Socks and sweaters

Have fun, keep warm, better than store-bought

Hand knitting holds an interesting place in the global north, because while it often far surpasses its machine counterparts in quality, and while it’s been popular for centuries, it hasn’t been a viable way to make a living since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. It must have benefits to the maker, because otherwise it would have died out by now.

I’d been knitting for over fifteen years before I made my first pair of socks. I had always thought of sock-making as a waste of time. Socks wear out very quickly, and hand-knit socks often don’t fit into modern shoes (winter boots, yes, but not shoes). I made my first pair because my mum bought me a kit, saying I was always complaining about how commercially made socks for women were rarely made to fit my shoe size, and how they weren’t warm.

It’s true, I did always complain about that, and I still do, because it’s still true. The five pairs of commercial socks I own now are men’s socks, because while women’s socks say they fit my shoe size, they are stretched to the point of being see-through when I put them on. The men’s socks are a little too big, but at least the yarn they’re made from isn’t being stretch to the breaking point by regular wear.

I usually knit my socks, but crochet and sewing are always options. I have a few crochet and sewing patterns bookmarked that I want to try, as I gradually replace my commercially-made socks.

Knitted and crochets socks definitely tend to be thicker than they used to be. This is for one simple reason: sock yarn tends to be thicker than it used to be. There is always this weird race happening in crafts, where newbies complain something takes too long, so materials manufacturers try to make the craft faster to make it more accessible, which then produces results people complain are too thick, too awkward, too clunky. This happens a lot in knitting and crochet: yarn gets thicker, so the results get bulkier, which makes everyone go running back to mass produced goods, even claiming thinner yarn isn’t possible to use with handmade. It’s another example of the hobby effect, where people want to make things for the sake of having a hobby, but they’re also impatient to finish each item (why, when you’re making it just for fun?). The easiest way for yarn manufacturers to ensure a quick project is to offer thick yarn, and patterns which have a little bit of fancy-work in them, but are mostly plain to speed up construction.

Eventually there are correcting trends where thinner yarn and more slow-fashion styles become trendy for a while, but then newbies show up again, excited by the items their friends who already knit and crochet are making, and the cycle continues.

Sigh.

The good news is, the thicker yarns are warmer, which is great when you need to go out when it’s very cold. If your winter boots are made to accommodate warm socks, the handmade socks will fit fine. Handmade socks and sweaters are a great argument against global warming — and overheated winter homes.

The saying, “a stitch in time saves nine” must come from mending. If you mend something when there’s just a small rip or hole, it’s no big deal. If you want on it, you will need to fix a bigger hole, or wind up with a ruined piece.

Sewn socks can be everything from European medieval replications (knitting didn’t come to Europe until the latter part of the medieval era), to modern-style stockings which take advantage of stretch fabric. I haven’t tried these, but of course a big difference between them and knit or crocheted socks is that they will, by necessity, have seams. If seams on tight-fitting items bother you, maybe explore knit or crochet.

Sweaters can also be knit, crocheted, or sewn. As with socks, a major factor (for me) in choosing to make them rather than buy them is that it’s easier to control the fabric type if I make them myself. I have some commercially-made sweaters, and I have some 100% wool hand-made sweaters. The wool is interesting because it keeps you warm without becoming sweaty, and I find it’s also more comfortable across a wider range of temperatures.

Sweaters are also one area where, try as they might, the commercially-made product is always trying to keep up with the hand-made. A classically styled hand-made sweater can last for decades, while commercially made ones just don’t seem to last, and either don’t fit well, or depend on fashion trends to make them worth buying (long-line! Cropped-length! V-neck! Crew neck!). Commercial sweaters often seem to forget that the reason people buy them is to keep warm, because it’s chilly outside.

A sweater sewn from knit fabric or fleece is basically the same as buying one from retail, but with the greater range of choices in fit, colour, and style. A sweater knit or crocheted by hand has the same range as a home-sewn one, but with additional options in weight, colour work, and texture.

Neither socks nor sweaters require a very high skill level to get started in. There is plenty of historical documentation proving children as young as four learned how to make socks and sweaters. When I was first learning how to knit, I picked up how to do a regular row or round of work very quickly, but just had to call on my grandmother’s help for the shaping and finishing.

And that’s another detriment of the hobby effect: it used to be, when making socks and sweaters was just part of keeping a household going, that handing off parts of a project to a more experienced maker was no big deal. Even in a professional setting, the apprentices do the easy parts and then gradually learn the steps which require more skill and experience. When things are don as hobbies, there’s an expectation that you’ll be able to get through the entire thing on your own, which means all of the work often gets simplified so as not to scare off people.

I remain hopeful that the growing maker communities will lead to more group work, and less anxiety about starting something new without knowing how to complete all of the steps.

Do you make your own socks and/or sweaters? Tell us about it in the comments!

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