Ideas! Sock Yarn – More Than Just Socks!

So I have all of this sock yarn. Yes, I knit socks, mostly because I need smaller portable items to keep with me, but also because I love the variety of fibers and designs that this wonderful industry has produced. There’s no end to the combinations you can create! But what if you don’t want to knit socks? You have this sock yarn because it was there, on the shelf and either begged you with it’s gorgeous variagated eyes to take it home, or it flat out jumped into your basket. But you don’t want to spend the time to knit a pair of socks. What to do with this gorgeous skein?

This is from Handknitting.com’s newsletter!

Of course you can knit a pair of socks with a skein of sock yarn, but that’s just the beginning.  Finer yarns are becoming more popular all the time, mainly because of their great draping qualities.  Yes there are more stitches to make, but because these thinner yarns have more yardage per ball or skein, you often wind up spending less than knitting with a heavier yarn.

Sock yarns, of course, are just fingering weight or sport weight yarns.  You need to remember that when you’re knitting something other than a sock, you will want to use a larger needle than when you’re knitting a sock, in order to get some drape for your fabric. Use these fun yarns for scarves, gloves, shawls, vests & sweaters!

You can combine handpainted or variegated yarns with solids for extra interest–stripes of course, but also try a slip stitch pattern with a solid and a variegated yarn–it’s the easiest colorwork ever.

For sock weight yarns, Gems merino fingering makes a great choice for solid colors, as does the Swedish Yarns Baby Ull.  Remember, we’re always here to choose a contrast color for you–it’s part of our service!   Both are superwash wool.

Sock yarn is a great way to get color into kid’s clothes too, because they are washable and that little bit of nylon helps with the wearability.

Don’t want mostly wool? Try using Tofutsies sock yarn, and Reynold’s Kids Cottontail or Sunday Best, or Bomull Sport yarns for solid colors.   (and then they go on to give you a coupon to use toward purchase of these wonders). 100 % cotton yarn

Handknitting.com’s  email newsletter is full of tips and techniques like this one. Definitely one of the newsletters I enjoy!

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