# wool socks in warm weather?



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Okay, I am doing an experiment. 

I have heard people say that they wear ONLY handknit socks, even in the summer. 
There are claims that wool not only keeps you warm but that it 'wicks moisture' and keeps you cool too.  
Sort of like the coffee ads that said "It perks you up and it calms you down" (which is totally true, btw.  )

So, I am actually trying this out. It has been beautiful here.
Well, today was a bit cooler, 70*; but we have had mid 80's this whole week. 

I wear rubberboots on the farm. It is torture in the summer. 
It's only for 3-4 hours at a time, but STIFLING on the tootsies. 
I usually wear very thin mostly cotton commercially made socks in my boots in summer,
and dont have the felt insoles in them. 

This week I considered switching over to that and instead came up with this experiment. :gaptooth:

~Day 1: cotton handknit socks/ with felt insoles (mid 80*s)

I only have 1 pair of 100% cotton handknit socks










These were great. They were my first pair of 'lace' socks and are holding up well after almost a year.
I didn't find them warm this winter, but they were unnoticed inside the boots this week.


~ Day 2: wool socks, with felt insoles










These are the toes up ones I did with the shortrow heels. They were a bit warmer than I had anticipated.
It was almost 90* out! So I thought to myself, hmmm, what about taking out those felt insoles,

~Day 3: these are a wool/cotton blend (knitpickks risata)










I took out the insoles and wore these. I was fine. The boots are loose w/o the felt, and that helps a lot.
It was exactly 80* outside and I was totally comfortable. Yay.

~Day 4: I went back to the toes up pair from day 2, but w/o the insoles.
It was cooler temps, and I was fine, w/o the insoles. 
Didn't even think about my feet the whole time I had the boots on. 

~Day 5: today was only 70*! Gosh it was a nice REAL spring day, not summer sweltery.
So, I wore commercially made cotton/ poly blend socks. (Regular store bought athletic socks) No felt insoles.
You dont need picss, they are regular white socks!
Guess what? It was terrible. My feet were sweating. It was totally gross. 
It was just like every other day of most of my life working with rubber covered feet.
Pure torture.

Never again! The boot wearing experience I had today was WAY worse than any other time this week. 
And it was the coolest day of the whole experiment.
So, I guess I am getting spoiled, but I noticed a huge difference.

There, that is my results so far. Thrilling, no?  

My disclaimer really should be that I have only worn handknit socks all winter, so I am totally used to them. 
My feet have been happy and my boots were warm enough, even in the coldest times.


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## katy (Feb 15, 2010)

GAM, that was pretty cool. my son has a terrible time with sweaty feet and because of that i like such tidbits. at the same time, when he burns the fields i'm usually out there assisting and with water--just in case and he keeps telling me to go buy myself some boots-- fire protection.

with that said, he is aware of the wicking away of moisture and likes that on his feet. 

i really like day 1 and day 3 socks, could you tell me how much yarn one pair takes and what size needles you used. And if you have a link for the patterns it sure would be appreciated. Your work is beautiful, how long have you been making socks, and how long to make just one ??

thanks for the sock evaluation............


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

katy, are you a member of ravelry? If so, you can see these sock projects over there.

the green ones: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Odinsneedles/duckies

the black ones: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Odinsneedles/insomnia-socks

As to the time it takes to knit socks? Everyone is different. I CAN do about a pair a week. It depends though. Sometimes it takes closer to a month, if I get frustrated. Or bored of the pattern. Or disgusted at the color of the yarn. Or sidetracked by another project.  It also depends a lot on the thickness of the yarn and the intricacy of the pattern. The green socks were fast to make, the black ones were a lot slower.Sorry if that is not much help. 

WIHH, that is the Magic cast on! When you do it, those 30 stitches are already joined. It is magic! You cast them onto 2 needles that are held together, one above the other. It is a nifty trick.  Here is Cat Bordhi showing how to do it.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBIS0AhhQY[/ame] Give it a try!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh and katy..., I guess I could answer the questions better than that. Sorry. 

How much yarn to make socks? If you are using commercial sockyarn, 'fingering weight' you need 100 grams. It is usually sold either in 50 gram balls or 100 gram balls. You do have to pay attention to that part. Usually the 100 gram balls of yarn say right on them "one ball makes one pair", which is helpful in the beginning. 

Size of needles to use? The patterns will tell you. I do most of my work on size 2 doublepoints. The green socks there are thicker yarn, and they were made on size 3's. 

I cannot stress enough that everyone should join www.ravelry.com . It is THE place where the patterns, info, and errata (the fixes of pattern errors) all live. It's a phenomenal collection of fiber-related links. The website has thousands and thousands of members from all over the world. You can find out ANYTHING related to yarn work over there. 

How long have I been knitting? Since November 2008, so a year and a half. I obsessed on the sock thing though, I guess I have made nearly 30 pairs in that time. I am currently learning to use a drop spindle, so that is cutting into my knitting time.


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## okiemom (May 12, 2002)

My Mom is the knitter. I can't count so I am worthless at knitting. I have budding sill of quilting from her if that counts. Anywho... Mom made my boys wool socks. They are so great and very durable. Woohoo for washable wool. 

They wear them all the time hot/cold it dosen't make a difference. They are growing and I hope she is making more or they will be dissapointed. That is such a lobor of love making socks. How long does it take avg. to finish a pair of socks?


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

I just bought a pair of handknit felted clogs at a charity auction last night. They were damp, and the creator of them watched who purchased them and came over to talk to me. Put them on, now, says she, so that they will form to your feet. So off with my shoes... I'm liking them!

WIHH, I think those Scandalous folks who make your take your shoes off by the door should provide felted clogs for inside their houses. 

GAM, I've always heard the summer/winter comments about wool socks, not cotton. So I'm surprised to hear of the results of your experiment. But you can't argue with happy feet, eh?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

WIHH I'm with you on the shoes off thing, it drives me nuts, we don't do it at my house. I shutter when people come here and take off their shoes, ewwww! My floors are not "eat off of" clean, so IMHO if they are not that clean keep your shoes on or bring something else to put on your feet. Oh well, if you can't beat them join them I guess.

Wool sock year round here GAM, or bare foot! There really is nothing better. I have to weave store bought socks for work, can't make them fast enough and they have to be black or navy. My feet feel icky after a day of wearing them.


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

I sure love the second pair of sox! I agree, wool is great. ALways wear it for hiking socks, if you make a stop on a hot day and take your boots off and put your feet in a cool little stream for awhile, the wool socks dry out fast. IF they get wet they are still warmand dry out fast with walking. One day I wore wool socks in my rubber boots at the ocean in the winter and got waved on, cold water in the boots, and my feet kept warm. 

I have a few pairs of hiking socks that I run a strand of sock yarn with a strand of 100% wool, then wash them so they felt just a tad, they are super warm in winter!


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## Pakalana (Mar 9, 2008)

Very interesting experiment GAM! 

I think I'll be making some for dh. Anything to keep him a little cooler/comfortable in the summer time.


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

GAM, I am so glad you did your experiment. I have been wondering the same thing.  

On that video with the Magic Cast on.... I loved her. I never knew that my thumb had a low voice.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Marci, I love Cat Bordhi too. She is a great teacher. If I ever get a chance to teach knitting, I am going to try to incorporate her methods. She makes it fun. 
I would love to take a class from her someday.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

... is this where I mention that I *am* taking a class from Cat Bordhi at Olds this summer? 

(I so gotta learn that magic cast on thing before then!)


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

frazzlehead said:


> ... is this where I mention that I *am* taking a class from Cat Bordhi at Olds this summer?
> 
> (I so gotta learn that magic cast on thing before then!)


All I can say is you are going to have fun while learning.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

frazzlehead, how cool! What is she going to be teaching? 

<I am only a tiny bit jealous...>


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## Katherine in KY (May 11, 2002)

Lucky you, Frazzle, to be taking a class with Cat B. I made a bunch of her mobius "baskets" a couple of years ago. I just love her creativity although I've had a hard time getting into her socks. She puts the gusset in wierd places and there's no reinforced heel, as I recall. 
GAM, nice socks. Since I've started knitting lots of socks I wear wool blends year round, but prefer cotton with elastic (forget the name of the yarn) with running shoes--the yarn is thicker.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Canadians pretty much all take off their shoes - my theory is it's mostly a climate thing. If you live where there is snow/mud for the MAJORITY of the year, what you wear outside just doesn't make sense indoors (my rubber boots lined with sheepskin are awesome outdoors 8 months out of 12, but inside? uhh, no) so you just adapt. Never thought of it as a way to show off great socks!

I'm taking a class on Engineering new Stitch Patterns. I like to 'wing it' when I knit, but I need coaching! http://www.oldscollege.ca/programs/...-career-studies/fibreweek/june29workshops.htm


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

frazzle, you are going to have so much fun! Did you do the magic cast on yet?
I like to wing it too.  
(I even clicked on the materials list for the class. )
You will promise me a full report, right? Please?

I have some friends who are married, but live in 2 different houses on the same property.
In HIS house, you take off your shoes. In HERS you dont.
They are both scandahoovians, go figure? He says he doesn't like to mop. 
(there are advantages to having private living quarters, I guess.)
They both say that every evening is like a date...who knows which house they will end up in.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

GAM that is so funny - my husband and I have 'his and hers' houses too! Not quite ... the original house (mine) was too small for all of us once we got married (he came with 2 kids who live with us half time) and so we built an addition, which is actually set up to be a self-contained house of it's own should the need ever arise (aging parents, kids back home, us divorcing but both being too lazy/stubborn to move and start over!) and the addition is 'his house' (we live in it like one big house, though). The lawyer who did our prenup had a big laugh over our "I promise not to turn off the hot water to your house and you promise not to turn off the electricity to mine, no matter what" clauses we put in.

Sorry for the thread drift! We should relocate this to the FAC!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Nah! Don't worry about thread drift, I'm not. Well, I guess if my PM inbox got stuffed with complaints maybe then.......


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

That's what I think too. If we cant tolerate some 'thread drift', what kind of fiber artists are we? 

Plus, I started this thread, and you were still talking to me...:shrug:

:grin:


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

:bouncy: :nana: :buds:


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

HA HA HA fibre artists have to tolerate thread drift, oh my! Makes me think of weaving!

Okay since we are officially drifting ... I'll tell you that the other class I'm taking at Olds is the one on making felted boots. 2 day class, and you make a pair of felted boots! As I have Icelandics, and their fleece felts if you look at it funny, I figured it was a great use for some of the stuff I have wandering around outside!

And, I get to meet Flannelberry live and in person 'cause she is coming too! She hasn't been around here much of late, but some of you might remember her. We will for sure report on what we learn!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

frazzlehead, that sounds like a BLAST! 2 days of making felted boots, and then you can make them easy after that. Your sheep will looked at by how many boots their fleeces will make.LOL. How tall are the boots? Icelandic boots sound super warm. I cannot wait to hear about it. 

I remember Flannelberry too. How cool to meet other HTers.


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## sheepish (Dec 9, 2006)

My contribution to the wool socks in summer thing, was that I was wearing my handknit wool socks with Birkenstocks on the hour and a half freeway drive across Toronto from my daughter's on Monday afternoon. My feet got so hot that I could hardly wait for the traffic to hit a stop and go section so I could pull off the socks. Once the socks were off, my feet were immediately cool. (They just didn't look as cool!)


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Very Nice Socks! Boots all the Time? My feet are crying just thinking of that.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

Is there such a thing as crochet socks?


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

DW said:


> Is there such a thing as crochet socks?


 Yes, there are. I had a pair that a friend made for me. However, they did not feel so good to be worn as socks. I could feel all the little knots.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Oh my yes! I just gave a pattern book of crochet socks to a friend of mine yesterday.

Search the patterns of Ravelry (ravelry.com), you'll find plenty!


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