If you are anything like me, this time of year is a race to finish all of the holiday projects you thought you would have done by now. With some new sock options in store, let’s take a look at some timely sock projects! All of these patterns are available for free thanks to the generosity of their designers, and there are as always many free and paid patterns available from Ravelry. I found these through Ravelry’s handy advanced search feature that allows you to quickly narrow down patterns by yarn weight, type of sock, and more!
Harrap Tweed Chunky has 40% Nylon which makes it the best choice for the most last-minute sock and slipper projects. Options include Michele C Meadows’s Socks on the Rocks (below right), Haley Waxberg’s Quick Socks (below center), and Linda Moorhouse’s Lady’s Slippers (below left)
We also have several worsted weight yarns appropriate for socks – Diamond Luxury Tradition has 7% Nylon, and the Canadian favourite Briggs & Little Tuffy has 20%.
The Briggs & Little Tuffy is a bit coarse so it is perfect for slippers and work socks that will be worn over thinner socks. Quirky Bird Knits’s Footies (below left), Barrie local Lisa Mutch’s Recluse (below center), and tincanknits’s Rye (below right) are all free patterns perfect for a skein of worsted weight yarn like Tradition or Tuffy.
Now if there is someone in your life who is especially deserving, we have a cashmere-blend winter-weight sock yarn from Knitting Fever Luxury called Indulgence Cashmere. At 150g per ball, there is plenty of yardage to make the softest socks your favourite person will ever wear. Throw in a plainish sock pattern like Priscilla’s Dream Socks by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (bottom left) or a plainish slipper pattern like Simple House Slippers by Simone A. (bottom right), and they’ll be done in no time. It’ll be wrapping them up for someone else that’ll be the challenge!
If you’re confident you can finish a pair of fingering-weight socks befor
e Christmas, we have some balls of Cascade Heritage Prints’s Holidays colourway (pictured left). We also have many new colours of H&W’s Co
mfort Sock yarns including shades appropriate even for the pickiest colour-sensitive father-in-law! Grey on grey stripes? Navy on navy stripes? Check! Check!
One can never underestimate when a plain, 4-ply sock on the needles will come in handy. This time of year a knitter might be spending a lot of time as a passenger in a car or on a bus traveling to visit family, or need something mindless to work on while spending a morning relaxing and chatting with said family. Patterns like Kate Atherley’s Basic Ribbed Socks (bottom left) and Sybil R’s Geranium Knitted Slippers (bottom right) are plain enough to keep your hands busy but mind free for chatting!
If you love the sound of any of these projects but aren’t sure if you could conquer them alone, you are always welcome at our Sock Drop-Ins! Every Saturday morning from 10:30am – 12:30pm, our Sock Drop-In costs only $5+tax per session. Sign up isn’t necessary – you come when you need to!
True North Yarn Co. 