Spooky Sock-A-Thon and Sock Inspo

Can ya feel it?! That spine tingling chill in the air? It’s SPOOKY SEASON Y’ALL!!

And the Spooky Sock-A-Thon is starting in just a few short days!!! October 1st to be exact.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve recently caught the sock making bug and completed my first pair of socks for myself a month or so ago. I’m still relatively new to the sock making game and have been finding more and more sock patterns that I want to make and new techniques I’d like to try. That’s the beauty of socks. They are a small canvas you can practice all sorts of new techniques on and they’re small enough you can take anywhere! Plus, they work up relatively quickly so if you’re a product maker, you can get that high a little faster ;). And for my process makers, you can choose between meditative sock makes (stockinette/SC/DC all day baby) or go for more intricate details like lace/cables/colorwork. The possibilities are endless!!

Anywho, as I was chatting in my stories, it seemed more and more people were replying that they too were itching to make some socks or wanted to dip a toe into sock making for the first time! I loved hosting a Halloween/Samhain/Spooky Season MAL last year (remember the Granny Scare-A-Thon?? SO FUN!) so it was a no brainer to bring all the passions together into the Spooky Sock-A-Thon!!!

So - What is the Spooky Sock-A-Thon?

So glad you asked! It’s a month long Make-A-Long on Instagram hosted by me, Knitting Tipsy, for all knitters and crocheters who want to make some socks!

“Do I have to make Halloween themed socks for the Thon?” - Nope! You can make ANY socks you desire, but Halloween/Samhain/Autumnal/Spooky socks are encouraged :)

“How do I join/enter the Spooky Sock-A-Thon?” - All you have to do to enter is 1) follow me on IG and 2) Cast on/work on a pair of socks during the month of October and 3) post photos of your work on IG using the #SpookySockAThon hashtag. You can tag photos with the yarn you’ll be using, WIP pics, and finished socks! Every post you create with the hashtag is an entry to win a prize.

“Prize??? What are the prizes?” - Some insanely talented and wonderful makers in our community donated prizes for this year’s Sock-A-Thon. You can check out the reel here to see what you could win! Prizes will be drawn once per week and will be drawn randomly via the hashtags. I’ll announce winners in my stories. As a reminder, you do NOT have to finish your socks to win a prize. This is all about the fun of making, so don’t worry/stress yourself out.

“When does the Spooky Sock-A-Thon end?” - The Spooky Sock-A-Thon will run from October 1st - October 31st. I might have an IG Live or Google Meet Up on October 31st or November 1st where we can share our finished socks and celebrate with a beverage or two ;)

Now let’s talk INSPO!!!!!

Here are some socks that I’ve had my eye on and think could be amazing in autumnal/spooky season colors! PLEASE NOTE: Most of the provided links are for patterns on Ravelry. If you don’t use Ravelry for health issues and are interested in a pattern, please just let me know and I can see if the designer offers the pattern elsewhere for you.

KNIT SOCK PATTERNS:

The first knit sock pattern I HAVE to recommend is Summer Lee’s I’m So Basic Socks. These are the socks I completed recently and it’s an EXCELLENT beginner sock pattern. Summer was a Season 7 Knit Star and her workshop on socks was so interesting and helpful to me as a newb. If you’d like to snag Season 7 of Knit Stars at a discounted price, you can use my link HERE (I get commission as a Season 8 Knit Star so if you shop my link, you put money in my pocket!).

Working on the I’m So Basic Socks by Summer Lee. Yarn by The Little Wolf Knits

The next 2 sock patterns are ALSO socks I have knit! I made my husband a pair of Sprocket Socks by Megan Nodecker of Pip and Pin for Christmas 2020 and they were honestly SO COOL to make. That colorwork? All slip stitches!!! I got to use up a bunch of minis and my husband loved the fit. The other sock (notice, sock, not sockS) I made was my FIRST EVER sock back in 2019. I tested the Winterhaven Socks (then called the Poinsettia Socks) by Rachel Raimo of MavenCrafted. I was, and still am, so impressed by work on these socks, but I lost motivation due to making things for the Christmas season and never cast on the second sock! One day I will because the pattern was awesome and this baby deserves its twin!!!

Hubby and I modeling the Sprocket Socks by Pip and Pin (him) and the Winterhaven Socks by MavenCrafted (Me). Yarn from Montana Crochet (Sprocket Socks) and The Little Wolf Knits (Winterhaven Socks)

Ok, so those are all the knit socks I have ever made (LOL) so now let’s move on to socks I just think are rad for inspo:

The Hocus Pocus Socks by the Noble Thread. I have had these in my queue since they came out in 2021. I’ve got my yarn picked out and I’ll be casting these witchy and wonderful thigh highs on for the Thon!

Another pair I’d love to work up for spooky season is the Stevie’s Dream Socks by Wendy Staples of VeryWarmStripes. These socks are SO COOL!!!! I love the colorwork motif and I have been wanting to practice my skills. Plus, a crystal ball and the White Witch? They SCREAM Samhain :) :)

Stevie’s Dream Socks by Very Warm Stripes

I’ve also had this next pair in my queue for quite a while. Not quite socks, more “slipper-esque”, the Nello House Socks by Tif Neilan look so cozy and comfy!!!! Tif Neilan is known for her amazing use of the herringbone stitch and I’d love to learn how to do it. Plus, those little tassles are adorable!!!! These are a must make for me.

Nello House Socks by TifNeilan_HandKnits

Next up, I know I already mentioned Summer Lee before, but she is kinda the sock queen! The Thickmas and Thicksgiving Socks are great if you want to work with thicker yarns and the Thickmas Socks have a great range of sizes that a lot of sock patterns don’t have.

The Just Peachy Pumpkin Sock Set by Stone Knits is a great choice if you want to do some colorwork and aren’t sure yet if you’d like to make summer or fall socks. I LOVE that these socks can be made as cute little pumpkins OR as peaches. I also think they could make adorable orange socks if you’re a Florida citrus lover like me!!!!

If ghosts and Halloween are your thing, check out the adorable Happy Haunts Socks by Valorie Wibbens. Note this is a recipe style pattern and is toe-up.

CROCHET SOCK PATTERNS

Ok! Now let’s look at some crochet socks inspo!

First up is the only pair of crochet socks I’ve ever made, but DAMN ARE THEY HOT!!!! These are the Trillium Stockings by Fides of Azramati. They are made-to-measure and work up pretty damn quickly even for the thigh high length! I love pulling mine out for Halloween and sexy date nights ;)

These next socks are socks I’ll definitely be casting on for the Spooky Sock-A-Thon. Designed by one of beautiful friends, Clarisabeth of CrochetCakes, the Missdirection socks are SO wonderfully witchy!!!! These seem like the perfect socks to wear during Samhain, Halloween, or even for cozy full moon rituals or scary movie marathons!

Missdirection Socks by Clarisabeth of Crochet Cakes

These Candy Corn Socks by Crystalized Designs would be so cute for costumes or even to wear all autumn long! I’m firmly of the stance that candy corn is for decoration and not consumption ;), and these socks are just so sweet!!!

What’s creepier than a pair of spider socks???? Nothing for this arachnophobe!! But even though spiders give me the heebie jeebies, I still think these Creepy Crawly Spider Socks by Briana K Designs are pretty damn cool.

Creepy Crawly Spider Socks by Briana K Designs

Looking to use up those advent minis? How cute are these Janie Socks by Allison Clark of Stitchery & Co?! These look so soft and snuggly for lounging, or I could totally picture them under booties for winter!

I hope those socks are giving you some inspo to cast on to your needles and/or hooks for the Spooky Sock-A-Thon!!!!

The last think I want to leave you with are some helpful tutorial links if you’re new to sock making (like me!!!). Honestly, if you head to google or YouTube and type in: “Sock Making Tutorials” or “Knit/Crochet Socks”, you’re going to get a plethora of information. As I’m incredibly new to crochet sock making, I don’t really have any tutorials or tips, but please let me know if you have a great tutorial or website I should check out!!!!

For knitting, the one technique I really recommend is using Magic Loop! Now, there are many different ways to knit socks. Some people swear by tiny 9” circular needles or even DPNs, but I get crampy hands with those 9” needles and I LOATHE DPNs. So Magic Loop is my jam!!!!

Here’s a great tutorial if you’re new to the Magic Loop method.

Another technique that many knitters swear by (and that I want to learn) is making two-at-a-time socks! No second sock syndrome when you’re making both at the same time!!! Here’s a tutorial I found that I’ll be using in the near future.

Lastly, my beautiful friend Abbi of GoliathFrogCrafts is kind of a sock knitting guru. She has saved in her highlight reel on IG some IG LIVE classes of her making toe up socks. The first video she casts on and works the entire toe/foot, the second video she shows how to knit a German short row heel, and lastly she shows you how to bind off 2 different ways. If you like to knit along with the teacher, these are really awesome!!!!

Alright y’all, that’s all from me on sock making for now. Let me know if you’re planning on joining the Spooky Sock-A-Thon and what socks you’ll be making!!!!

XOXOXO

Chelsea

Spooky Sock-A-Thon and Sock Inspo

Wrap Up for the Spooky SockAThon!

I’m So Basic Socks