Great Tips for Knitting Faster Socks

Sock knitting is a lot of fun, but the sad truth of the matter is that knitting a pair of socks takes a long time. So many little stitches, so many knitting needles (often) and you have to knit two of them.

It’s worth it, but anything you can do to speed up the process and get those glorious socks on your feet would be great, right?

This Knitted Life has a great collection of tips for knitting socks faster, including using metal needles in your preferred configuration, knitting plain socks and using fewer stitches, both for better fit and faster knitting (I usually do 60 stitches instead of the more common 64, but could probably go even smaller).

I’d also add that I think working on fewer needles, once you get used to it, makes it go faster because there’s less fiddling with the other needles to do. I love Magic Loop, but you can also knit a sock on two circular needles instead of one long one.

And of course there is always the option to knit two socks at once. Have you ever tried that?

I’d love to hear any thoughts you have on making sock knitting faster or easier!

[Photo via This Knitted Life.]

Looking for more knitted socks designs and patterns to keep you warm this winter? Check out these knitted sock patterns Etsy. And these Knitting Pattern books on Amazon.

Looking to buy your Yarn online? Check out these online yarn specials.

Knit a colorwork hat inspired by every state in the United States with Knitting the U.S.A. by Nancy Bates. Like her previous book of hats inspired by US national parks, this book includes a colorful hat design for every state.

The book opens with a very brief section on the basics (which is about choosing colors, gauge, picking a cast on method, using duplicate stitch and blocking). A few more techniques are explored at the back of the book, but this is a book that assumes you know how to knit, read a chart and work colorwork knitting.

Patterns are arranged by geographical location with no clear organization within the sections (not alphabetical, geographical, by date admitted to the Union, etc.). That may only annoy me, but it did so now you know.

Each state has an image like a postcard showing what inspired the hat (snow-capped trees for North Dakota, a grassy field of horses for Kentucky, a racoon for New Jersey to name a few) and a few paragraphs about iconic things and experiences in that state (Massachusetts has a lot of bricks, South Carolina lots of food).

A list of the colors used in the pattern is given, as well as needles, notions and gauge. All the designs say they fit an average adult head and are meant to come out around 20.25 inches or 51.5 cm around.

There is a little bit of written instruction for each hat, and the colorwork is given as a chart. Hats are worked from the bottom up and feature ribbing along the bottom.

The patterns are cute and colorful, though as with any big book like this lots of designs could cover lots of states. Arkansas for instance (since I’m from there I always have to bring it up!) has a sort of textured, not quite chevron design worked in three colors to highlight our hills and forests. It’s pretty but you’d never know it was supposed to represent any state, particularly Arkansas.

Still, these hats are fun and if your state is more distinctive (or even if it isn’t) you might want to knit your state or the hat from your favorite place to travel or where you were born or where someone is moving and have fun knitting your way across America in hats.

About the book: 232 pages, hardcover, 50 patterns. Published 2025 by Weldon Owen. Suggested retail price $32.50.

Comments

Rita says
January 7, 2017 at 11:14 pm
I knit my socks flat and seam them. The seam is never a problem as I just make sure to join it carefully as it is on the bottom. They go way faster than four needle socks. Thanks to Ms. Gail Thomas, these socks are the best pattern I have found. http://www.crochetnmore.com/knitted babysocksbygailthomas.htm.

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