Read This Before Gifting Knitted Socks

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When I first started knitting socks they were such a labor of love that I couldn’t imagine ever giving them away… no one else could ever appreciate the hard work that went into them.  Fast forward about ten years and now I regularly beg people to tell me their shoe size so I can make them a pair!  It turns out that I love gifting socks and people in my life seem to like receiving them, so it’s a win-win all around.

Here are three quick tips of stuff I always do if I’m giving socks.

1.  Make Your Socks Easy to Wash

If your socks are not easy to wash, the recipient will never wear them because they won’t want to go to the hassle of washing them.  That’s just the harsh truth of gifting knits. It’s important that you give clear and low-maintenance washing instructions.  I only gift socks made out of superwash yarn and I include a card with the instructions to machine wash cold and air dry.  I know superwash wool can technically go in the dryer, but I think that’s a little hard on the yarn and asking someone to air dry the socks isn’t too burdensome.  I also know that socks last longer if you handwash them, but that can be pretty burdensome for most folks.

If I am gifting lace socks, I add instructions to machine wash in a delicate bag (so the lacey bits don’t snag on other items in the wash).  If I don’t think they own a delicate bag, I give them one.  (I buy multi-packs of the bra-size bags and they come out to less than $2 each).

I bought these notecards on etsy years ago and I write the wash instructions on them.  The seller doesn’t make these anymore, but you search etsy for knitting stationary and there are a ton of cute options.

2. Set Expectations About a Sock’s Lifespan

Make sure your recipient knows that all socks eventually wear out and let them know what to do when that happens. 

If you are willing to take the socks back for mending, tell them give them back to you when the yarn looks thin (don’t wait until the hole forms!).  Also, give them a little butterfly of the yarn you used so you can match the yarn when mending. (Or you can keep these yourself if you don’t trust the person not to lose it!)

If you are not willing to mend the socks when the time comes (no judgement!) make sure the recipient understands that the socks will eventually get holes and at that point they can be turned into rags, cat toys, thrown out, whatever.  Let them know that the socks will last longer if you just wear them as house socks, and that wearing them with shoes will rapidly decrease their lifespan.

I think it’s super important to set these expectations because if you don’t, the recipient will feel incredibly sad and guilty when their socks get holes and they won’t want to tell you and it’s gonna get awkward.

3. Make it a Special Occasion

You spent a good 20-30 hours (or more!) knitting the socks, so make sure the recipient knows that this is a special gift!  You can help drive home that point by doing a really special wrapping job.  I got these adorable wooden buttons engraved with my name and I stitch them to a ribbon and wrap around the sock.

I hope these tips were helpful to make gifting socks a great experience for you and your incredibly lucky friends and family!