What do you do when you are working like crazy, knitting samples for a new collection*, but all you actually want to be doing is knitting glorious socks?

The answer is to pull beautiful skeins of sock yarn off the shelves and daydream about fabulous colour combinations of course!

The Stepping Out KAL is going really fantastically well over on Ravelry and Instagram (clicking those links will show you all of the stunning socks people are making). Whether you’ve been knitting socks for years, or are thinking about your first pair, our knitalong is a great place to share your progress and pick up hints and tips. I’ve been finding the knitalong thread really inspiring, and it’s making me itch to cast on another pair.

I’ve been thinking about multi-coloured socks, and mentally planning a few pairs. My lovely co-worker, Tabitha, has had some fun putting together beautiful combinations of CoopKnits Socks Yeah! 4ply from our shelves… I’m still working on getting her to take up needles, but in the meantime, she’s really enjoying playing with all the colour possibilities.

*We’ll start telling you more about the new collection in a couple of weeks! The sample knitting has been a total joy, and I’m excited to share more with you. Not too long to wait now…

I have a few three-colour sock patterns in mind, first up being Coraline by Rachel Coopey (available in Socks Yeah! Volume 1). I am utterly in love with this pattern. The original colourway shown above uses one skein each of shades Danburite, Benitoite and Ruby, but you could go to town with alternative combinations… You just need a good contrast between two of the shades for the stranded colourwork section on the leg.

How about Citrine (top) for the cuff and toe, with Almandine (centre) and Quartz (bottom) for the stranded and striped sections?

Or perhaps you are a true blue fan? In which case, Kunzite (top) for the contrast cuff and toe, and then Larimar (centre) and Azurite (bottom) for the colourwork might be right up your street?

Tabitha has also selected some lower contrast options that would be marvellous for striped socks. The snuggle of sock yarn above is Lepidolite (top), Danburite (centre) and Chryso (bottom). These are so subtle and summery together!

If you are looking for more pattern inspiration, I’ve done a search of sock patterns available on Ravelry that would be suitable for three shades of this yarn: Three-Colour Sock Patterns You’ll find stripes, stranded colourwork and more over there!

The final selection might be my favourite – it’s Axinite (top), Sphene (centre) and Melanite (bottom) – which would work equally well in stranded colourwork, or stripes, or even just colour-blocked. There are so many fabulous sock possibilities!

I’m currently not the only sock knitter in the house, as the boredom of lockdown has finally caused the kids to concede that there’s something in this knitting lark! I shall be using one of their projects next week to give some magic loop tips, so stay tuned for that.

We’ve set up a special shop collection to go with our Stepping Out KAL! You will find over 30 shades of Coop Knits Socks Yeah! 4ply to choose from, as well as needles, books and single pattern downloads. To help you expand your sock horizons, we’re offering 15% off everything in that collection, from now until the end of June 2020, when you spend £40.00 or more (on products from that collection). Use the code STEPPINGOUT at the checkout, or you can follow this link to apply the discount automatically to your cart. We are shipping orders on Mondays and Thursdays, taking all precautions, and UK shipping is free over £50. Overseas orders are shipping via a tracked service only, and whilst there are some delays, the majority of parcels are arriving with no difficulty.

Every purchase from our online store keeps us creating new videos and tutorials for you, so do head over there and choose a treat! Your support is greatly appreciated.