The Joy of Socks When winter hits, crochet your own socks and stay warm all season long

Guess what? Crochet is not just for lacy doilies, pillowslip edgings and afghans. It’s for socks.

The authors of “Crocheted Socks” have done good things in their book – their sock designs are so lively I want to make several pairs to wear with my Birkenstocks, or see-through shoes if I had a pair, and the patterns are easy to follow if you have had previous crochet experience.

Each pattern is divided into headings – cuff, leg, heel, heel turn, gusset, foot, toe – and under each heading are the specific directions for each of the sock parts. You finish one section and move on to the next.

The yarns the authors have chosen range from wool to cotton to viscose, or blends of wool and nylon, such as Wildfoote and Regia. Companies that supplied yarn for their designs include Brown Sheep, Cascade Yarns, Lion Brand Yarns and Skacel Collection Inc.

Just for fun, as I browsed “Crocheted Socks,” I tried my hand at crocheting a pair of socks and found the directions easy to follow. But I had a terrible time keeping my stitches loose enough to make the slipstitch ribbing for the cuff. Obviously I needed to use a large hook. But I liked what the cuff looked like. It had more elasticity than I had expected. Crochet items are generally lacking in stretchiness.

But some patterns in the book have a rolled cuff and others have lacy cuffs, so perhaps I should have begun with those. One pair of socks in the book was done in bright red yarn, with a fluffy cuff of eyelash yarn – just the thing for Christmas Eve.

“Crocheted Socks” contains 16 detailed patterns illustrated with lots of photographs large enough to give the reader a realistic idea of what the finished sock will look like.

The book also includes information about making custom-fitted socks, pattern sizing, a glossary of special crochet stitches and a chart of crochet abbreviations, which makes pattern reading user friendly.

Author Janet Rehfeldt, who lives in Wisconsin, is the owner of Knitted Threads Designs. Her Web site, www.knittedthreads.com, offers information, tips, techniques and patterns for those who crochet and knit. Mary Jane Wood teaches workshops at the annual Chain Link conferences sponsored by the Crochet Guild of America. To learn more about the guild, visit www.crochet.org. “Crocheted Socks” costs $18.67 and is available from Martingale & Company, 20205 144th Ave. NE, Woodinville, WA. 98072-8478. Call 1-800-426-3126 or visit www.martingale-pub.com.