# I'm wearing hand-knit socks! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100 "2013-04-07T21:16:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/1 "2013-04-07T21:16:21Z")
My wife made 'em. They’re really superior. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/2 "2013-04-07T22:40:33Z")
Did you bring enough for the whole class? I’d like to try these out. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/3 "2013-04-07T23:54:20Z")
Do they keep your toes toasty warm? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/4 "2013-04-08T00:03:18Z")
Well, we live in L.A., so being toasty warm isn’t really a problem. However, they are very comfy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/5 "2013-04-08T00:21:36Z")
I’m halfway done with knitting my second pair of socks. Handmade ones are a bit special, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/6 "2013-04-08T01:19:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m halfway done with knitting my second pair of socks. Handmade ones are a bit special, aren’t they? My first pair of handmade socks are _really_ special. As in the short-bus kind of special. The ankles are too wide and they’re a bit too short for my feet. Plus, the needles were probably a little too small for the thickness of the yarn I used, so they’re tight-knit and stiff, really a bit more like slippers than socks. They are toasty to shuffle around the house in though. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/7 "2013-04-08T02:05:34Z")
After starting and abandoning countless knitting projects I started knitting socks. There’s just enough increasing and decreasing to keep it from being boring. There’s opportunity for interesting patterns, but simple ones turn out to be a respectable gift. I’m for it! Enjoy your socks! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/8 "2013-04-08T08:03:32Z")
How nicely do they fit? Are they made of stretchy material? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/9 "2013-04-08T13:25:52Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > How nicely do they fit? Are they made of stretchy material? They fit perfectly. She had to restart them a couple of times because they were coming out too small. And they’re only slightly stretchy – very different from store-bought socks. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/10 "2013-04-08T14:00:15Z")
Correctly accounting for stretch-factor is the exciting part of every new sock. I mean, once you know how you’re going to do your heels and toes, that is. I consistently knit socks that fit perfectly fresh off the needle then get a liiiiiittle too big after a day of wear… I have so many that I wear them all winter. Use a yarn with nylon content, and they wear like iron. Use a yarn without nylon content and they’ll wear oh, about three days 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/11 "2013-04-08T14:17:26Z")
High quality yarn is more expensive, but it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/12 "2013-04-08T14:34:56Z")
I love my hand-knit socks. For a while I only knit other things and thought knitting socks was kind of silly, but after my first pair I realized how incredibly comfortable they can be. Definitely agree that it’s important to get durable yarn with nylon in it. I made some socks out of a very pretty sock yarn with gorgeous colors that’s 100% wool - that basically pilled horribly and even felted a little on the heels/instep the first time I wore them. So now I use my lovelier “sock yarn” to make non-sock items like scarves or mittens. > [@Sattua](#): > > I consistently knit socks that fit perfectly fresh off the needle then get a liiiiiittle too big after a day of wear… I likely my socks to be a little snug, so I always knit them to have a little negative ease. I make them just a little shorter than my foot, and so the circumference of the finished sock is about 90% of the circumference of my foot/ankle. Perfect! I’m also starting to experiment with stretchy sock yarn with elastic in it - but so far I only used it to make legwarmers for my sister (mental note to self that plain stockinette stitch legwarmers at 9 stitches to the inch is the most boring. project. ever). My next project is to make socks with stretchy yarn and see how I like it. I have some that is wool blended with stretchy stuff, and also some other yarn that is mostly cotton. I eventually want to make stretchy cotton socks for my mother (she loves my knitting, but gets itchy from almost any animal fiber). ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/13 "2013-04-08T22:37:39Z")
Love love love hand-knit socks. My sister and I knit them for each other every year, but I wear through them before the next holiday arrives. Enjoy! That’s a million stitches of love, there. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-wearing-hand-knit-socks/655100/14 "2013-04-09T17:13:34Z")
Socks should be knit by foot. Gloves should be knit by hand. As for bras and underwear, if you can do that you have no need to knit. People will supply you with more money than you can imagine.