Judith Durant - Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!

Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Edited by JUDITH DURANT,
creator of the best-selling One-Skein Wonders series

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Gwen Steege
Technical editing by Edie Eckman
Art direction and book design by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Text production by Jennifer Jepson Smith

Photography by Ira Garber Photography Inc., except for Mars Vilaubi, yarn cards (chapter openers and page edges) and

Photo styling by Caroline Woodward/Ennis Inc.
Illustrations by Alison Kolesar
Charts by Leslie Anne Charles

Indexed by Nancy D. Wood

Special thanks to WEBS of Northampton, Massachusetts, for loaning skeins of yarn, and The Porches Inn of North Adams, Massachusetts, for letting us use the location in the photo shoots

2010 by Storey Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwithout written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Sock yarn one-skein wonders/edited by Judith Durant.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-579-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. KnittingPatterns. I. Durant, Judith.
TT825.S655 2010
746.432dc22

2010022290

This book is dedicated to sock yarn stashers everywhere,
whose voracious desire for more has stimulated
the production of so much to choose from.

An Internet search for sock yarn yields almost half a million hits. And while that doesnt represent the actual number of brands available, it does represent a lot of information about yarn created for knitting one specific thing: socks.

So, what is sock yarn? On the most basic level, its exactly what the name implies: yarn to knit socks with. While socks can be knit with finer yarns and heavier yarns, sock yarn most commonly refers to yarn that knits up between 6 and 8 stitches per inch. But its also much more than that.

Most yarn shops have an area reserved solely for sock yarn. There youll find yarn thats been kettle-dyed, hand-dyed, and handpainted. Youll see solids, heathers, and self-patterning yarn ranging from bold stripes to intricate jacquards. Sock yarns are made from combinations of wool, cotton, alpaca, silk, bamboo, soyeven possum!often with a bit of nylon added for extra strength. They come in skeins, balls, and pre-knitted sheets. And of course, sock yarn is available in at least a zillion colorways.

This begs another question: What are people doing with all that sock yarn? Another search, this time for sock patterns, returns more than a million results. There are patterns for ankle socks, knee socks, and thigh-highs. You can knit sport socks and boot socks. You can find patterns for socks with none, one, or five articulated toes. Sock patterns range from the most basic models to the wildly ornate and are sized for babies, children, women, and men. You can knit them from the top down, from the bottom up, or from side to side. Knit them with four or five double-point needles. Knit them one at a time on two circular needles, or two at a time on one circular needle. Techniques, designs, and options abound.

Because so many knitters have caught sock fever, communities of sock knitters have formed all over the country and all over the Internet. There are sock clubs and sock blogs, even sock camps and a sock summit! Knitters come together in person or online to share their expertise and the news about books and yarns made just for them. If you peek into these groups, youll find that they also share something elsestories about their stash. Knitters of all ages and backgrounds are right out there confessing that theyre hoarders of sock yarn. And theyre very good at justifying this habit: sock yarn doesnt count in ones stash. Since a pair of socks takes so little yarn, its easy to pick some up with each trip to the yarn shop. One sock yarn groupie admitted having enough yarn to knit socks for an entire rugby team. Another fessed up to stashing enough for 180 pairs. Theres even someone with a sock yarn stash and no idea how to knit socks.

Listen up, all you sockaholics. While youve clearly been doing a great job on your own obeying the voice that says, Buy me, here are 101 more reasons to keep up the good work! For this collection our contributing designers created sock yarn projects for everything from scarves and shawls to mittens and gloves to bags and purses to baby and doll clothes to coffee and tea cozies to, yes, even socks. Plain and fancy, wool and cotton, youll find something new to do with the next skein of sock yarn that calls your name.

Want to knit a childs sweater? Check out Patches Baby Sweater (), both featuring creative uses for self-patterning yarn.

Need a shawl or scarf for a special event? Go to the Celeste Shawl () offers a variety of wearing options.

Youll find bags to tote just about anything. The Crocheted Market Bag () is perfect for a night on the town.

To keep your hands warm, fingerless mitts are all the rage, and youll find several styles, including Chevron Lace Fingerless Mitts ().

Need more? How about the French Press Snuggly () are just thatthe vertical stripes are the result of working sideways flat on two straight needles.

So without further ado, here are more reasons than ever to stock up on sock yarn!