Socks

What would we do without socks? They keep us warm and dry. Some people have a lot more than others, maybe even three drawers full. That's a lot of socks. There are styles for special occasions such as Christmas, Easter and even National Pig Day (the manufacturers just don't know about that last one). You can even buy super soft hydrating socks with aloe. I hear they're wonderful. What do you do if your wool sock gets a hole in it? Do you throw it out? My father used to darn his. If you want to find out how visit ehow.

Buying Socks

If you're shopping for socks take a peek at the Podiatry Sourcebook, edited by Ivy L. Alexander. It has a chapter on selecting socks, covering topics such as fiber content, construction and finishes. It has advice on laundering, such as using warm, not hot water to prevent color bleeding. There's no advice however on how to make sure that when you put two socks in the dryer, two socks come back out. It's one of life's great mysteries. We carry this book in the Reference Department.

Making Socks

If you'd like to try your hand at knitting your own socks we carry titles such as Easy Knitted Socks: Fun And Fashionable Designs For The Novice Knitter by Jeanette Trotman. Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd features photographs, drawings and detailed simple steps that will have you making socks in no time. You can make striped, ribbed, boucle, even very feminine herringbone lace socks. These are the kind of socks you could give as a gift and not hear a disappointed "Oh socks!" Did you know you can even join a Sock Of The Month Club? Every month they send a kit containing a pattern and yarn right to your door. A quick Google search under "sock of the month kits" will help get you started. Before you know it you'll be impressing all of your friends.

Books About Socks

Timothy Cox Will Not Change His Socks by Robert Kinerk. Youngsters will enjoy this book. Chaos ensues when Timothy decides not to change his socks for a month. As time passes he's banned from school and his parents banish him to the far side of the yard. This zany story is told in a fun rhyming format.


Sock by Penn Jillette. This story has an unusual twist. It's the tale of a New York City police diver and his buddy Dickie. What's so unusual? Dickie who is also the narrator, is a sock monkey. When a former lover is found dead in the Hudson River, the team sets out to find her killer. The author of this book is magician Jillette Penn of Penn & Teller.




Sock Monkeys

There are fun things you can do with socks, such as making a sock monkey. If you'd like to try making one there is a free pattern on the following website - http://lennytaylor.freeyellow.com/Monkey.htm I found an interesting article on sock monkey history. A woman in Memphis created the first one from the red heeled socks made by the Nelson Knitting Company. After viewing the monkey, the company patented it in 1953 and first gave them away as promotional items to department stores. The patent has long since expired. If you'd like to read the entire article, just do a keyword search under sock monkeys in the General OneFile database, located in our Virtual Collection. The article is called "Folks still go bananas over sock monkeys."

Sock Programs

On Saturday October 18 we'll be having a children's program featuring socks, called Silly Sock Creatures. It takes place at the Brodie Resource Library at 2:30 p.m. and is for children 8 and over. You do not have to pre-register.

Well I hope you have a whole new appreciation for socks. The next time you slip on a pair of homemade ones, think about the time and love that went into making them. I hope this column knocked your socks off. Sorry I couldn't resist that.

Karen Craib Library Technician