I bought this beautiful blue speckled sock yarn on my honeymoon, and it took me a while to work up the courage to pull it out of my stash and actually knit something with it. Sometimes it’s tempting to keep your prettiest hand-dyed yarn safe in your stash, but you just can’t… yarn is meant to be knitted up, right?
Knitting Monkey Socks with Speckled Yarn
I decided to knit this pair of Cookie A’s Monkey socks from my special skein and I think they turned out so pretty!
I’ve knitted Monkeys out of speckled sock yarn before and they always turn out lovely (check them out here and here!) I love this pattern for speckled yarn because (1) it’s free, and (2) the simple lace pattern can handle “loud” yarn, like speckles or variegated dye jobs.
This specific speckled yarn by Teal Torch Knits turned out to have much more subtle speckles than othes I’ve knitted with. I think I could have picked a more detailed lace pattern and have gotten away with it, but in general, if I have busy yarn, I like simple stitches, which I why I chose to knit the Monkey socks.
More Speckled Sock Yarn Pattern Ideas
If you are looking for other pattern ideas for speckled yarn, I love Vanilla Latte, which is another free sock pattern, but it has been out of print for a while. I wrote this post about how to knit them without the original pattern – it’s just a 6×2 broken rib. The project in that post is what I mean when I talk about “loud” speckled yarn.
I’ve also knitted some Prairie Springs Socks out of rainbow speckled yarn and they are adorable. That one is a good pattern for a speckled sock yarn with a decidedly solid base, like my blue speckled yarn here or the rainbow one I use.
But, back to the socks at hand! Here is one more cute photo of them, then I’ll dive into the project details.
yarn details
Teal Torch Knits Sock in Calm Before the Storm, purchased at Weird Sisters Yarn LYS in Portland, Oregon
Fingering Weight
90 Extra Fine Superwash Merino Wool & 10% Nylon
437 yards/ 100 grams
project details
pattern: “Monkey” by Cookie A (download a pdf version from Interweave, check out the original version in Knitty, or it’s in the book Knit. Sock. Love. (which is full of amazing patterns!)
size knit: CO 64 Stitches
needles: US size 1 (2.25 mm) circular needles (these ones)
yarn used: 296 yards (64 grams)
gauge: 8.5 stitches/inch in stockinette (according to my cheater gauge ruler)
finished size: Foot: back of heel to tip of toe: 9”, Top of cuff to bottom of heel flap: 8.5”, Diameter of leg: ~3.5”
duration: February – May, 2025
notes
- This is the first time I’ve ever knitted Monkey socks with 2.25 mm needles and I don’t think I’ll do it again. The pattern doesn’t have much stretch and these socks are tight. I’ll stick with the 2.5 mm from now on, which is what I usually use… but, hey, you’ll never know if you don’t try, right?
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