A scrappy sock is one of my most favourite things to knit.
A handknit sock is small and doable and when knitted plain its mostly round and round knitting with not much thought. They are also very practical.
Knitted in a self patterning or hand dyed yarn, the process is interesting and can be exciting as you see the colours come together - sometimes unexpectedly.
Scrappy socks take this colour excitement to another level - whether you semi-plan how you will use your small balls of yarn or if you blindly choose a ball to add to your sock.
I was inspired to knit my latest scrappy sock whilst preparing for a new batch of Mini Ball Bag kits. A sock 'recipe' is one of the projects included as inspiration in the Ball Bag kit.
For this one I used 6 different Opal mini balls (I’m a 6.5 shoe size).
I halved them (so I’d get a pair of socks that looked alike and had lots of patterns in one sock) and then I knitted each ball in turn.
I used a basic sock pattern. My current favourite My Favourite Vanilla by Meaghan Schmaltz. There is also a different free pattern available in the shop.
I must have knitted the leg a bit longer than usual on these as I nearly ran out at the toe!
I think these look a bit un-scrappy as 5 of the mini balls have a black fake fair isle print, so it looks like they were meant to go together.
This scrappy sock (made following the same idea) looks a lot more mismatched.
If you want to do something similar and you have a pair of handknit socks already, weigh them and then collect together the same weight (plus a wee bit extra) in sock yarn scraps.
OR you can buy some Opal 4ply mini balls (they come in 10g balls).
OR try our Mini Ball Bag kit which has 20 mini balls of Opal 4ply sock (enough for several pairs!) You can read more about this kit here
You can use this kit to knit scrappy mismatched socks or accessories or even baby jumpers and cardigans (200g of yarn will be plenty of two small baby items).
shades used in these projects may not be in the Mini Ball Bag yarn kit
You can also use the bag as a countdown to a special day. Or as motivation to get you through your gift knitting list. Or as a palate cleanser during a large never ending project. Or just because it's cute mini balls and lots of fun.
Each project bag is handmade and is filled with 20 mini balls. Each is unique and non repeatable.
You can dip your hand into the bag each day to pull out a surprise mini ball of yarn. Pick a project and knit each ball daily - creating unique and surprising colour combos.
Or you can empty out the bag and choose specific colours for a project... using similar shades, or clashing colours or even try and find a gradient effect.
It's suitable for beginners, although it does not teach you how to knit. It is great fun. But if you like things to match and you don't like random, it might not be for you.
You can see our current selection of bags here... the yarn is a surprise!
