Socks a La Carte: Pick and Choose Patterns to Knit Socks Your Way Spiral-bound – 28 Mar. 2009

This seems to be a mismatch between an introduction to sock knitting and an attempt to be something more advanced.The concept is great. It is like a cookery book I used to have where you could combine a starter, main and dessert on one page so all recipes were visible together. However the choice of colour and print of yarn could have been better.Throughout it seems to be a rather extravagant way of promoting a particular sock yarn range, one which only seems to offer variegated prints. The fact that this yarn is used throughout makes the stitch pattern examples and cuff and toe styles difficult to differentiate. For stitch examples a plain yarn should have been used so that you can see them clearly. Most sock knitting books will advise against using variegated or dark yarns with complicated or fancy stitch designs as the detail gets lost, simple designs should be used with variegated yarns as the print alone is often enough to create an interesting sock. No such advice is given here but then that would oppose the promotion of the one brand of yarn the author uses.Instead of being a general book on sock knitting, it reads more like a product focused instruction manual on what you can do with that product. That product being a yarn and not socks!I have been knitting for over 40 years but have only recently found myself venturing into the exciting world of sock knitting and already I found that my usual standard long tail or simple knit cast on techniques were unsuitable for socks, giving them an unyielding cuff with not enough stretch. For this purpose, I learned the Norwegian cast on/German twist cast on and the Italian or invisible tubular cast on. Neither of which are mentioned in this book.In the information chapters there is a whole page devoted to choosing sock yarn. 3/4 of the page is an image of.... Yes you guessed it, the brand of variegated ock yarn being promoted uniquely in the book, together with two small paragraphs at the bottom which.... YES!!! of which 3/4 gives details of the said yarn and only a vague mention of alternatives. There is not even any advice on what to look for in a stock yarn. E.g. Not less than 20% nylon or polyamide for strength, Wool for absorbtion, shape and warmth, cotton or bamboo can lose shape so only choose yarns with low cotton or bamboo content for a sock with good fit. Washability. Although softer yarns such as alpaca might be nice, softer socks are not as hard wearing and cannot be washed as easily. None of this basic advice is given.Basically, it is quite poor in many ways. Not good for newcomers to knitting socks, stitch patterns are hard to determine so you have little idea of how your sock will look until you have started the pattern yourself and despite it claiming to offer 1000s of possibilities, the stitch patterns are rather uninspiring.Overall a big disappointment. I found the following books had much better general advice, better overview of techniques and luscious patterns from basic to advanced and fancy :Sock InnovationSocks, Socks, SocksFavourite SocksSocks for all SeasonsSockupied

I have been struggling with this book for a number of reasons.I loved the idea of the pick'n'mix "recipes" aspect of creating my own sock combination, especially as the spiral binding and elastic page-holder seemed ideal for the job. However, lay the book flat - and the pages simply slip out from under the elastic, because it is positioned too close to the edge of the book.My solution - mark the combination of designs with 3 different coloured post-its, which will stick out far enough for the elastic to trap them properly. Then mark the pages with the relevant instructions with matching coloured post-its. Not pretty, but it works, and makes hunting around for the instructions much easier.Editing is also poor. One example is the incorrect labelling of some of the socks in the gallery at the back. This should really have been spotted and rectified before print.Another more important mistake is on the origami heel pattern, formed from short rows. How can you work on a basic heel of 32 stitches, decreasing one stitch at the end of each short row - and still end up with 32 stitches? Clearly there are some instructions missing, presumably for a wrapped stitch or one picked up along the way.And I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewer who commented on the choice of yarn used to illustrate all the sock patterns. Despite the gallery at the back, which clearly shows a number of socks knitted up with most, if not all, possible combinations, the same dark red and black-flecked yarn has been used throughout the instructions themselves. Any sock designer or knitter with a modicum of experience will know that bright, block colours work best for stitch definition when you're trying to show off lace, cable, well any kind of stitch pattern, but especially in print.Truly disappointed; I suggest that the patterns are read and corrected before anyone tries to knit them.

I love the idea of a flip book for socks. It works really successfully. You can come up with something unique by choosing different toes, heels, patterns for the foot and leg, etc. This is a really popular book among sock knitters. There was just something a little garish about the examples and images that slightly put me off, but bear in mind that your sock can be knitted in any yarn you want. Sometimes I find it hard to "see past" what's in front of me. In the end, I'm not sure I found out anything truly enlightening that I didn't already know about sock knitting. But I think this would be a great choice for those who are newer to the subject, and it's certainly all about fun and experimentation!

I bought this as a gift for my partner who is obsessed with knitting socks abs he absolutely loved it. It looks a lot of fun and was a quirky unusual gift for knitters.

Omg this book is amazing. I've always stuck to the same basic sock pattern, always wanted to do different ones and have spent hours browsing the Internet and never find the right ones. This book gives three different flip pages of cuff, middle and foot so you can custom your pattern. There's clear instructions and extra info on different yarn weights etc. Brilliant book and very well recommended.

Great for enthusiastic sock knitters who like to experiment with different patterns. Would recommend

Be a little different with your footwear! This simple to use flip book gives options for different patterns of sock parts: cuff, leg and body. Read the instructions first to ensure a good fit of sock, and have the option of using four needles or twin/wire needles. Encouraged to design your own socks, you will find the instructions are to the point and clear to follow. Bring back socks!

This is one of the best books I have seen on the subject of knitting your own kind of socks. There seem to be several years' worth of knitting know-how, that will be useful for the beginner and for those more expert in the art of knitting the sock.