Review: The Sock Project

If you’re on Instagram and you knit, you’ve probably seen some of Summer Lee‘s colorful and fun socks. As you might imagine, when she wrote a book all about sock knitting, it, too, was colorful and fun.

The Sock Project includes 25 patterns and tons of step by step instructions to help new sock knitters feel comfortable with the craft or to give those with some sock knitting experience some new techniques to try.

It opens with a discussion of materials and fit. All of the patterns in the book have four adult sizes, as well as sizes for toddlers and bigger kids, so you’ll be sure to get a good fit for your foot.

There are basic sock patterns for knitting a sock with a heel flap and gusset, an afterthought heel, a peasant heel (which she calls a “forethought” heel because it’s shaped the same as an afterthought heel, but you do it while you’re knitting) and a heel shaped with German short rows. There’s also a toe up sock with fleegle heel. Just with those patterns you can add in your own stripes and stitch patterns and happily make a lot of different socks.

But you don’t even have to come up with your own design ideas, because Summer has offered 25 options, including stripes, fade, ribs, textured stitches, colorwork, cables and lace. There are also patterns for using DK weight yarn to make long or short socks, and a pattern that adds mohair for extra warmth.

Some of my favorites include the Trompe le Monde Socks, which feature two-color stripes and a slip-stitch pattern on the leg and top of the foot; the leafy-lace-covered Camellia Socks; the Scandiland Socks, with classic snowflake motifs worked in pastels with mustard accents; and the Harriet Socks, with little cables running down the sides.

I was able to see these socks in person at a book signing Summer did in my hometown, and they’re all lovely. You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

This is a great book for people who want to learn how to knit socks, for knitters with knitting friends they want to encourage to knit socks, and for folks who are always looking for different ways to knit socks or designs to try.

About the book: 192 pages, 25 patterns, paperback. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

For the past few years I’ve taken part in a Christmas in July blog hop that encourages people to get a jump on their making for holiday gifts.

I love to use yarn I already have for these projects in the hope that people will consider what they already have that they can use to make projects for themselves or to give as gifts.

This year it was a couple of knit baskets made using partial balls of yarn left in my stash from other projects.

They use the same basic pattern but the first one is made with two colors of bulky yarn, and the second used two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, which made the gauge about the same, but I cast on fewer stitches to make a smaller version.

The bottom of the basket is square, though you can make them rectangular if you’d rather. Then I just knit up the sides in rounds until I was about to run out of yarn. This gave both baskets rather short sides — maybe more like a tray than a basket — but you can keep knitting as long as you like to make the sides of your basket as tall as you want.

They’re worked in seed stitch, which keeps the edges from curling and adds a nice texture to the baskets.

Of course this also allows you to use even more odd balls from your stash. I’d love to make a big one someday combining lots of different yarn. I mean, I’d probably use it to store more yarn, but that’s a fine thing to do.

As it is, these little trays are great for sitting on your desk or bedside table to hold little things that always seem to appear there. I like to use one to hold the supplies for whatever project I’m working on, things like little scissors, my tape measure, a crochet hook, etc.

And they would make good gifts on their own or as a container to hold some other goodies if you like.

You can find the free pattern for these stash busting baskets over at Our Daily Craft.

Have you read?