5 Keys to Long Lasting Hand Knit Socks
My dad exclusively wears my hand knit socks, so I've learned a thing or two on how to make long lastings socks. In fact, my dad hasn't thrown out a single pair yet and only one pair has been in need of darning in over 5 years. I've boiled my experiences into 5 essential keys to knitting long-lasting socks.
Choose Your Yarn Wisely
It's difficult to say what the most important aspect of knitting long-lasting socks is, but your result will have a lot to do with the material you choose to work with.
While your soft and beautiful silk- and cashmere blends turn into equally beautiful and soft socks, they don't tend to make long-lasting socks. If you want socks that can handle a heavy rotation, then choose a simple 80% super wash merino and 20% nylon blend.
You may have to try out a few brands, but once you find one that suits you, I would recommend sticking to it.
It's All About Gauge
Once you have a great workhorse yarn, the next essential key is your gauge. The tighter your gauge, the longer the sock will last in my experience. I tend to knit on 2,5mm needles at a gauge of 32 sts per 10cm. It's still a soft and comfortable sock, but it has a strong hold and the stitches do not have room to move a lot, which leads us to the next point.
The Perfect Fit
When you wear your socks in all kinds of footwear, it is essential that they have a good fit. If your socks are even slightly too big they will move around more between your foot and shoe. With friction comes additional wear and tear, such as felting, as well as discomfort and what's the point of hand knit socks if they aren't comfortable?
Heels and toes are the most important. Don't be afraid to create your own toes. I had to tweak my dad's for a while until we finally found the perfect fit. It looks odd when not on a foot, but once on it's obvious that the socks fit him perfectly.
Once you've found your perfect heel and toe, it's fairly easy to use them in almost any pattern of your choice.
Source
Wear Them Well
When you have found the perfect fit, it's time for wearing your hand knit socks. Many Westerners are accustomed to wear a pair of socks for one day and then tossing them into the laundry bin. If you have very sweaty feet, then, by all means, do so. However, if your feet don't get excessively sweaty then consider wearing them for 2-3 days, preferably with a day of rest between each wear, before washing them.
Wash Them Well
The final essential key to long-lasting hand knitted socks is how you wash them. You can hand wash your socks with special soap, but frankly, I would never be able to convince my mum to do so. She simply tosses the socks into her regular wash with similar coloured clothes on 40C. I wash our socks on 30C, but as long as you keep the cycle fairly cool you should be fine.
Let the socks air dry. Your worst enemy on the quest to long-lasting socks may, in fact, be the dryer. All the lint caught in the filter comes from the fabric of the items you are drying. We don't use a dryer at all and while it is sometimes unavoidable, I would advise you to never include your hand knit socks.
Do you wear hand knit socks?
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Very interesting post. I've always wanted to get into handknitted socks. We are looking at getting an alpaca or two soon. I understand their wool is good for socks. Have you tried alpaca wool at all?
I have and they make a very warm sock, but not as long lasting in my experience. We will use alpaca socks for our son this winter. Can you or someone in your household knit?
There are commercial sock yarns where the traditionla wool/nylon blend is mixed with a bit alpaca. They are a bit more soft and nearly as long lasting as yarn without it. You can say that the 5% Alpaca in the yarn will take 5% off the life of the socks ;)
I have some Norwegian sock yarn with only Alpaca and Nylon. Very very soft but I think these socks are not meant to be worn in shoes, they are for keeping you warm and cosy at home, on your sofa or even in bed.
I remember my mum used to be knitting socks for us all when we were little.
Did you like wearing them?
I've been using less suitable, premium fiber yarns -- because that's what I love, but double stranding with a very thin nylon. That seems to do a good job, though they're still at risk of felting if I forget to wash delicately.
That's a great way to compromise between what you enjoy and the longevity of the sock. I might have to try that at some point.
This is the stuff we use, just based on reading suggestions at Ravelry: https://www.amazon.com/Wooly-Nylon-Thread-Available-Threadart/dp/B0027DPZ1M
Awesome, thank you for sharing it.