Because most socks are designed to have negative ease, you don't really need to block them, unless you're trying to even out some stitches or a color pattern. I do have a set of sock blockers, so I do block socks when I'm giving them as gifts--blocked socks just look nicer in a gift package compared to unblocked socks, which can be sort of wiggly/weird looking.
I just blocked socks for the first time--I knit them from some of my handspun and I wanted to even out the yarn a bit. But normally from commercial yarn? Well technically I guess you could call it blocking in that I wash them and lay them out.
Handspun yarn socks sounds so luxurious! Although the sad thing about hand-knitted socks seems to me to be that they live inside shoes and do not get shown off as they so often deserve.
Wash n' wear blocks them just fine! I always think the only thing you need to block right after knitting is lace, because you do want the holes opened up to look nice. But everything else, just wear and wash and it becomes the right shape.
I learnt the necessity of blocking when I started creating lace shawls and scarves, but it is a tedious process. When knitting a sweater I try to pick a seamless pattern so there's no need to block the bits in order to make sure they fit together! And no lacy socks for me...
The need to block socks applies largely to yarns that shrink and felt. Since most knitters today probably use either superwash wool or a synthetic yarn, the need to block is limited to rare occasions.
However, those of us who spin natural wool or mohair and make socks from our own yarns still find the sock blockers to be a valuable tool.
Wool socks do shrink and felt if washed in hot water or subjected to heavy agitation. The blocking lets you take advantage of that to make a sturdier, more tightly consolidated sock without overdoing it and ending up with doll booties. I wash my handspun-handknit woolen socks by hand, and let them dry on sock blockers. Not only does this keep them from shrinking too much, it retains a uniform shape and size and gives me a chance to examine them for weaknesses that need repair before they turn into actual holes.
You sound like a much more organised person than I am—I could certainly benefit from the opportunity to check over my hand-knitted socks for weaknesses, as my right big toe has a tendency to poke holes. Are sock-blockers those things that look like cardboard socks?
Well, I assume so, though I've not seen them in cardboard. Good sock blockers are made of wood, plastic, or (rarely) metal so that they don't change shape if they get wet. Cardboard doesn't seem practical to me.
They come in sizes to match the usual sock range, and you need the right size. They are paired so you can block both socks of a pair at the same time. You just pull the damp sock onto the blocker and even it up, then let it hang in open air until the sock dries. Simple, no moving parts, and does the job. :)
I think everybody else has covered it, but, nope, I do not block socks. I only block lace type things to open up the patterns (and I suppose if I knit a sweater in parts, I might block it if the parts were not all exactly even before piecing it together). Even socks that have lacy patterns on them don't really need blocking though, in my opinion.
Yes, Two thirds of the socks I make are gifts and I like them to look as nice as possible when the present is opened. Blocking can also be used to hide little errors. Blocking fixes many things!
Mind you, sock blockers aren't cheap so I can understand why people don't bother, after all, they go on feet and in shoes.
I am selfish with socks, and mostly make them for myself. Father-in-law probably didn't notice whether his two pairs of gifted socks were blocked or not (they weren't) and my daughter rejected the pair I knitted for her, so hmph. (I wear them now.) But I see the appeal of blocking gift socks.
You only get one chance to prove yourself an acceptable yarn gift recipient as far as I'm concerned. Outrageous of your daughter! Outrageous! Really, you can only safely give to other crafters, who appreciate the quality of the yarn and the amount of work.
Nope. Then again, I've only this year started blocking anything at all, so I'm probably not a measure of reasonableness. On the third hand, I mostly knit socks, so not blocking has never been an issue.
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Date: 2017-01-19 03:41 am (UTC)However, those of us who spin natural wool or mohair and make socks from our own yarns still find the sock blockers to be a valuable tool.
Wool socks do shrink and felt if washed in hot water or subjected to heavy agitation. The blocking lets you take advantage of that to make a sturdier, more tightly consolidated sock without overdoing it and ending up with doll booties. I wash my handspun-handknit woolen socks by hand, and let them dry on sock blockers. Not only does this keep them from shrinking too much, it retains a uniform shape and size and gives me a chance to examine them for weaknesses that need repair before they turn into actual holes.
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Date: 2017-01-19 12:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-01-19 01:12 pm (UTC)They come in sizes to match the usual sock range, and you need the right size. They are paired so you can block both socks of a pair at the same time. You just pull the damp sock onto the blocker and even it up, then let it hang in open air until the sock dries. Simple, no moving parts, and does the job. :)
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Date: 2017-01-19 04:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-01-19 12:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-01-19 07:11 am (UTC)Mind you, sock blockers aren't cheap so I can understand why people don't bother, after all, they go on feet and in shoes.
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Date: 2017-01-20 04:43 am (UTC)(Also, Converse makes a clear lo-top and I have a pair so I can show off the whole sock, so I really want them to look their best.)
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Date: 2017-01-20 09:13 pm (UTC)