Why I knit socks
The knitters that I know tend to fall into two discrete camps – those, like me who are addicted to knitting socks and can’t resist new sock yarn (even though they’ve got a large stash at home) and those who aren’t. This latter group say things like ‘oh, I couldn’t be bothered to knit socks / they’re far too fiddly /I don’t know anyone who’d wear them’.
As sock knitting obviously isn’t everyone’s cup of tea why do I love knitting socks so much? For me they just tick all the boxes. Firstly, I often knit on the move and they are the perfect portable project – small needles and only one ball of yarn make it easy to knit on the train, bus or even in the car (as long as I’m not driving, obviously).
Socks are also great for knitting in front of the TV (particularly Miss Marple or Poirot for some strange reason!) as, apart from a bit of shaping the knitting is all very straightforward. As I’ve mentioned before I also knit at folk club although many of the venues are very dimly lit – I’m not the only knitter and we have to race to grab the seats closest to the wall-lights! Still, socks can be knitted quite discretely and don’t stop me giving my full attention to other performers.
The best reason of all though is the incredible variety of yarn available. This means that simple plain knitting can result in some stunning results. The socks pictured here are all knitted to the same basic sock pattern – in each case it is the clever yarn that has done all the hard work , whether stripes, patterns or faux fair-isle.
The other plus point is that they are so useful. Hand-knitted socks are incredibly warm and comfy and they fit well too – so many times in the past I’ve laboured long and hard over a sweater or cardigan just to find that it doesn’t fit me (or, even worse, someone else) and so just gets stuffed in a drawer. I find that these socks make great gifts too – the fact that they’re hand-knitted shows the recipient that you care and every pair is different. Sometimes I make the socks as an identical pair by matching the starting point on each sock and other times I just continue from where I left off so that the socks match but look different.
So there you have it – I love knitting socks because they’re portable, simple, quick to knit and look amazing. These all follow the same basic pattern but socks don’t have to be simple – there are lots of complicated patterns out there to challenge the most experienced knitters but that’s another story for another day……..
Happy sock knitting!
These are lovely, particularly the first one. Where did you get your sock pattern from? I’ve been trying to find a simple one, but so many seem overly complicated for a first attempt!
Allie, if you drop me an email at enquiries@knitncaboodle.co.uk I’ll email you a copy of the pattern.
Thank you, that would be fantastic!
I knit socks because they are an ideal portable project just perfect to have OTN’s for hospital appts – pick up and put down easily etc, but also because they can be a simple basic pattern showing off a yummy luxurious sock yarn or a fantastic self-patterning sock yarn OR you can stretch yourself to knit a complex pattern – the choice is yours! I once sent an ex.colleage and good friend to sleep on a train trip when she asked “WHY do you knit SOCKS, then .. ?” about 1.5hrs later I noticed she’d nodded off .. he-hee!
Sue x
I didn’t realise that you were an enthusiastic sock knitter too! I’m so glad its not just me who goes on for hours about the joy of sox!!
For all the reasons you stated, I agree! Once you try on a pair of hand-knitted socks you are spoiled for life. The other nifty reason for knitting socks is – NO SEAMS! Just darn on the beginning and ending yarn and voila! 🙂
(Pleased to see one of the pictures demonstrates the Superba Mexico yarn – I discovered some in my stash the other day so now I’m desperate to start!)