The warm tradition of cozy feet

I come from a family of knitters. My mother knits, her mother knitted, and my mother taught me.  It’s relaxing and very satisfying to create something warm and cozy from a ball of yarn.  Once you have the knitting basics down, you can make all sorts of things: scarves, hats, mittens, jumpers, cardis.........and socks.

My nana used to knit a pair of socks for my father’s birthday every year.  They were beautiful and lasted for absolutely ages. Somehow sock knitting skipped a generation and my mother didn’t pick it up. So when my nana passed away, I thought I’d try and keep the tradition alive and learn how to make socks.  I had inherited my nana’s sock needles and sock yarn stash so I was ready... but I didn’t really know where to start.

Fortunately I had made friends with a great bunch of gals through the online knitting group Stitch ‘n Bitch.  Several of my knitting buddies had sock knitting down pat and were kind enough to help me out.  They also pointed me towards sock knitting tutorials on the web like this one which I found invaluable.

I’ll admit – making the first pair was kind of like wrestling with a porcupine as I got used to using the sock needles, but it has been smooth sailing ever since. 

Socks made for my father....by me!



Socks made for my mother

Having custom-sized socks made for you is a cozy luxury that my family and friends truly appreciate.  Now my father and my mother receive a pair of hand knitted socks each year on their birthday.  I also have a pretty fair stash of my own J And any leftover sock yarn is made into baby socks for friends using this pattern so nothing goes to waste.

Op shops can be an inexpensive source of knitting needles and yarn – a great way to get started.  Alternatively, a set of knitting needles and some yarn won’t set you back too much if you buy it from a wool shop.  Once you can knit, purl, cast on and cast off you’re ready to tackle socks.  Self-patterning sock yarns add to the fun – the range available is amazing.  There’s a multitude of free sock patterns online and places like ravelry are a great place to start looking.

Socks are a fun, small project and are a great way to pass the time if you travel on public transport.  Everyone needs socks so why not treat yourself to some homemade luxury?