Niqkita's Sock Journal

EG Smith is one of our original suppliers and still among my personal favorites…
so when I was told Eric was creating a “green line” I was ecstatic. I thought it would just be a handful of environmentally friendly styles like our beloved Two Brothers Organics. Instead it is 40+ items! So I’ve been ordering them in small batches to get us started, beginning with the ones I found most appealing…

These Slinky Knees were most certainly the first one I wanted to try…

But first, just what was recycled and where did it come from?
I asked our rep Frank and he spoke with the resident yarn expert for the company in charge of EG Smith and it turns out that our recycled yarns are actually regenerated yarns. The mill takes the scraps from cotton jersey manufacturers such as HANES, and breaks them down, reweaves them and produces new product, it is recycling waste, but it comes from products never worn and cleans up the end result of “scraps” which in the old days would have made the rag bag or the dump. Also on the information highway, the uncertified cotton they are using as blends in the ECO socks comes from Poland and China and is reported to be Organic (they are working on Certification), which gives us an even better Green Product. They are also starting to blend in ECOFIL yarns (plastic water bottles recycled into polyester fill yarns). So they are recycled, regenerated, and still PURE enough to satisfy even the most ardent organic mavens.
So there you have it, the official explanation of the origins of our lovely new socks. More of these will be added this week, and over the coming weeks and months…
They are all pretty awesome!

If you’re looking for a warm wool sock to keep your feet and legs warm this winter, get the Lambswool Turncuff OTK. These are a thick knit sock, reminiscent of old socks that your granny would knit by hand for you. At first they are a bit itchy and tight to get on, just as their page mentions, and they weren’t quite long enough for me to turn a cuff down. I don’t usually pull my socks up very tight, but in writing this review I realized they should be able to have a cuff turned over, so I tried to pull them up much higher and what a nice surprise! I got at least an extra 2-3 inches in height. Which I promtly turned into a cuff. Once I pulled them tight they easily came over 4 inches above my knee. I guess the fibers needed to *warm up* to become more agreeable. Amazing what happens when you pull your socks up isn’t it? ;)

Made from 72% wool and 28% nylon, I was a little worried about itchiness before I got them on. For testing I put one sock over a nylon to try and reduce the itch, while the other sock was worn on bare skin. The one on bare skin *warmed up* better and I was able to pull it higher than the other sock. Interestingly, the sock on bare skin stopped itching completely so the nylon under the other sock became unnecessary. In fact, it became uncomfortable as the toes on that foot got colder. Wool has the amazing ability to retain body heat. So, hey, let’s learn some about wool shall we? :)

edited from wikipedia.org:

Fibers with a fine crimp have many bends and usually have a small diameter. The number of bends per unit length along the wool fiber approximately indicates spinning capacity of the wool.

Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have a greater bulk than other textiles and retain air, which causes the product to retain heat. The amount of crimp corresponds to the thickness of the wool fibers. A fine wool like merino may have up to a hundred crimps per inch, while the coarser wools like karakul (a corser wool used mainly in Asia for rugs) may have as few as one to two crimps per inch. Wool possesses much greater ability to return to its natural length after being stretched than any artificial fiber.

~In water or steam, wool can stretch to about twice its length without breaking.
~It is difficult to ignite and has low flame spread and heat release properties. (A woollen rug has protected a horse from severe burns when his trailer caught on fire.)
~Wool has the power to readily absorb and give off moisture. It can for instance, absorb moisture up to one-third of its own weight. Synthetic fibers can only absorb 2-3 per cent of moisture before they begin to feel wet.
~Wool absorbs sound and reduces noise level considerably making it an ideal material to use in such places as concert halls to attain the best acoustics possible.
~The retention of moisture within the fabric prevents a build-up of static electricity.
~The tensile strength of wool gives it a very high resistance to flexing stresses. This feature enables wool to pass through severe processing without undue waste, and allows the manufacture of a durable fabric.
~Wool does not conduct heat, but acts as insulator to keep the body at an even temperature.
~Wool and sheep have not undergone any genetic modification. (Except Dolly the cloned sheep)
~Wool is generally a creamy white color, although some breeds of sheep produce natural colors such as black, brown, silver and random mixes.

So, wool is the perfect fiber for warm winter socks! I think the Lambswool Turncuff OTK are a fabulous sock! They’re long, beautifull and comfy cozy. I can see both men and women enjoying these socks. The marling is just gorgeous & the black has alot of blue in it. It’s quite beautifull. The feet fit my 6.5 feet just a touch loosely in the toes, so I’m thinking they’d fit a size 7-8ish perfectly. There’s big thick ribbing all the way down to the toes, yet the soles of the feet are a smooth knit, so you’re not walking on ribbing. Which can hurt after awhile.

After a washing they got even softer and more dreamy. But beware: because they are wool, heat and movement while wet will make these shrink up, so best to let them soak & dry flat. But they should also work well with wet stretching if any of you need to do that. These also stay up well too. They’re made by Hot Sox and come in 3 colours. At $17.00 a pair, it’s a wonderfull winter sock.

I was walking around the warehouse last week taking the pictures for why the building isn’t green. And there she sat, outside the side door on her lunch-break, wearing these super cute shoes, she adorned them with lace herself, and one of the buttons was knocked off when she as hit by a car recently (don’t worry, she is fine, thankfully!). Laura is one of many fun sock lovers working among us here at Sock Dreams and I was happy to see her back at work, and wearing one of my favorites. But are they other people’s favorites? it seems some people do not like them and find them too thin, or think they fall down too easily. And since we are currently out we wondered, should we get them back? I think so, I really like mine, maybe we just need to describe them better? It will be so nice when the day comes that we can have customer comments & feedback right there with the items in a special section (that time is coming!) I know we really do have more on their way this time…
but what if we really did discontinue them?
…would you miss them?

Yes, our 1000th item has been added!
now, not all of the 1000 being counted are still active, but many are.
In fact, because I added these a few weeks ago (just didn’t have pictures ready) and have added quite a few since we are actually up over 1034 right now.
And that does not account for size and color options…
which brings our choices for you to well over 1000!!!
At $11.00 these little cammies are a pretty cool deal. They come in four choices that stay up for just about anything. But true to most woven patterned socks, these are going to be snug, even on thin legs, bearable for me, but large legs beware! We’ve got a few other new Super Kawaii choices too. And more B.ellas coming, with new Hot Sox and MPs not too far behind!!!

You might’ve noticed that we’ve added a bunch of new socks from Sock It To Me in the past week, including the new SITM men’s socks. We now have nearly everything she offers except some of the patterns which we’re sure to bring in this winter to help brighten those long dreary days we’ll be having. Everyone who was here on picture day last week was more than happy to get a new pair to try (and for many, including the Great Amanda above, it was not their first pair). So how do we really feel about Sock It To Me? Here’s some of the buzz around Sock Dreams about them:
“Some of the cutest/funkiest socks around”
“One of the consistently most satisfying socks”
“The super heroes fit perfect, but the Maroon tri-stripe are kinda snug”
“Super fun and super cute”
“Really stretchy, comfy on little feet and they stay up forever”
“One of my favorites”
“Vivid, perfect knee highs that don’t shrink down to half size in the dryer”

Some days I just like a simple cotton sock between me and my fav boots and while Sock Dreams has no shortage of comfy cotton socks to choose from, one of my current fav’s is the Organic Nuby. Short & to the point these little socks are made here in the US with US grown organic cotton that is soft, nicely padded around the feet and just enough spandex in the tops to stay up without digging in. The capris are from Via Spiga and just happen to be the comfiest and prettiest lacy capris I’ve ever had. The fit around the tummy was most excellent, didn’t dig in to my squishy parts (yes, we all have them) and stayed down below my knees with their nice flat/wide cuffs that barely leave a mark when removed. I’ve been so impressed by the Via Spigas that I plan to bring in more of their styles this fall/winter. Til then, if you fit into their small/medium or medium/large range I highly recommend these!

(little miss Lola assessing my set up before I started taking pictures)

Before we add more socks there are a few new tights…
These are Via Spiga’s Maxi Rib semi sheer tights.
No denier listing on the label, maybe about 25? …tattoos are going to show, scars most likely too, bruises and freckles not so much. The ribs go all the way to the tippy tips of the toes, but the panty area is brief style (no cotton liner either). This is our first Via Spiga item, I also have a cute lacy capri to test this week from them (because it is *finally* almost lacy capri season). No fancy smell with these, just fancy legs.
…plus, they’re made in the USA.

These Vertical Tights are a really sexy pair of tights. Everytime I open one of their packages, “The LeVante Scent” fills my nose. I can’t decide if I like it or not, or even if it is perfume or the smell of the fabric, so I tend to sniff them alot trying to make up my mind what that smell is all about. I imagine their factory must be thick with this scent and their workers mildly delirious from the smell & making such fabulous stockings all the time. After a washing the perfume is gone, so I’m thinking it’s just a selling point. If you are sensitive to scents you will want to wash these before wearing.

The panty area is “tanga style” instead of the brief/boy short style like most American pantyhose are. Which pleases me greatly as I never found the brief style to have an advantage unless I got the super-duper control top turniquets. So this tanga style ads to the sexiness. I used to like pantyhose, but the square boxy brief has always been so unattractive that I gave up on pantyhose and switched over to tights. But these are really sexy and are winning me back. If you never thought of pantyhose as sexy, I bet it’s because you haven’t worn tanga style before.

I’m sorry I’m too modest to show a pic of the tanga panty. So, here’s a close up of the stripe detail instead. It’s a nice little pattern, and every few lines, the rest are a normal kind of stripe.

Wikipedia says

“The sheerness of the garment, expressed as a numerical ‘denier’/'dtex’, ranges from 3 (extremely rare, very thin, barely visible) to 15 (standard sheer) up to 30 (semi opaque) until 70 (opaque).”

These are 20 denier.
Which is pretty sheer and will clearly show all tattoos & booboos.

The vertical stripes are very flattering. They make your legs look longer and slimmer. I’m 5′3″ & I got size 2 which fit me fine. These are the glace colour which is your standard nude pantyhose colour. Tube style feet like most hosiery. And these will probably run if you’re rough on your hosiery. They are very sexy and one style I want all the colours of. I really love the Verticale Tights.

Ever had a pair of socks you wanted so bad, but kept telling yourself you’d get them soon when you had more money? I’ve been wanting these since I first saw them last year. I’ve been telling myself I’d add them to my next order ever since. Well, I finally did it and really should have much sooner. They fit so well and look so pretty! They are very stretchy, no saggy bits on the thinner curves, no winding around your feet inside the shoes. You could wear them with nearly anything and they’d make a super texturizing layer over a pair of something else. The mesh is finer at the toes and my toes never felt smooshed in them. I was able to pull them over my knees, but I think they are better off as knee highs, though they should be knee high even on legs longer & larger than mine. We’ve got three patterns (1, 2, 3) in black & ivory and are selling them for only $8 a pair, I think they are a good value and an excellent addition to warmer weather leggy attire!

I’m not a dot lover. But it can’t always be about me and what I like can it?
So when Simone showed me these

my heart thumped for those of you who do love the dots.
Much to my surprise, when they arrived I actually liked them. Now for the bad part…


When stretched beyond 16.5 inches around the dots distort noticeably revealing what appear to be holes and loose threads. This is a pretty common thing for socks with patterns (the fuzzier the yarn the less noticeable this & many other sock flaws are).
I was able to rearrange the dots by running my hands over them a bit to make them rounder, it lessened the gap between the red & black. As long as you turn these inside out and wash them gently the threads should not unravel. This is all less noticeable on the black with white dots. The top few inches do not have spots and can be left up or folded down, they’ll stay up pretty well either way. They’ll be just over the knees on longer/larger legs and nearly thigh high on shorter thinner legs. The feet, like most Cronert feet, fit great. If you’re an 8.5/9 I’d go for the smaller size; 9.5 and up go for the larger sized.
The truth is that I love these!!!