If you want to catch up with the Use Every Scrap Knitalong, simply click on the image above to see all of the posts.

We are deep in preparations for Yarndale at the weekend (Are you going? We’ll be on stand J14 and are very excited about it!). But in the meantime, here are the socks…

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this gentle summer sock knitalong. We set off from our toes, and worked our way up the foot, conquered Mount Heel, and as of two weeks ago I hope you’ve been meandering along your calves. This really has been the perfect way to use every scrap, whether it’s a bag of sock yarn scraps, or every scrap of a precious skein of yarn, with this recipe, you can knit until it’s all gone!

I realised after the last Use Every Scrap post that I had neglected to mention casting off. Sorry about that! Essentially, you need a cast-off method that is nice and stretchy so that your sock will go over your heel, and then spring back to gently grip your leg (you don’t want your socks to fall down!).

My go-to method for a stretchy cast off for rib is this one: Stretchy Cast Off (YouTube link for email readers)

Here are a few other options that you might find handy: Tubular Cast Off, Sewn Cast Off and the Simple Stretchy Cast Off.

As of the time of writing this post (Tuesday morning), I’ve finished my scrappy socks.

Hurrah!

I’m really pleased with how these turned out. They use leftover bits of Coop Knits Socks Yeah! 4ply in shades Sphene (toes and heels), Topaz, Ammolite and Larimar, and the last remains of a ball of Zauberball Crazy in shade Garden Party. I kept these at my normal sock length, which is approximately 16cm [6.25in] from the top of the heel to the cast-off edge.

And I am SO CLOSE to finishing my I Can Dance socks. I have 6g of yarn remaining for each sock and I am still hoping that I might just get them finished before this post goes live. But in reality, that might not happen, so here are some in progress shots…

I am determined that my I Can Dance socks will be finished in time to wear them at Yarndale this weekend… I’m not driving, so I think there’s a good chance I can do it. They are just such cheerful socks, they make me smile.

We have had a top up of a few colourways of Fab Funky Fibres’ amazing sock yarns:

I Can Dance (100g sets as seen above), Neverending Rainbow (100g sets) and The Birds (80g sets).

These yarns will be available online until Friday evening, when they will disappear for the weekend, as we will be selling them at Yarndale. If there are any leftovers, they will be restocked next week once we are home.

If you have enjoyed knitting socks, but don’t have any suitable sock recipients, then you might be interested in this charity that takes knitted items (or you may have a similar organisation in your area). The following information is from Carol, a longtime friend of Team Arnall-Culliford:

Operation Christmas Stocking

This initiative is continuing this year to help Crisis UK in Edinburgh support people who have been rough sleeping and need a bit of help. Lots of knitters and crocheters have been so supportive over the last few years making socks and other items which are then gifted to our friends. Handmade items go a long way to letting our friends know that we are thinking of them at a difficult time of year.

I was rather overwhelmed last year with the donations of knitted and crocheted items received. We were able to help over 400 people with hand crafted gifts of socks as well as hats, scarves, shawls, mitts and even some blankets.

Thank you to everyone who has spent time making these gifts over the years, and also thanks to those who continue to do so. If any of you would like to join in and make some of these items please let me know either through Ravelry or Instagram. You can find me on Ravelry as Carolmb or on Instagram where I am carolmbarclay. If you are making socks, the most needed size is for men with UK size 9/10 feet although we will take any adult size. When choosing colours it would be preferable you pick something that won’t stand out too much in a crowd. Our deadline for the finished items is 1 December 2021, to give me time to package the items and pass them on to the charity.

Thank you Carol!

I do hope that you have enjoyed this sock knitalong. The Use Every Scrap Knitalong topic remains open in The Knitalong Hub, so do pop over if you have sock progress to share. There are enthusiastic knitters from all over the world on our online forum and it is free to join.