Socks Socks Socks!! Is there such a thing as Permies socks?

Mary Cook wrote:I gave thumbs up to both Shawn and G for the Knit it Yourself tips--but I am not going to take up knitting because I have macular degeneration, am already somewhat visually challenged. So I also appreciate the tip to Darn Tough socks--I too have been looking for knit wool sox. Normally I buy all my clothes used but if I find socks at all, they are not wool socks.

I've found wool socks, even a handmade knitted pair that don't stay up and feel like wool

And a huge bag of new-almost new from a widow I gave 7 pair away from the bag to a neighboring couple

Perhaps people are smarter where you live and have clued into the used wool sock market

It has to be wool!

I have a friend who tried hemp, and found them to be unbreathable.

I do have some cotton blend for summer but they are second hand

Affordable is debatable ...

I have coughed up sale price for new 100% wool socks and not felt bad -- and I'm on a pension

Durable is the key point in justifying expense:

Hand wash and air dry and make sure you aren't going sock foot indoors, or, take them off when you come indoors

Of course, darning those darn socks is the next option (unless the eyesight is too far gone). A skill required to master as part of maturing to 10 years old, along with button sewing

Shawn Foster wrote:

The process is gentle and a good way to occupy your hands in otherwise quiet moments. (Long drive and you’re a passenger? Socks! Plane flight? Socks! Cold gloomy day? Socks!) .

You brought back memories of a fellow teacher friend who had taken contracts in fly-in northern communities -- she was always knitting while watching the tube (younger permies : those were the televisions of yore)

Tammy had recounted to me once, she'd just embarked a two passenger plane and was settled in knitting socks before the pilot got back in after doing a once-over check, and was amazed she was so relaxed!!! Yes, a gentle past time indeed!

G Freden wrote:

There are a lot of tutorials online for making an "afterthought heel" in socks, which is where you knit your tube first, then pick up stitches for a heel after the rest of the sock is finished.  This heel is basically the same as knitting a toe:  just round and round, decreasing as you go.

I like to knit my heels and toes in a contrasting color so I can easily see where to unpick/unravel and reknit them when they wear out,

...

I can flip the sock the other way, unravelling the cuff to turn into a new toe, and the leg into a new foot!  I can either join two worn out pairs of socks this way:  cut off the feet entirely and join two leg pieces together, adding a heel in the middle and a toe at one end;  

.  On my drying rack below there are several socks that have had this treatment.

My socks last!  

G I would vote you for a Kickstarter and drag you to the Montana vortex myself!!

Thanks for the lovely pictures and I would say of course they last: you air dry and repair them!

You have inspired me to go past darning and take up knitting socks

John F Dean wrote:I often wonder what the operational definition if 100% is in the clothing industry.  I have repeatedly seen 100% cotton shirts with plastic buttons.

I've found that more responsible/honest textile producers will put "exclusive of trim" on the tag/package of items like this...

Yeah, Ra, durable is what makes it worth the approximately $25 for those Darntough socks--they have an unconditional lifetime guarantee, can't beat that. Merino wool, nylon, maybe acrylic. Now I just have to choose which pair I want.

I hope I have found the last socks I will ever purchase, unless I find out their labels are misleading or they stop producing:

https://brubaker-usa.com/products/brubaker-mens-womens-alpaca-wool-socks-winter-socks-for-men-women-4-pair-pack?variant=30455006151
4 pair of all wool, "ecologically dyed" thick socks for ~$30US. At that price I'd be fine if they wore out in a year or two and I just composted them, but my first batch is three years old with no signs of wear.

They are comfortable in spring and fall. If too warm for them, it is healthier to go barefoot or wear moccasins if protection is needed.

There’s a brand of socks that we have been considering that are guaranteed for life. They are supposed to be extremely well made out of natural fibers and the company agrees to replace them when they wear out. I keep seeing their advertisements on Amazon but haven’t taken the plunge yet. At the rate my husband goes through them, I’m thinking they would make an excellent investment.

Mary Cook wrote:Yeah, Ra, durable is what makes it worth the approximately $25 for those Darntough socks--they have an unconditional lifetime guarantee, can't beat that. Merino wool, nylon, maybe acrylic. Now I just have to choose which pair I want.

Get the Merino wool! I got lucky and scored 5 pair during COVID, but I was north of the lockdown. A hardware - grain enterprise going under. $12 CAD each. 3 for me and 2 for a friend.

Keep a pair for bed!!!
Or the la-z-boy chair

Timothy Norton wrote:I find the quest for a well wearing Permie-approved sock to be noble but difficult as well.

The closest I have found that wears well tend to be wool blends, but it is the synthetic fibers that help them wear better. I wonder if certain types of wool or cotton wear better than others?

From Anna at Longway Homestead, I learned there are hundreds of sheep breeds with fleece of different characteristics that produce wool with different characteristics.  A breed that produces a fine soft wool may be nice against one's skin, but may be less durable.  Thus, if making socks, there is a need to ensure one starts with appropriate wool.

In revisiting her site, I'm reminded that they are using regenerative techniques for raising sheep, natural dyes (they occasionally offer classes on making and using natural dyes), and other methods that would likely fit into the Permie-Approved category.  That said, they don't offer socks, although they have wool batts from meat sheep which would make a good fill for window quilts that I'm pondering.

Another place to look may be the Savory Global Land to Market Initiative where they partners are providing products that are certified to be regenerating grasslands.  I don't recall if there are any wool products, but I recall leather is used for some boots.

Perhaps there's another way of looking at things.  Why socks?  Are socks necessary?  There are cultures where socks generally aren't worn.  The giant hobbit at Wheaton Labs can often be seen outside barefoot (perhaps not in winter though).  Are socks just a social construct to sell something?  Where footwear is needed (say cold regions or perhaps rocky locales), is there a footwear type that can be used without socks?  Just throwing it out for some perhaps outside the box pondering.