Where our patterns
come from
Pattern socks are the highest intellectual-property risk shape in the whole sock category. Most of the trade handles that with a disclaimer. We would rather show you the process, and give anyone whose rights we might have got wrong a direct way to stop us.
All 43 drawn here
Every pattern on this site was drawn for these socks. None of them is licensed in, and none of them is traced from anything.
No customer artwork
We do not accept customer-supplied artwork. There is no upload anywhere on this site, and there will not be one — it would move the rights check somewhere we cannot control it.
Down first, then checked
If you tell us a pattern infringes your rights, we take it down first and look into it after.
What happens before
a pattern goes up
- 01
It gets drawn
From sketch to separated colour layers to a finished sheet. The sketches and layer files are kept, with the date they were made, under a creation record number that is printed on the product page.
- 02
It gets checked against a list
Before anything is listed, the drawing is checked line by line against the list below of things we will not draw. The date of that check and who did it are recorded.
- 03
It gets a descriptive name
Names describe what the drawing is — Grid 04, Wave Break, Bird Study. We do not use proper nouns, and we do not describe a pattern as being inspired by, in the style of, or connected to anything at all.
- 04
Anything missing blocks the listing
If the origin, the creation record, the check date or the reviewer is missing, the pattern cannot be published. That rule runs automatically when the site is built, not as a habit someone has to remember.
What we will not draw
This is the actual list our patterns are checked against. It is not a set of examples — it is the whole list, and anything on it blocks a drawing outright.
Trademarks and brands
Registered trademarks, logos, brand names, brand symbols, and colour or graphic combinations that identify a brand.
Characters and works
Characters from animation, comics, film or games, including silhouettes, signature colourways and recognisable props. Book and music artwork, titles and title lettering.
Sport
Club crests, kit colour combinations, league marks, competition names and marks, and the likeness or squad numbers of players.
People
Recognisable likenesses of real people — public figures, political figures and historical figures included.
States and institutions
National flags, coats of arms, government, military and police insignia, the red cross and red crescent, certification and inspection marks, and banknote or currency imagery.
Luxury house motifs
Signature monogram canvases, chequerboard motifs and house ciphers.
Culture and religion
Religious icons and scripture, and the traditional totems and tribal patterns of indigenous peoples.
Artwork still in copyright
Paintings, photographs, illustrations and typefaces that remain in copyright.
If we got it wrong
If you tell us a pattern infringes your rights, we take it down first and look into it after.
That order matters. We do not ask you to prove your case before we act — we stop selling the pattern, then work out what happened. If it turns out we were entitled to keep selling it, we will tell you why and put it back.
You can also just email support@socksource.shop or call +31 85 0160421. The form just makes sure we get everything we need in one go.
For orders, sizing, returns or faults, use the contact page instead.
Rights holder objection
Everything marked below is needed before we can act on it.
While we are being straight with you
Printed and dyed socks can transfer colour when new, especially dark patterns on light footwear. Wash separately the first time. That is a property of dyed and printed textiles, not a defect in ours. Gradual fading over many washes is wear. A pattern cracking or peeling within the first few wears is a fault, and you are covered for that — here is how.