Summer Sock KAL: Yarn, yarn yarn!

Don’t miss the Summer Sock KAL with projects from Stories In Stitches 3!

 

Have you ever wondered what makes the best yarn for knitting socks? Before you buy your next skein of sock yarn, here are some things to consider:

 

Fiber Content

The fiber used to create a yarn is one of the most important factors in the suitability of yarn for knitting socks.

Fibers from Animals

Protein, or animal-source, fibers make warm, breathable yarns that are easy to knit because the fibers have natural give, or stretch. Depending on the type of animal and specific breed, yarns from animal fibers can be soft enough to place next to a baby’s skin or strong enough to wipe your feet on.

Wool is the most common animal fiber and comes from the fleece of sheep. Wool is warm and breathable and can absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in water without feeling wet, which makes it exceptionally comfortable for socks. Merino wool is the softest available is quite popular in sock yarns, however it is not the strongest of wool fibers for the same reasons it is soft: it has short, fine individual fibers. Merino sock yarns are almost always blended with nylon for added strength. Other breed-specific yarns such as Bluefaced Leicester, Polwarth, Romney, and others have become more popular of late and can now be found at fiber festivals as well as online and at local yarn shops. Many sock yarns are made with wool from various meat and fiber sheep breeds, often blended together, and do not list the specific breed(s) on the label.

Alpaca and llama fibers are spun into yarns that are similar to wool but have less elasticity and more drape. These yarns can be very soft, but they are usually denser and weigh more than wool yarns of the same thickness. These fibers will not have the elasticity of wool yarns and are not as flexible for knitting socks, but can be used in combination with knitting stitches such as ribbing that add elasticity to the sock. When blended with wool, alpaca and llama make very warm socks for winter wear as well as long-wearing hiking and work socks.

Cashmere yarn is made from the down of goats. This fiber, as well as other luxury fibers such as qiviut, bison, yak, and camel, which are also made from down fibers, are not strong enough for long-wearing socks but can be used for socks when blended with wool and nylon for strength.

Angora rabbit fur is the last fiber spun from the fur of a mammal that we’ll discuss. While the pure fiber is deliciously soft and cuddly, the individual fibers are short and require a very tight twist to keep the yarn from shedding, even when blended with wool. A few high-twist angora and wool blend yarns are on the market today, and these are excellent for extra-warm socks and slippers.

Silk is the only common protein fiber that does not come from the fleece of an animal. Silk comes from the fibers that form the cocoon of the Bombyx mori moth. The silkworm, or caterpillar, spins a very strong fiber that can be made into yarn or fabric that is cool in summer and warm in winter. Because it has little elasticity, silk works best for socks when blended with wool or another springy fiber.

 

Fibers from Plants

Cellulose, or plant-source, fibers usually have less elasticity than protein fibers and often make stronger yarns. Some are even used to make ropes.

Cotton is a versatile fiber that can be spun into a strong yarn is one of most absorbent available, and gains strength when wet, giving it a clear advantage for socks. Mercerized cotton is lustrous and inelastic, while unmercerized cotton is much more absorbent and softer. (Mercerization is a chemical treatment.) Fabrics made from cotton tend to stretch out of shape as they get older. For scarves and shawls, this is not terribly important. Socks, however, will eventually lose their shapes after many washings. Blending with wool or a very small amount of Lycra (elastic or spandex) solves this problem. Machine-made socks made from very fine cotton yarn with a very high twist also solve this problem, which explains why many antique hand-knit socks, made from cotton yarn thin enough to be called a thread, and knit at the astounding gauge of 10-20 stitches per inch, have held their shape over the years.

Linen, made from flax, is the oldest known natural fiber. Linen is extremely strong and absorbent, and like cotton, was used to knit fine socks for summer wear in times past. Today’s linen knitting yarns are not available at such fine weights, and are too hard and inelastic for knitting socks unless blended with at least 50% wool. Hemp and bamboo yarns have qualities very similar to linen.

 

Man-made Fibers

In addition to Lycra, mentioned above as a fiber to blend with cotton to add elasticity, and nylon or acrylic blended wool to strength and washability, other man made fibers are practical for knitting socks today. Although in the past, synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester were not absorbent or breathable, today new technologies are available that make some new high-tech yarns that are much more appealing to sock knitters.

Still other fibers such as tencel, rayon, and some bamboo yarns are made by chemical processes from plant material, making them hybrids of the natural and man-made categories. Many of these yarns, work well for socks when blended with wool, and you can often find them in the sock yarn section of local yarn shops.

 

Twist and Spin

Twist and spinning technique are two other feature of yarn that is particularly of importance to sock knitters.

Yarns are made by spinning, which is essentially twisting individual fibers together. The shorter the fibers are, the more twist is required to hold them together, to prevent the yarn from pilling, and to make the yarn strong. Twist also effects the elasticity of yarn. The looser the twist (or the fewer times the yarn is twisted per inch), the less elastic the resulting yarn will be—all other factors considered—and the tighter the twist (the more times the yarn is twisted per inch), the more spring and elasticity is added to the yarn.

Yarn can be made from a single strand of spun fiber or from several strands that are plied together. I don’t consider singles yarns to be appropriate for knitting socks, although there are some singles sock yarns on the market. With enough twist added (but not too much or the yarn will kink up and bias when knit), a singles yarn can work for socks, but it will never have the elasticity or strength of a plied yarn. When multiple strands—2, 3, 4 or even more—of yarn are plied together, creating yarns of different textures, resulting in different amounts of elasticity, bounce, and strength.

Note: In this discussion 2-ply, 3-ply and so forth have nothing to do with the  yarn weight. Although these older UK terms likely arose when mill-spun yarn was all made at the same thickness and multiple strands, or plies, were subsequently stranded or re-spun together to create different thicknesses of finished yarn for sale.

Yarn can be spun either “worsted” (having nothing to do with the weight of yarn) or “woolen” style. Worsted yarns have the fibers all lined up in parallel to create a firm, strong yarn that has a smooth surface that is wonderful for knitting cables and knit-and-purl patterns. Woolen yarn is spun from fibers that are jumbled in all different directions which creates an elastic, fluffy yarn that works wonderfully for knitting colorwork patterns. Both styles of yarn work well for stockinette stitch and ribbing, and both work well when knitting socks.

 

Don’t miss the Summer Sock KAL with projects from Stories In Stitches 3!