This pattern is retired and not usually available. However, I make many of my retired patterns available for a few days twice a year, and this is one of those times! It will be available from now through some time on Monday, December 2. Then it will go away again.

In the summer of 2022, I realized that I found maintaining a back catalog of hundreds of patterns overwhelming. I couldn’t do it and still release new things. So I took my old patterns down so I could keep doing new work.

A few favorites have come back, and lots of new things have come out! But the vast majority of the old patterns are retired and are no longer generally available.

However, enough folks have asked about old favorites that I make many of the retired patterns available for a few days twice a year (usually in early summer and around Thanksgiving).

• If you see the buy buttons on this page, you’ve caught it on one of the days it’s available!
• If you don’t see the buy buttons on this page, then it’s not currently available.
• If you want to hear when the retired patterns are available, subscribe to the mailing list or patreon, or keep an eye on my instagram.

Dippers noun (slang) pickpockets

Ever have a colorful yarn that doesn’t want to play nice? That one that looked so amazing in the skein you just had to have it, but then when you get it on the needles you realize it has a mind of its own?

Yeah…well there’s nothing wrong with the yarn, you just need the right stitch pattern to go with it! Stitch patterns that use more yarn on some rounds than on others work wonders for opinionated yarns.

And this pattern, with it curvy lines and adorable little double wrapped stitches is a total miracle worker. Throw your most colorful yarn at it, it will smooth everything out and have that yarn behaving nicely in no time!

Plus I mean it’s lovely and unreasonably fun to do. But I figure you already knew that bit!

They’re written in four sizes (56, 64, 72, and 80 stitch cast ons), and you should feel free to adjust your gauge a bit to fine tune the fit of the sock. Just be sure that you’re working at a gauge that gives you a sturdy sock fabric with your chosen yarn!

I recommend working at something around 7, 8, or 9 stitches per inch, and I’ve included a table to help you figure out what gauge you’ll want to use for the size you need. With that range of sizes and gauges, the socks will fit a foot (measured around the ball of the foot) between 6.75 and 12.5 inches (with lots of points in between).

This is perfect for you if:

• You have some colorful yarn with a mind of its own
• You love swoopy, curvy lines on your socks

It’s not for you if:

• You don’t like charts (the pattern uses charts)
• You hate swatching (you need to swatch to check your needle size)