Compared to Ones from the Store

If you compare crochet socks to ones you buy in a store, they’ll likely be quite different. But, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make them. You just need to alter your expectations.

Stretch

Crocheted Socks will likely not stretch as much as store-bought socks. You have a couple options to help address this though:

1. Use a stitch pattern that has greater stretch.
2. Compensate for this and make the socks a bit larger than you might otherwise do. They should still have negative ease, but less than you might do on, say, a knitted sock. If you’re not sure about the size, I’d suggest doing 10% less than the circumference of the foot. This is called “negative ease”.

Be sure not to work it too tightly because doing so will not allow the sock to stretch. Stretch is important if you’re working negative ease and it’s also important for the comfort of the wearer.

Thickness

Handmade socks are thicker – in most cases – than store-bought socks. As a general rule of thumb, thicknesses range in this order (from thinnest to thickest):

• Thinnest: Store-bought socks
• Mid-range: Knitted socks
• Thickest: Crocheted socks

Yardage

Most yarn that’s called “sock yarn” is marketed for Knitters. This means that the put-up (the length of yarn in the skein) if often not-enough for crochet socks.

You might come across a yarn that says you can make a pair of socks out of one skein, but this will typically be assuming that you’re knitting that pair of socks. You’ll need more yarn if you’re Crocheting the socks.

Or, weigh it, split the skein in half and work them from the toe-up. This way you can use up most of the yarn and avoid using more than half of the yarn for the one sock.

When in Doubt, Buy Extra

As always, refer to the pattern and match both the gauge and the thickness of the yarn. And if in doubt, I suggest that you buy an extra skein of the yarn just to be safe. Depending on the store’s return policy, you might be able to return it, exchange it or even make another pair of socks (likely a shorter pair).