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Published on Leave a comment on 8 Fabulous Reasons Why You Should Make Socks
a basket of yarn, hooks, needles, and other notions

I wrote this post back in 2008, then revamped it in 2014. I figure now is a good time to rewrite it again for 2023!

Socks are low cost luxury

Socks give us the chance to sample expensive, hand-painted artisinal yarns handspun by creators located in far away mountainous regions. I may never have the budget to make a $300 sweater from that same type of yarn but I can probably find $30 in my budget to make a pair of socks.

We can experiment with minimal time investment

Socks also give us the chance to sample new stitch patterns or build new skills without investing huge amounts of time. We could work Tunisian, cables, bobbles, and mosaics all in one sock if we wanted, and it wouldn't take us a year to finish.

Socks make excellent portable projects

Socks don't take up a lot of space in a bag or purse. Whether you crochet or knit them, they make excellent portable projects. Due to the absolutely insane cost of housing these days, many of us are choosing tiny homes or vanlife, which puts space at a premium. Crocheting socks can fulfill your creative urges, keep your feeties warm, and not clutter up a small space.

It's good for your brain!

Crochet creates neural pathways in your brain that can help you in other areas of life. I was told several years ago by my son (who knew everything then and still knows it all now) that if I didn't use it, I would lose it. Activities that stimulate the brain to keep producing new networks keep us in tip top cranial form. I am told that other such activities do exist, but I haven't been able to put my crochet hooks down long enough to find out what those other activities might be.

Crochet can be stress-relieving

When you are stressed out and on your last nerve, crochet can be relaxing and therapeutic. Those of you trying out something new may not agree but I promise that once you get the hang of it, you'll relax into the process. Crochet can be very grounding and mindful, particularly if you pay attention to things like breathing and posture while you are crafting.

Crochet can provide you with a sense of tradition

The fibre arts give me a sense of continuity and tradition in a monocultured world where all the towns look the same and we are often so mobile that we never put down roots. I can carry a little bit of uniqueness with me wherever I go. I can also fill my home with beautiful items that cannot be found at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

Socks can provide you with an opportunity to exercise a little freedom of expression in a conformist world

You can sample the strangest, craziest yarns in a sock and no one will blink an eye. Socks are just that cool now. You may never be able to wear a pink, purple, and green fluffy mohair sweater to work because it's loudness will cause instant blindness, but you can wear socks like that and everyone will think your socks rock!

Socks will always flatter you

Finally, socks will never not be flattering. You can make them with any yarn, color, stitch pattern, or gauge, and they will never not be a good look for you. I can not honestly say that about some of the sweaters I've made.

Published on Leave a comment on Choosing the right sock yarn

I'm going to try to steer clear of brands in this post because I just want to talk about yarn in general. In deciding to revamp these dusty old patterns I am seeking out nice yarn to do it. While I place care in the yarn I choose for sock knitting, I know I can use pretty much any old sock yarn for a knit sock and be done with it. This isn't exactly so with crochet, at least that's been my experience.

Crochet stitches don't stretch the same way knit stitches do. They don't lie the same way either. If the right gauge and the right yarn aren't used then they can be downright uncomfortable. I used to be a big fan of elasticized yarn for all my sock making but it seems like that particular sort of yarn has become a bit of a unicorn.

So I'm on the hunt for sock yarn. It doesn't have to be elasticized. It does need to be nice and soft. I'm excited to do this and last night I made a YouTube channel and a TikTok account. And I found an overhead camera stand on Amazon whose tripod acts as a placement guide for hands. In the past when I have tried to do crochet and knit videos I have been rightfully criticized because my hands start to drift off camera. In my defense it is hard to crochet and talk when you are a hand talker.

I just realized that I need to make a Pinterest board. Ok, while I was typing this up I made a Pinterest Board. I've been in Canva learning how to make pretty things by creating an autumn newsletter for my personal site where I do readings. A lot has changed since I first made these patterns. There's definitely more to do. When I actually have socks to share I'll make a Facebook group.

It's time for more coffee, everyone have a great day!!

Published on Leave a comment on Updates ahead!

It is my plan to update some of these sock patterns, specifically the beginner ones. When I first wrote them I used the best camera available to me at the time. Some of these patterns are from 2008/9 and things are different online now. There is more focus on video and I feel like a lot of people are visual learners now. I can not promise when I will create videos - I actually tried last year to do a Udemy course - but I didn't have a laptop and the Udemy creator site is not smart phone friendly.

But I have a laptop again and I am slowly acquiring better lighting. I can not say for certain when the patterns will update but they will over the next couple of months. Is it worth it to set up a YouTube channel or maybe TikTok?

Anyhow, I do see people's comments although because I don't come in here often it is usually well after the fact. If you need to find me quickly, I am available at this site's Facebook Page. Shoot me a message there or my personal page.

Published on Leave a comment on It’s time to say goodbye…

....to some of these patterns!!!

I have decided to retire certain patterns. They're not the most popular ones. I am not deleting them permanently, I'm just making their pages into drafts. If their end location happens to be a Raverly, then the pdf located there will stay.

Why?

They don't get any shares or views.

They're taking up space.

The photos aren't that great.

They could be rewritten to be better understood.

For a variety of reasons, it is just time to take them down.

The ones that are being retired are:

  • The Blue Socks of Happiness
  • Spring Garden Socks
  • Bleached Herringbone

I will take them down on Friday evening, probably about 10pm EST, before I go to bed. This doesn't mean that they are gone forever, just for now.

 

 

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Published on 8 Comments on Basic Crochet Sock

This is a lead in page to the PDF of this pattern. For whatever reason. the PDF link won't generate on the ravelry pattern page. If I put it in the link field in editing, I get the red marker of doom telling me that it's a PDF link and needs to be in its proper little field....where it won't display.

Sorry folks. Ravelry has never been my favourite place to try to save and distribute patterns, but it's the busiest.

Click this link to get the pattern as a PDF. If it won't click, copy and paste it into your browser.

https://simplesockmaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BasicToeUpCrochetedSock.pdf

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Published on 3 Comments on Housekeeping

Hey sock lovers!!

After a long absence away from this site, I decided to finish cleaning out the posts. My goal is to get this site lean and mean and down to the patterns and related articles.

My next goal is to clean up the comments because at one point when I was on blogger, I didn't check yes for a spam filter so I got pretty damned spammed.

Hopefully no one misses the porn links. LOL

Published on Leave a comment on Heel Turning – OLD Video

I found this video in my YouTube Channel. It was shot quickly, for someone who needed to know how to turn a heel. I don't know why it was marked private, but meh, whatever. I made it public now. In watching it again I am reminded of why I love my little tripod now, because 17 year old boys make the WORST cameramen.

 

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Published on 1 Comment on Christmas Stocking

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Here's a quick stocking pattern that works up while you watch tv.
UPDATE!!!

This morning (December 9th) I shot two videos. The first one shows the Tunisian lace being made and the second shows a Tunisian bind off:

Tunisian lace
Tunisian bind off

6.0mm hook
6.5mm Tunisian crochet hook,preferably with a long cable
1 darning needle
Split ring markers
1 skein Red Heart Super Saver, Red
1 skein Red Heart Super Saver, White

Foundation round:
Using white yarn and the 6.0mm hook, chain 11. Flip the chain. Working in 2nd chain from hook, work sc across in the bottom bumps. 10 sc. Work 1 sc in same stitch as 10th sc, place marker. Flip the chain right side up. Work another sc in same chain, work sc across, working two sc in first chain. Mark the 2nd sc. You should have 22 sc. On either end is a group of three sc and the central stitch in each group is marked.

Round one (increase round):

Work 2 sc in each sc on either side of marked stitches, and work one sc in all other sc. Be sure to replace the markers in the appropriate stitch as you work.

Round 2 (even round):

Work sc in sc around.

Repeat these two rounds until you have 42 stitches. Break white yarn and switch to red yarn. Remove markers.

Body of foot:

Work sc blo in rounds for 15 rounds. At side stitch, break red yarn, attach white yarn.

Heel:
The heel is first worked in short rows that form a triangle. To turn the heel, stitches will then be picked up at either end of each row. This forms a cup shape for the heel.

RS: Work 20 sc across sock. Chain 1 and turn.
WS: Work 19 sc across. Chain 1 and turn.
RS: Work 18 sc across. Chain 1 and turn.

Continue like this until you have worked a short row of 10 sc across. Chain 1 and turn.

WS: work 10 sc across. Insert hook in side edge, draw up a loop, insert hook in skipped stitch of row below, draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through all loops. Sc2tog made. Ss in next side edge, turn. 11 sc plus 1 ss.

RS: skip ss and work even on 11 sc. At end of row, work sc2tog into side edge and stitch below. Work ss into next side edge, turn. 12 sc plus 1 ss.

Continue working as established until all 20 stitches are picked up and the heel is complete with the right side facing. Attach red yarn and continue working in rounds as before.

Cuff:

Work sc blo for 15 rounds. Work more if you wish for a longer cuff.

Trim:

If you have a Tunisian hook with a long cable, pick up stitches on the sock. Using white, pick up the first four stitches in the front loops and the last four in the back loops of those same stitches for an overlapping cuff. Make sure that the right side of your work faces the inside of the stocking so that when the cuff is folded down the right side is visible.

If not, simply chain 46 and work the lace pattern. Whip stitch the trim onto the cuff so the edges overlap.

Lace trim:

Foundation row: chain 46, pick up loop in 2nd chain from hook and each across. 46 loops on hook.

Work the return pass: yarn over hook, draw through one loop, then yarn over hook and draw through two loops across the rest of the stitches until you are at the beginning of your row, with one stitch on the hook, to work the next row.

This is the standard Tunisian return pass and it will be the return pass that is worked on every return row of this pattern.

Pattern row one:

(Please note that the first loop on the hook is not counted in the pattern stitch directions. This is your selvedge. By default it is a Tunisian simple stitch or TSS)

TSS2tog = insert hook in next two vertical bars of stitches to be worked, yarn over and draw up a loop. Decrease made.

*TSS2tog, yarn over* across to last vertical bar, TSS. Work standard return pass, treating yarn overs as stitches.

Row two:

Work TSS in each vertical bar and each eyelet hole that was made by the yarn overs from the previous row. Remember that the working loop on your hook corresponds to the very first stitch (the selvedge). Do not forget to pick up a stitch in the very last vertical bar - you may have to tug on it and straighten it up to see where it is.

Work standard return pass.

Work as many rows as you like, and end your work on a pattern row one, getting ready to work row two.

Final bind off:

Chain one, draw up the loop in next vertical bar and pass it through the loop on the hook to make a slip stitch. This binds off your work, similar to knitting. Work this slip stitch bind off across. Weave in loose ends.

Whip stitch the trim so that when folded down, the right side faces out.

Published on Leave a comment on Why blocking is important, even for socks

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I'm sitting in the food court of the shopping centre where I work. I decided to pull out a sock that I'm working on, whose pattern will be used in an upcoming FREE sock class for everyone who wants it.

I had worked on it during the bus ride across the city this morning and when I looked at it, I laughed out loud. No really, I LOL'd good and hard. I made the lady at the table beside me jump. Sorry about that!!

The reason I laughed is that I took a look at my sock and right away realized that I should snap a picture and share this with you. My sock is made toe-up. You can see that the toe is nice and relaxed looking. The body of the foot is proportionate and then suddenly in the last two inches or so, it looks like I made a bunch of decreases, except that I didn't.

My sock shrank when I started to crochet on the bus this morning. I guess being cramped up between two men that insist on taking up all available space around them can have a negative impact on my gauge, eh?

This is why blocking is important, especially if your item is made of animal fibres. When you block something, you are setting the fibres - just like styling your hair. Some fibres have better memory than others just like some folks' hair can hold a style better. Not only will blocking set the shape and reduce the effects of changes in gauge, like in the photo above, but it'll help to open up lace and other stitch patterns meant to have visual impact.

Blocking doesn't have to be an ordeal. Sock blockers can be purchased inexpensively at most craft stores or even made with corrugated cardboard.

And with that, I'm off to save the world from snarly eyebrows and fugly nails!!

Published on Leave a comment on Fabulous Hand-made Hooks

wolfenwoodshooks
Some of the beautiful hooks of Wolfenwoods.com

 Most of the hooks that I use are bright powder-coated aluminum Boye hooks. They’re sturdy, bright to look at, and they allow me to work quickly. They’re also extremely affordable, at about $2.99 each. However, now and then we like to splurge. I was daydreaming one day, looking at hooks online, and I came up with this list of fabulous looking hooks that I’d love to own:
  1. River John Needle Company. These folks aren’t new to me, I have several sets of knitting needles from them. In fact, my favourite straight knitting needles come from this family. I am also the happy owner of a set of crochet hooks from them, courtesy of my brother John. Their hooks and needles arehand made and unfinished, so if you wanted to stain them or paint them up, you could. They will also make Tunisian hooks, although that info is not on their website. AND they’re Nova Scotian, which makes them homies. Buy their hooks :)
  2. Wolfenwoods. These hooks made me squee. They are made with various materials and they are gorgeous. I want one so, so badly.
  3. Kathryn Kowalski. These hooks also made me squee. So did the hair pins and everything else that she turns. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!
  4. Laurel Hill. Not brightly coloured but they look like they could stand up to me.
  5. Celtic Swan. The Celtic Swan forge turns out hooks in silver. I would brown-bag it for a year for that set of hooks. Of course, I’d have to do that, haha, but OMG….silver hand made crochet hooks? Oooooh:)