An handful of hand knit socks

I’ve had several failed attempts to learn to knit socks, making some extremely ugly and mismatched pairs along the way. Many of these failures have been relegated to the textile recycle bin, but at some point something clicked and 2022 was the year I could finally knit a (mostly) matching pair of socks.

I’ve now got two basic go-to sock patterns, one in each of the most common yarns in my stash. The Sunday Socks, from PetiteKnit, is an Aran pattern. This means they’re chunky, warm and knit up quickly, perfect for gifts! I made this ombre pair for my Gran for Christmas. I panic-bought the yarn on a trip to Inverness to see the in-laws, when I realised I’d run out of yarn for the project I’d brought with me. I think we can all empathise with the feeling of dread, as a long weekend stretches in front of you with no project available. It was a man-made fibre, which is not my favourite type of yarn with which to work. I hate that squeaky feeling you get when the yarn rubs against itself. I won’t lie though, the colours are pretty.

The 4ply weight is a vintage pattern, ‘Town & Country’ by Sirdar. I like the option of plain or ribbed and the different lengths. This was my first sock pattern and I remember really slogging through it at the time. I bought specific yarn for it and ended up spending the best part of £20 if I remember rightly. That feels so extravagant now I mostly work with thrifted or secondhand yarns. I do still buy the odd new yarn, mostly to complement something I’ve found in a charity shop. I would hesitate to spend £20 on sock yarn these days, though I do love some holiday souvenir yarn. I’ve definitely splurged on yarn in small quantities from Amsterdam and Skye, I love the memories knit into those pieces.

4ply is a fiddly weight and sometimes you want something that will knit up quickly. I have yet to experiment, but I would love to try either of these patterns in DK - sizing up or down to compensate for the change in weight. One reason I like sock knitting, besides the practical nature of socks, is the small amount of yarn you need. It makes them perfect for using up scraps and odd ends, especially if you can combine small amounts with other colours to eke them out still futher. They’re great for gift giving, who doesn’t love a pair of snuggly warm socks (especially in this economic climate?). The striped pair went to my Mum and the green pair to my sister-in-law.

I realise this isn’t a pair of socks but hear me out, I have an idea. I knit the Stash Dive Scarf from Summer Lee Patterns in 2020, it was the perfect lock down project. You knit in the round, adding different colours of scrap yarns as you go. I ended up giving both the scarves I made away, but I’m pondering whether I could recreate the idea with the Sirdar sock pattern. If I used a mohair to tie the project together and added scraps as I went, it would be a way to transform remnants into scrappy socks. Watch this space…