No socks

Somebody asked me why I don’t knit socks. The answer is same as why I don’t make my own underwear: I don’t have to. With my crafting time so precious, my knitting so slow and all the crazy childrens’ socks I can get in a bundle for a few bucks, it’s just not important to me. Besides, they’d probably itch. Possibly it also has to do with having to make two of the same…? (btw I do draw the line at spiderman socks)

sox

So tell me, why DO you, or not, knit socks? They’re rarely seen outside the house (unless they’re drying) and not something you notice as much as a nice sweater for instance.

I was going to make a post about how much fun I’m having with painting lately, but then I began to rush to have something to show you and suddenly I was struggling again. I wouldn’t say that I’m on a roll yet, just one day off can block the way forward, but it’s definitely very close to the feeling of flow as I know it, verging on bubbly. When I’m not distracted by sick pets. Gets me every time.

23 thoughts on “No socks

  1. I like you Pia, no knitted socks here, I can’t understand this obsession with knitted socks a lot of people seem to have and I will be interested to read their reason why they knit socks, Frances

    1. I can see the point of thick, sturdy woolen socks of the simple kind to fill out your wellies. But not all the fancy patterned lacy one. Each to their own of course! I like looking at them, however.

  2. I can’t say I knit socks often, but when I do I do it for a very specific reason: I have cold feet and at home I always wear a pair of thick woolly socks on top of my regular cotton socks. I also need these thick socks to wear in my wellington boots, again not as a replacement for ordinary socks, but in addition to them. So itchiness is not a problem, because I never wear them on their own. The standard sock yarn weight is not really thick enough for these kinds of socks, I tend to use DK weight. These sorts of really thick socks you can’t buy in shops so I need to knit them myself. Or get my mum to do it.
    In fact my mum knits nothing but socks, that’s why I don’t need to do it very often. She finds it very relaxing, as she knows the pattern off by heart and they’re quick and colourful to knit (she doesn’t have patience for big projects, she claims she doesn’t know how to read knit patterns so whatever she knits has to be something she already knows, like socks or possibly mittens). She knits so many of them she has to give them away to charity because the whole family already has as many socks as we can possibly use.

    So there you go, two very different reasons to knit socks….

    1. I use thick socks over too, and I have contemplated making some rather than the teddy acrylics like the neon green one in the image. I have another reason not to, though, I don’t like knitting small circumferences in the round! And turning heels is not super fun either, as far as I remember.

  3. Socks are such a nice, portable project. I can stick them in my purse and pull them out whenever I need something to keep my hands busy. I love, too, that I can knit socks to be a perfect fit. I have to admit that the second sock always seems to take longer. 🙂

    1. I guess I never really needed anything to keep my hands busy. I rarely wait anywhere, if I think I will have to, I bring a book.

    1. I just had an epiphany while out walking, thinking of sock. Why knit the second one? I rarely match the others unless they happen to be next to each other!

  4. I’m a sock addict. The more I knit them, the more I want! I’d like to open my sock drawer and only see handknit socks! They make perfect travel/waiting projects. You can try out patterns on a small scale. They keep your toes warm but not too warm and add some individuality without being way out…oh and splurging on a ball of sock yarn (especially if it’s standard workhorse yarn) isn’t really splurging at all!

    1. I’ll give you that. I could see myself grabbing every pretty skein of sock yarn I come across. 😉 When I’m going out I usually use my hands for driving, shopping etc. so I’d never finish even one sock a year that way.

  5. I can definitely see the reasons for not knitting socks, but as a fairly regular sock knitter I say it is mainly about fit. I have pretty small feet and with the exception of just recently I could never find socks that actually fit, they would always be too big. The other reason is that I usually knit for my husband, he is on the other end of the spectrum in that he struggles to find socks big enough. I have to agree with other sock knitters, portability, variety of yarns (and colors) and the ability to try out new techniques. I find that I can get away with more colors/pattern combos in socks than I couldn’t with say a sweater, and in the dreary months a small splash of color can be fun.

  6. I LOVE to knit socks. I was hesitant to try for a long time. Then, a friend knit me a pair for my birthday, and the second I put them on, I was an instant convert. So ridiculously comfortable. Seriously. Handknit socks could change the world. And, the first time you turn a heel, you feel like the most clever human being on earth. Since my knitting normally makes me feel pretty dumb, that’s a total bonus SCORE! in my book. I’m with soknitsome—I want to open my sock drawer and see nothing but handknit socks. Always and forever. 😀

    1. I’m pretty sure my mum taught me how to knit a heel when I was a teenager. Now neither of us remember!! I think it involved short rows? Not a fan of those either, although they’re clever. But too much to remember and keep track of if you’re interrupted…. “still working on my sweater from last summer…”

      1. Well, that’s part of the fun—there are many different types of heel to try. Toes, too. But I understand needing to focus on other knitting. I’m such a slow knitter that I will only knit on one thing at a time or I’d never finish anything. Now go paint!

  7. Pia …..honestly it’s like so many other things that you don’t think you will do until the first time you try. I didn’t think I would like or have time for spinning until I tried 8 months ago and now I am always dreaming of the next project. Dyeing my own wool was just an experiment to try and now it is an obsession during the summer months. Socks are my comfort knitting ……mindless round and round on my favorite dp needles …….I am always delighted and surprised when I reach the toe and can cast off. This winter my toes are cozy and warm dispite the frigid temps. I admit to being just a mite lazy ….my new favorite heel is the afterthought heel with no flap or gussets to knit.
    Ps. I received my dreaming of summer seeds to sow in my dye garden thank you so much. Now for warmer weather and sunshine ; )

    1. Oh, great, I was wondering if they’d arrived.

      I know what you mean – I kept saying I wasn’t interested in weaving. 😉

  8. Jeg strikker sokker. Ugleungerne – i hvert fald nogle af dem – elsker hjemmestrikkede sokker. Jeg kan få alpaccasokker til mig selv uden at skulle betale en formue for de. Og så kan jeg få tabi-sokker. Jeg strikker sokker medens jeg drikker kaffe med familien, venter hos lægen eller kører i tog. Det tager nogengange lang tid, men en dag er de færdige.
    Sokker er også en af mine “aldrig-ting” 😀

    1. Jeg kan godt se du har et specielt behov med de der tabi. Har du fået støvlerne?

      Jeg kører aldrig i tog mere og venter sjældent nogen steder. Jeg gider heller ikke have tasker med, hvis jeg kan slippe. (nu kom jeg til at tænke på Sørøver Sally, hvis du kender hende, og taskedamerne i bussen)

  9. Hi. I knit socks, and use them as slouch or bed socks. They are fun to knit, practical and they don’t have to match exactly. Jane

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