Just fyi, if you are somewhere very cold do not use cotton socks. There's a saying in the outdoor community, cotton kills. That means cotton is more likely to lead to hypothermia due to not wicking away moisture fast enough. Wool and sythetics are better for the cold!

I was literally lured into knitting by someone wearing their very cool hand knit socks with Birkenstocks. I wanted some, too and she told me to buy some worsted weight yarn and size 7 dpns and I did. The whole process of knitting a sock made me feel pretty confident in knitting and I never thought I had to use “sock yarn” for knitting socks.

This was by far the best video about sock yarns I have ever come across. I love your factual non-biased way of presenting. I have been knitting socks for a long time, and I agree with everything you said. For myself, I prefer no-nylon socks, I like the idea that I can compost my socks at the end of their lifespan, because there is no plastic in it. But as you mentioned, sheep breeds matter and the softest socks are not always the sturdiest (even with the addition of nylon). I carefully choose yarn from specific sheep breeds (known as the "Down breeds"), that are sturdy, stretchy and don't felt easily.  Not so much because of washing, but because I don't want the friction of walking and slightly sweaty feet to shrink my socks. But for gift knitting I mostly knit with commercial sock yarns. Loved this, have subscribed and will check more of your videos!

I’m addictive to knitting socks and the beautiful sock yarn that is available. Nothing like wearing hand knit socks🧶

Yup, those Canadian prairies can be cold and it can hurt to breathe outside 😂🥶. But I wouldn’t live anywhere else and yes, we wear layers of socks in the winter.

I just found your channel and am so enjoying it. Thank you!

Oh and I also wear socks seldom here in Phoenix, but it doesn’t stop me from knitting them, and of course gifts for friends and family in cooler climates. 😊

This is all extremely interesting.  I'm in San Diego, CA, and while I've spent a lot of time crocheting, I'm actually starting to tackle knitting.  I've made a sophie scarf to learn the basics on, and not tackling my first pair of socks.

Good info, learned lots. Thx.

Thank you. I have learned so much.

Lovely look at sock yarn which is, alas, my Achilles heel in the store. I have A LOT in my stash.

Makes me laugh when vegans use silk.

Will holding two strands of 2-ply yarn together give me approximately the same durability as one strand of 4-ply? Or does the twist itself play an important role?

I’m allergic to wool. Any suggestions?

look at the individual ply's, if there is one  ply that is "sketchy" , fraying, inconsistent than that skein is not going to work for socks or complex  knitted hats. I have been knitting  socks for the last 4 years and prefer a malabrigo superwash or any multifiber blend  that does not include acrylic

I recently found your channel and appreciate the helpful information you share. I am relatively new to sock knitting and have a question regarding a yarn I purchased a couple of months ago. I have been knitting socks for about five months and have been using blends of 80/20 or 75/25 wool and nylon/polyamide. But I realized after purchasing this one yarn that it consists of 52% acrylic, 40% wool, and 7% nylon.    Would you use this for socks, and what suggestions would you have?

I disagree about which shoes you can wear with hand knit yarn.i have at least 3 drawersful of fingering weight yarn.i wear them everyday with loafers and so does everyone who gets them. I have socks that have lasted over 10 years. I wear them everyday from October to April.
Also there are bamboo sock yarns that work really well