Josh is correct! The sublimated sock section may lighten under stretch. Sublimating knitted garments is a bit of a balancing act. Let's take a closer look...

Above all else, our aim is to provide socks that can accept any design, but to be an effective athletic sock they also they need to;

1. Hold up to vigorous use

2. Last a long time

3. Retain comfort and stretch throughout the entire sock

Sublimation is by far the best solution to achieve all three of these, as it allows for ink to be transferred directly into the fibres of the sock body (rather than on top, as with screen-printing). Ever worn a screen-printed t-shirt and feel how the printed area doesn't stretch like the rest of the shirt? Yeah, we didn't want that for our socks 😉

To ensure the colours we apply are as accurate as your original artwork, we need to start with a white surface (much like a painting canvas). So regardless of the primary sock base colour, the sublimation area must be white to begin with.

The sublimation process takes place when the sock is at rest, and is designed to maintain its appearance and dimensions when assessed on our mannequin (examples here).

If the sock is subsequently stretched beyond this, a fraction of the original white surface may begin to show, lightening the sublimated area of the sock. Thankfully, you'll find that the sock will begin to relax more with repeat use, which will progressively reduce the effect.

We also offer embroidered and knitted decoration options, which remove this effect altogether, but allow for fewer total colours and less design complexity. So we completely agree with Josh, it's not a negative, but rather the result of giving our customers the best performing custom athletic sock they can buy. We hope this helps!