Put a Sock in It! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nylon fibre

A small percentage of nylon is typically added to sock yarn that is made from animal fibres. It adds a bit of stretchiness, and allows for a longer wear because natural animal fibres have a tendency to wear through very quickly when made into socks. The stretchiness afforded by the nylon also helps to create a better-fitting sock.

Answer: Fingering

Fingering weight yarn is a relatively light weight yarn, with a relatively narrow circumference. There are typically approximately 7-8 stitches per inch when fingering yarn is knit on the small needles that are used for socks (as opposed to 3-5 stitches per inch for the heavier yarns).

This makes for a nice tight gauge, which allows for a close-fitting, lightweight, and comfortable sock. Worsted weight yarns are sometimes used, but the socks made with it are much thicker and tend to be less comfortable than those made with fingering weight yarn.

Answer: True

Patterns exist for both "toe-up" socks (bottom up), and for "cuff down" (top down) socks. Both types of patterns allow the knitter to create beautiful socks that function exactly the same. In fact, when they are completed, it is hard for a non-knitter to tell the difference between the two types of patterns.

Answer: Flash

The heel flap is knit for the back of the sock, typically in a double-knitted fashion to add more strength and thickness to the back of the heel. The gusset is the area of increased stitches that allow for the increased width of the foot over the instep. The cuff is at the top of the sock.

Answer: Rib stitch

A rib stitch is used at the top of the sock to create a stretchy portion that helps to keep the sock from falling down. A rib stitch is created with a combination of alternating knit and purl stitches. Most commonly, rib stitches are completed using a "knit one, purl one" or "knit two, purl two" pattern in the cuff of hand-knit socks.

Answer: False

Socks are usually knit in the round. This means that needles are used to knit a tube, rather than a flat piece of fabric that would need to be stitched together. A seam in a sock would be very uncomfortable, especially if it ran under the foot.

Answer: When a knitter knits only one sock of a pair and leaves the project because of a loss of interest.

The single sock syndrome, sometimes called the "second sock syndrome" sometimes happens with knitters who are new to knitting socks. Socks can be quite challenging to learn, and some new knitters conquer the challenge with one sock, then lose interest and never complete the pair.

The syndrome also occurs in accomplished sock knitters who, for whatever reason, tire of the yarn or the pattern and never complete the second sock. I have never understood it because of my love for knitting socks, but it is more common than one might think.

Answer: Kitchener stitch

The Kitchener stitch is used to graft live stitches of a sock toe together by mimicking a knitted row. This avoids a seam that might be uncomfortable, and looks as though there is no beginning or ending in the toe. The live stitches are held on their needles and a bit of yarn is woven back and forth using a sewing needle, then pulled gently to close the opening.

Answer: To knit a bend in the sock at the heel.

Turning the heel has a bad rap. For some reason, many think that this is the harder part of knitting a sock. The heel turn is simply the part of the sock that allows the bend at the heel between the vertical cuff, and the horizontal foot portions. As long as the pattern is followed closely, it is really not that difficult.

Answer: True

This method is sometimes known as "two-at-a-time". It is a preferred method for those who have limited yarn and want to make sure that both socks end up the same size. If one is knit and there is a limited amount of yarn, there is a danger that there will not be enough yarn to complete the second sock.

It is also a preferred method for those who simply want to knit two socks of a pair at the same time and finish the project all at once (without having to finish one, then start fresh on the second sock).