I’m helping!
I love knitting socks, and I love wearing knit socks. My feet run cold, so handknit socks are absolute bliss. Given that “dress shoes” or, God forbid, heels that require a thin fabric sock have become a distant memory these last two years, I have been wearing my knits most chilly days – chilly for me being any day that it’s either cold enough outside for the furnace to run or hot enough outside for AC.
I finally have an adequate stockpile built up that I have a pair for each day of the week and then some. Since, uh, sometimes I might not always be rigidly on time with the weekly wash.
No wool socks
My bestie, on the other hand, is allergic to wool. Like she breaks out in welts on contact. I’ve seen it, and it’s not pretty! So when she asked me to make her socks, I had to do some research. The sock yarns I tend to favour contain 80–90% wool with the rest being manmade fibres for stretch and durability. Most sock yarns have at least some wool. But for Miss Hivesy McScratchy, I needed to try something different.
I started with what I had in my yarn stash for the first pair. Using Patons North America Astra (100% acrylic) and the DK Acrylic Socks pattern, I whipped up a perfectly serviceable pair in white with black trim. Though she was happy, I wasn’t. They were fine, but not cute. And I have to imagine that yarn turns a person’s feet into sweat factories, which doesn’t make for supreme comfort.
So I went looking for proper sock yarn that didn’t contain any wool. It wasn’t as easy as I might have thought! I did eventually find Berroco Comfort Sock (50% nylon/polyamide, 50% acrylic). Fingering weight and available in pretty sock colours. Yay! For the second pair, I used this yarn in the Fjordland colourway and the Addy Socks pattern. We were both pleased with these.
Using every inch of the skein
The next pair were made for Lily, and I could go back to wool. The lovely pattern is called Komorebi Socks, and it resulted in a very pleasing texture that worked really nicely with the speckled yarn. The main yarn was Old Rusted Chair Single in the Dreamworld colourway. The toes and heels were made in The Blue Brick Niagara Silk Singles in the Flora colourway, which you might recognize as a remnant from this shawl. I’m thrifty like that.
The adorable little sockettes were a pattern I testknit, called Coco Sockette. I love them and wear them often. The main body of the sock is the aforementioned Old Rusted Chair Single, and the toes are the Flora. The big twist here? The heel is made from the remnant of Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn Cashmerino Sock in Fiesta, which I first used for the full orange comfy critters to the right.
This beautiful orange pair is from the Calm Oceans pattern. These were another test knit for a different designer. I messed up slightly on one of the heels, but it’s only noticeable on close inspection.
A simple classic
Like vanilla ice cream, this Vanilla Socks pattern is a trustworthy, uncomplicated classic. These may be the most comfortable, best-fitting calf length sock I’ve made yet. I’ll definitely reach for it again, particularly for variegated or self-striping yarns where the yarn itself is bringing plenty of visual interest to the party.
The yarn is Cloudborn Fibers Superwash Merino Fingering in Stormy Skies, and it is just lovely to wear. Better yet, it washes up like a dream. (Yes, I machine wash my hand-knit socks and hang them to dry. Yes, they can take it.)
Lil shorties
These two pairs are siblings, both made from the Early Spring Shorty Socks pattern. The pink n blue n grey pair is made with Biscotte Yarns Bis-sock in the Lighthouse colourway, with heels and toes made from Lichen and Lace Superwash Merino Fingering in Pewter and cuff in (I think) Cloudborn Fibers Highland Fingering in Burgundy. The blue and grey pair is the Stormy Skies as above, with Cloudborn Fibres Superwash Merino Fingering in graphite for the heels, toes and cuff.
The burgundy and green use the Coco Sockette pattern, except without the flower detail because A/ the yarn has enough going on and B/ I was tired and couldn’t figure out the pattern explanation in the moment. These are so comfy. The yarn is Cloudborn Fibers Highland Superwash Sock Twist Handpaints in Art Gallery. Another excellent sock yarn!
The brown stripe pair use the Florida Girl Sport Socks pattern, which I really like, except for the folded cuff detail. It looks great, but does make for a snugger cuff. If you are blessed with chonky ankles like me, you do have to be quite diligent to keep it stretchy enough. The two yarns (yes, one’s a solid brown and one is a perfectly matched self-striping) are both Patricknits Yarn Signature. Absolutely lovely to work with and wear.
Last but not least, this eye-watering pair was my travel project on a lovely trip to England this spring. It’s the Sneaker Socks pattern, which makes for very comfy socks that don’t slip off, done in two yarns from Les Laines Biscotte: Patricknits Yarn Signature in Danke (the multicolour, part of the yarn haul above) and a mystery ochre brown sock yarn that came in my Advent Calendar from Biscotte.
