Selecting Sock Yarn – June 2020

When I first put up socks as our workshop for June, the most frequent question I got was – what yarn do I use?  Following are just some of the things to consider when selecting yarn for socks:

Yarn thickness – select the thickness of the yarn to suit the purpose of socks. Crochet stitches are by nature thick (generally thicker than knitting). If you wish for thinner socks to wear inside fitted shoes you are best to use super fine or fine weight yarn (3- 4 ply). If you wish to wear your socks in boots or shoes that are a looser  fit a light weight yarn (8 ply) is suitable. Or to create a more cushioned effect, for wearing without shoes, worsted weight (10 ply or higher) create wonderful slipper-like socks.

Fibre content – Stretch is important for socks as they are generally made slightly smaller than the actual measurement of the foot. Cotton has no elasticity therefore on its own is not usually suited for socks.  Wool is very warm and being natural has some elasticity and generally needs to be hand washed. Man-made fibres such as acrylics have more elasticity, and can be machine washed. I find the best yarn is therefore a blend of wool and acrylic such as nylon—as it has more elasticity with the warmth of a natural fibre.  This is what ‘sock yarn’ is made of.

Self striping yarns – Many sock yarns are self striping – to create unique patterns and stripes. This means if you wish to make the socks look the same, you need to begin each sock at the same point in the colour sequence. However it’s not necessary to make each look exactly the same and you can have some great fun making a each sock different yet similar.