the pattern front but can say that both yarns pictures are fantastic! I love the way Regia stripes up, and I'm working on LL right now for my sockpal. Good luck finding a pattern...I know there are tons out there...just have to find the right one :-)

I have knit 2 pairs of Monkeys, I think the yarn you have chosen will be great for them!

You can make Jaywalkers bigger by inserting more stitches in between the zig-zags. I did it with mine--eight instead of seven (or was it nine instead of eight?) Anyway, it's easy.

The only other thing that comes to mind for self-striping sock yarn is to do a feather-and-fan pattern, a la WendyKnits.

Charlene Schurch's Sensational socks includes a chevron patterned sock with purls between the chevrons. It gives the sock more stretch. Also, the narrower chevrons are easier to wear than the broad bands of the jaywalkers.

Hi,

I just knit a pair of socks out of that exact yarn! (I used the Broadripple pattern).

Another pattern that's good for striping yarn is the RPM pattern from knitty. (might be not sooo good for yarns with jacquard sections in it).

I found Jaywalkers to be a little too tight and inflexible in the leg -- kind of like an ankle girdle. I wear them least of all my socks. I do like Grumperina's Roza's socks from the last Interweave though -- and I knit them up in LL's Sassy Stripe. I think any of the ribbed socks from Knitting Vintage Socks work well with the LL stripe too (which has very very short stripe segments. I don't even know if I'd call it a true striping yarn).

Yup, that's right about jaywalkers. But the mermaid socks from Lucy Neatbys "cool socks warm feet" look fabulous in self striping yarn. Definately check those out!

Another good pattern for self-stiping is the Rainbow Ripple sock found here: http://www.ptyarn.com/rainbowripple.html The picture on the webpage doesn't show up very well but it is a very pretty ripple pattern.

I suggest the Broadripples and various chevron patterns (some in the Schurch book mentioned). I also like a basic ribbed sock in a striped colorway, esp with solid colored heels/toes/ribbing!

Gah! I've been looking for that regia colorway everywhere. It must have been popular because it's all gone. :( I think monkeys might look okay with striping. It depends on how big the stripes are too.

are you part of Sockamania? browsing thru the blog and seeing everyone's pics of the current pattern, it looks like it'd do the chevron thing nicely with stripey yarns.

Check out sockbug's blog http://sockbug.blog-city.com/). She has some nice patterns that should look good in self striping yarn. I have some LL in Georgetown that is going to be River Rapids socks when I finish 1) the Panda cotton socks I need for summer, 2) shrug for DD for her best friend;s wedding in late July (she just asked me yesterday - no pattern or yarn selected yet - she can't find time to knit it herself with baby M), 3) dinosaurs sweaters for baby M's 2 big brothers (about a third of the back is done on the first one).

I usually knit socks on size one needles (eight stitches to the inch) and just substituted size two for the zig zag part of the Jaywalkers. On the foot I used twos for the instep and ones for the sole. They are my favorite sock to wear as they stay up easily. One pair has a picot edge and the others (3) have a 2X2 rib. I need to get more self striping yarn as I'm itching to start the next pair. Monkey is on my list for some cream Lorna's that I want to try my hand at dyeing.

The knit happens isn't a true stripe in my opinion. The stripes are about 1.5 rounds wide so they may work fot the monkey socks. You might just want to try. (I made a pair of stockinette socks with the LL last year and I love them but the stripes did disapoint a little. I was hoping that they would be wider.)

I think gradually striping yarn (trekking, mega boots stretch) look great in lace or cable patterns. I don't know how thinner self-striping yarn would look...but I sure would be curious to find out! I agree with all of the suggestions above--any type of a "chevron" pattern will really pop with the stripes.

Hey, I know that reference! Little Man discovered A Bad Case of Stripes at pre-school last week. He was so distraught to leave the book at pre-school over the weekend that we tried to find it at the local library. No luck, especially since Little Man (being very nearly 4) gave a vague description of the book, so we were flying solo. But the children's librarian saved the day, and made Little Man very very happy. Great message, but in my opinion, the pictures are kinda creepy. Kids have weird opinions, huh?
Hope all is well with the boys and the wee babe.

I went up a needle size to #2's on the jaywalker socks and mine are working out pretty well on my "muscular" legs!

Others have mentioned Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks as a good source for striping yarn. The Chevron came to mind first for me. I also think Feather and Fan can look nice in stripes.

I've made a couple of pairs of Broadripples with striping yarn. This pattern also looks kinda nice with stripes: http://www.ptyarn.com/hanaumabay.html

I guess any sort of chevron or feather and fan pattern would look nice.

Above, all good suggestions. May I add Hello Yarn's Cable Twist Socks (http://www.helloyarn.com/cabletwistsocks.htm) or Cider Moon's Saucy socks with the Eye of Partridge heel (http://www.cidermoon.com/cm0127.html).

Happy knitting!

Try tropicana from Magknits. I missed out on getting 'Knit Happens' colorway. Boo Hoo. Had a hand dyer make me something in that color but the yarn isn't as soft as LL.

I don't like the way Broadripples look in self striping. I'd do the Jaywalkers and go up a needle size, at least for the leg.

I fifth, or whatever, the chevron pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. Looks great with striping yarns! Also check out the "Carolina" pattern from Socktopia...great for stripes!

I've knit the feather and fan pattern in Knitters 'Socks, Socks, Socks' with striping yarn and it looks pretty good.

Go for the Jaywalkers. Grumperina has posted instructions for making larger Jaywalkers. They were a blast to knit.

Broadripple on Knitty is a lovely chevron that works great with self-striping.

Oh, I wish I had a good suggestion for you on self-striping yarn, I have been struggling with this myself. I don't like feather and fan or ripple, myself, could not get fit in Mermaid, Jaywalkers or SKS chevron pattern -- I ended up making a stockinette sock with a garter rib leg (the garter rib results from knitting every stitch when the color is different from the round below, and otherwise doing K2, P2). My yarn had stripes a little over 2 rounds, which are too skinny for my taste. If I were doing it over (which I'm not) I might be crazy enough to use 2 skeins at once and make wider stripes. Billions of ends and all.

You could make some basic cable socks and have the cable crossing either in the middle of the colors or at each color change. you could also do plain stockinette and then do slip stitch faux fair isle at the color changes.

I love my Jaywalkers, though you should be sure to knit them on 2's because the ones knit on 1's are SOOOO snug.
Another nice striping pattern is another Grumperina pattern, Roza's socks from the Spril IK this year. they are nice, stretchy and super easy to remember. I am making a pair in black, but I have seen them in stripes and they look smashing. :)

I agree with all of the Broadripple fans out there -- the stripes do get kind of wonky when you do the heel flap, but I still love the finished product!!

I agree with all of the Broadripple fans out there -- the stripes do get kind of wonky when you do the heel flap, but I still love the finished product!!

Pretty patterns that I think would look good in self-striping sock yarn are:

* Parallel Socks (Wildhorse Farm Designs)
* Isosceles Socks (also Wildhorse)
* Circle of Friendship socks (HeartStrings FiberArts)

The first two patterns can be found on the Loopy Ewe's website. The third can be bought from HeartStrings FiberArts website.

I have to second broadripple. River rapids by sockbug are great too for self stripers. The other one that I love are the bubble wrap ones as well. They produce a reallly fun sock.

Gorgeous, gorgeous coloways! They are a joy to look at.

Hi Alison ... I'm knitting the Diagonal Rib Socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks book. Can't remember if that's the exact title or who it is knit by, but it's a very easy sock to knit. I'm almost finished with the leg (started it last Sunday), and am knitting it in Austermann Stepp yarn - very beautiful self-striping yarn that even puts aloe vera and jojoba oil into your hands. I highly recommend this pattern for self-striping yarns (and I recommend the yarn, too :)

i did broadripple (knitty) and mermaid (lucy neatby) with both of my self-striping lorna's

If you like the look of Jaywalkers but want something with more stretch, try the Peak Experience socks by Betsy Lee McCarthy from Fiber Trends. I've made them over and over and over again, like some people do with Jaywalkers, and I love the pattern, especially since they fit my fat calves quite nicely. :)

I have nothing to add to the self-striping sock pattern debate but my question is tangentially related. How do you tell the difference visually between a skein of variegated and a skein of self-striping? Yes, my new-knitterness is showing but if it doesn't say striping on the label, I cannot tell.

Oooooh, I really like those Carolina socks!

My first thought for you was the Mermaid Socks, as well. I'm planning on using that pattern for my Sockapalooza socks, using striping yarn.

However, like AuntieAnn, I've had some troubles with fit on my practice sock. I haven't cast on for my sock pal yet, but I'm a bit concerned about getting the right fit.

Also, not all yarns will look just right with Mermaid. If the stripe repeat is too short or too long, you won't get the diamond shapes that really set that pattern off. But for the right yarn, that fishtail stitch is absolutely amazing!

I have both of those yarns, and no clue on either what sock patterns I will use. Which makes me extra excited to see what you come up with first! (tee hee)

Although it doesn't offer a lot of visual change, I'm a big fan of the Thuja pattern (knitty.com) for striping socks. Its very calming.

Although I will give a word of warning that one of my knitgrrls, Good Girl Purl of the PurlingPs, knit up her Knit Happens colorway, and the stripes were very narrow. Like one row per color.

I made the Jaywalkers with self-striping Regia yarn. I have big feet (10 1/2) and made the bigger size and they fit very well. They seemed to take very long to knit but after I wore them they soon became one of my favorite pair of socks.

I hope you post something with all of these great suggestions. I've been going through the same thing. I have a pile of self striping and just don't want to do a plan stockinette or ribbed sock.

Please, please?!

oooh, I was going to say Jaywalkers as well...did you see that there is a larger size on Grumperina's blog? p.s. I have that brightly colored Regia in my stash too, I LOVE it!! ;)

I just finished up some Dublin Bay socks with some lovely stripy Vesper yarn.

Is a great pattern not just stockinette

Good suggestion, Mandy. I really like that pattern, very subtley argyley. Cool!

Another possibility is See-Saw Socks by Kim Brody Salazar [Wiseneedle] (pattern from Knit-Net archives, does cost - Canadian on-line magazine - at least, I think I have that correct - I found it by googling originally but don't have it in front of me at the moment. I think it was about $4 or 5 US about 2 or 3 years ago)

I was hoping to watch the suggestions come in and get inspired for a pair of non lacy socks to make with some cascade sassy stripe. I'll have to check these suggestions out.

Falling Leaves, or Straight Laced on knitt.com, or Lacy Scallops on Sockbug might work with self striping yarn.

http://scarlettknits.livejournal.com/796.html

I just finished the lacy mock cable socks in a variegated, but the original pattern uses a self striping with a narrow repeat. Very comfy socks!

For those looking for Regia Canadian Color Calgary - this UK store has it. http://www.cnyttanpatterns.co.uk/erol.html#8035X13592

The Feather and Fan socks from Socks, Socks, Socks works very well with striping yarns.

I bought my Knit Happens LL at Knit Happens (to me, it's a LYS). I started toe-up socks in it, thinking and hoping it would stripe.

It didn't. My particular skeins gave me short (like 2-3 inch) blips of color that didn't resolve into any sort of stripe or spiral. I abandoned and frogged that attempt (I was doing lace on the insteps) and will probably just go with a simple stockinette for them.

I wear a ladies' size 10.5 and have high insteps. I made Jaywalkers in the larger size on Knit Picks size 1 dpns in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. They fit perfectly with absolutely no pattern adjustments at all. The pattern does seem to eat yarn faster than most.

If you're still worried, someone on the 'net has developed a larger size/adjustable size amendment to the Jaywalker pattern. Sorry, can't find the link right now, but it shouldn't be too hard to Google.

I have big feet (10 or so) and decent calves. I knit the larger Jaywalker pattern and they fit fine. They're scary at first because you can't get them over your heel until you pull hard, but once the heel itself is turned, they're easier to try on. It's a bit of luck, I suppose, waiting that long, but mine turned out great. I also knit the larger size for my boyfriend, and they fit him fine. Otherwise, I've heard that Cookie A's Thelonious works nicely with stripes and variegations as well as solids. You could look at some of her patterns.

If you don't like the way that strips and the BroadRipple pattern go together - sub out a short row garter stitch heel (and toe). See the "Broadripple Hybrids" on my blog. There are two pairs - the ones I did as a Sock Savior last Sockapalooza and the ones I made for myself - finished in Feb of this year.

Great pattern in stripes! My Cascade Fixation didn't stripe enough for me, so I knit alternating color and solid round for 'skinney stripes'. My favorite summer socks to date!

Sock patterns that wave or ripple usually work great with variegated yarns. Cables are often lost in the dye pattern, and lace - well it depends. Good luck!

The Quill Lace pattern from Knitty was a lot of fun and may work out with striping yarn. It is a REALLY fun pattern too!

Never forget the good 'ole Broadripples too. Some kind of feather and fan would be fun.