Why Knit Socks?

Quite often, as I take out my sock knitting in the pub or on the train, baffled non-knitters will ask me why I knit socks when I could buy 3 pairs for 5 pounds at the supermarket? This is a good question and now that I have knitted several pairs of socks I can answer it very easily.

Firstly, hand knitted socks are nicer in every way than socks you can buy at the supermarket. Usually the yarn is better, it comes in a variety of interesting colours (although you can have black if you prefer), they are most commonly knitted in predominantly natural fibres and, because they can be knitted to fit your feet, they are just more comfortable. Not only that, but wool or cotton socks mean that your feet are less sweaty and some people say that you can wear hand knitted socks more than once before washing them. because the natural qualities of wool mean that they do not smell. I have to be honest that I have yet to try this experiment.

Generally sock yarn is a 75% blend of wool and 25% nylon for extra strength as pure wool socks usually get holes in them very quickly. If you are worried about nylon you can get 100% sock yarn (such as Malabrigo Sock which is pure Merino wool), or you can get sock yarn which has a biodegradable nylon in it, such as Zauberball Crazy. There is no reason, of course, why you should not knit your socks in anything you fancy, such as cashmere or pure cotton, but I would say that that a blend of wool and nylon added to your favoured fibre give that little bit of elasticity that you might need as well as providing the strength needed to prevent holes. Most commonly, people use 4ply yarn for socks, but you can also get double knitting yarn (DK) which makes thicker socks – good for sofa wear, or wellington boots or just for warmer feet. West Yorkshire Spinners have recently launched a great range of DK Sock yarn in colours named after genres of music – I have done Pop and Jazz so far and have set myself the goal of a pair in each of the colours by the end of the year. The best selling sock yarn in the shop is also by West Yorkshire Spinners – their Signature 4ply. People love the Country Birds range – you can make a pair of gorgeous socks in a fair isle pattern from one ball. My favourite is Pheasant – I am a sucker for the blues/greens/browns colour range. And of course we have indie dyed sock yarn, including our own range, for a pair of socks that will be like no other.

Secondly, socks make an excellent, quick project. It takes a lot less time to knit a pair of socks than it does to knit a jumper for sure. My record so far is a pair of DK socks in two weeks. 4ply usually takes me a bit longer. Not only that, but socks are an extremely portable project. The yarn and needles fit neatly into your bag and can be easily knitted on a train or in a car on a long journey, or discreetly knitted in the pub provided you don’t drop your double pointed needles. There is nothing worse than having to find a DPN that has slipped down the side of your seat. It is a bit of mantra that socks, along with blankets, do not count as Works in Progress – most dedicated knitters will have a pair on the go along with the bigger things that they are knitting.

Thirdly, as Mandy points out, they are an interesting knit, involving as they do a bit of rib, a bit of stocking stitch, then the magic of turning the heel and grafting the toe. No time to get bored (unless you are knitting enormous socks for people with big feet). Once you have got your favourite pattern in your head, you will not even need to carry a written pattern with you. However, it does seem that once bitten by the sock bug, people will happily try out lots of different patterns, some involving cable or slip stitch or fair isle or even intarsia. I am currently trying out some intarsia socks with mixed results. They are for my daughter and I have told her that I would prefer her to frame them rather than wear them, they have cost me so much blood, sweat and tears. It is possible that intarsia is not for me and that I will stick to self-striping sock yarns for for the forseeable future.

Hand knitted socks make excellent presents. It would be a very churlish person who received a pair of hand knitted socks with anything less than pleasure. But if they are not going to be worn, as hand knitted gifts often aren’t, at least they will not have taken months of your life and many pounds of your money. In fact, as far as I am concerned one of the best things about them is that it only takes 100g of 4ply yarn to create a great pair of socks. That is why most independent dyers, including myself, mainly dye on a sock yarn base – it is easier to justify spending £19 on a beautiful skein of yarn if you know that at the very least you can get a pair of socks out of it.

If you are the kind of person who likes to learn new skills, then learning to knit socks is a good way to go. Several techniques are involved: knitting in the round, knitting on double pointed needles or magic loop or tiny circular needles, slip stitch for reinforced heels, short rows for turning the heel, picking up and knitting, decreasing and grafting and Kitchener Stitch. Of course, there are more ways than one to do the heels – a whole subject on its own, I suspect.

So, there are many excellent reasons to knit socks. If you are interested in learning, we offer courses in the shop in knitting socks. We get you started on double pointed needles which sounds difficult (it isn’t once you have the hang of managing 5 needles), but which makes it easier to use other kinds of needles in the future. We use what is called a ‘vanilla’ sock pattern (very basic) and we provide the needles, yarn and some excellent tuition by Mandy who has knitted more socks that you have had hot dinners. By the end of the course, which is 4 sessions over 5 weeks, you will have knitted your first sock and after that, there will be no stopping you! So, come on and give it a try.