Things To Do With Sock Yarn

Since I keep finding myself thinking about this, I figured I may as well investigate furthur. Unfortunately Ravelry’s pattern and yarn search engines aren’t set up for this kind of search. I’d have to search for projects knit from each brand of sock yarn, one by one. So I looked for Ravelry groups on the subject of uses of leftover sock yarn and found a couple. Then I googled and found more ideas.

Then I considered the stash. A few ideas, old and new, popped into my head:

A Boring Navy Socks. Okay. Yes. They’re socks. But I’ve started them and really ought to finish them, and I don’t feel too bad about adding these to the sock drawer as they’re in a colour I haven’t knit yet.

B Socks for the Beau. I may have too many socks, but the beau doesn’t. He looked very happy when I gave him a selection of yarns to choose from.

C I made a vest a while back with the idea that I’d use a small ball of slubby yarn to knit a band/collar with, but I foolishly underestimated how much yarn was in that ball. I bought some black and multicoloured fibre to spin and ply together for this use instead… but it was about a few metres into spinning the black that I finally concluded spinning wasn’t for me. Now it’s occurred to me that the ‘passionfruit’ yarn from the Knittery is very similar in colourway to the multicoloured fibre I bought, so why not team it up with some black patonyle… and a little silver thread for some glamour.

D Cashmere Gloves. Last year I made my own chocolatetrudi signature sock pattern, and in the process test knit them from this Knittery merino cashmere blend. Unfortunately I had to go down to 2mm needles to get the size to match the pattern, and struggling with this robust yarn on small needles gave me rsi. The yarn is too beautiful to leave languishing in the stash. I always meant to reuse the yarn for socks (on larger needles), but I’m now thinking it would make gorgeous, decadent gloves.

E Way back when the self-striping sock yarn was first popular I had a whacky idea for a scarf to knit up for the Melbourne Scarf Festival and ordered this. As it turned out, my application for the scarf event vanished into a black hole. I’d still like to knit the scarf, though.

F Though the sock design thing fell in a heap the up side was I wound up with two balls of Knittery sock yarn in ‘chocolate cherry’. About the same time, Wendy of Wendy Knits made a mitred square jacket out of sock yarn. Since then I’ve had this yarn in mind for a mitred square vest. But I might crochet it instead. And maybe in crochet squares instead of mitres.

G Sock yarn makes great warp yarn, and as I was considering the stash just now I realised that this leftover yarn, dyed by Yarnivorous, would be great for painted warp weaving. There’s a ball space dyed to make stripes and one with short lengths of colour. If I can get the short lengths one to line up on the loom as warp, then use the striped one as weft… it could look amazing.

Other uses for sock yarn I found include mini sock bookmarks (I’ve made one before), ipod cover, wine bottle cosy, tea cosy, shoelaces (icord), pillows, blankets (in sock yarn? Er… no), and fair isle mittens, hats, etc. Oh, and a rug made of a log i-cord sausage (can’t remember where I saw that). I didn’t consider shawls since I don’t wear them – and lace just doesn’t do it for me most of the time.

So this is what I’m going to do.

1. I am not going to knit any socks for me all summer (except those I’ve already started).
2. I am allowed to knit socks for other people.
3. I will aim to use sock yarn at least once for crafts other than knitting, such as weaving and crochet.
4. I am allowed to double up sock yarn to effectively make an 8ply/dk.

So what to call this? Summer Of Non-Sock Sock Yarn Projects (SONSSYP)? No Socks For Me Summer (NSFMS)? Sock Yarn Summer Challenge (SYSC)? Summer Sock Diet (SSD)? Sock Abstinence Drive (SAD)?

Any suggestions? And any other non-sock ideas for using sock yarn?

2 thoughts on “Things To Do With Sock Yarn

  1. I’m just amazed you let your significant other A) view your stash B) choose freely from it. My husband gets what i give him *and* he still thinks it’s christmas.
    I’m no good at clever acronyms. sock yarn alternative summer? SYAS?

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