What Is a Sock Blank?

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Sock blanks are showing up at yarn stores and fiber festivals everywhere! These pieces of pre-knit fabric give hand-dyers a new way to create exciting effects with color. But your first encounter with a sock blank might leave you feeling a little lost.

Above: Sock Yarn Blank from SweetGeorgia Yarns in Spring Fling

In this article, we’ll look at two different types of sock blank. We’ll see what, if any, preparation is needed before knitting from one. Finally, we’ll suggest some projects that will make the most of your sock blanks.

A sock blank is a piece of machine knit fabric, usually made with sock yarn. They can be dyed or un-dyed, can be knit as a flat piece of fabric or as a tube, and can be made with a single strand of yarn or double stranded.

Above on the left is SweetGeorgia Yarns’ Sock Yarn Blank. It is knit as a tube with a single strand of their Tough Love Sock yarn, then dyed by hand.

On the right is Hawthorne Fingering Weight Sock Dye Blank from Knit Picks. It is knit as a flat piece of fabric with two strands of Hawthorne fingering weight yarn held together and is left un-dyed.

Sock blanks allow hand dyers to create long, slow blends of gradient color and playful striping effects. With a double stranded sock blank, two strands of yarn are dyed identically. This means you can make a pair of socks with an interesting dye pattern and have them match!

How to Use a Sock Blank

You’ll need to unravel the sock blank in order to knit or crochet with the yarn. Find the yarn tail at the end. There may be a knot securing the tail, which you’ll need to untie. Once the tail is free, simply pull!

Sock blank end — The tail on this blank is secured with a knot, which is easily unpicked.

Unraveling a sock blank — Once the knot is gone, just pull to unravel.

Keep in mind that fabric knitted flat (not in the round) only unravels easily from the bound-off end, not from the cast-on end. If your yarn is getting hung up at the end of the rows when you unravel, try unraveling from the other end of the blank.

To Wind, or Not to Wind?

When working with a single-strand sock blank, there is usually no need to wind the yarn into a ball. You can knit or crochet directly from the blank. Yes, the yarn will be kinky, but you’ll quickly get used to it.

Knitting from a sock blank — From sock blank to sock in progress

What if you want to start your project with the color at the other end of your sock blank? Then you’ll need to wind your yarn into a ball. While I’m a fan of center-pull balls wound by hand, they are not the best choice when working with a sock blank. Those kinky strands of yarn tend to tangle together in the middle of the ball.

To tame those strands, wind your ball of yarn around a core. I use the cardboard tube from the center of a roll of toilet tissue. Don’t wind with a lot of tension; you don’t want to stretch the yarn, and you’re not going to iron out the kinks.

Winding yarn from a sock blank — Winding on to a toilet tissue tube.

When you’ve wound the entire sock blank, leave the core in place and work from the outside of the ball.

Double-Strand Sock Blanks

I can think of only two occasions where it would be practical to work directly from a double stranded sock blank: 1) if you’re working with two strands held together, or 2) if you’re knitting socks two at a time. Otherwise, you’ll need to wind your yarn into 2 separate balls.

Winding yarn from a doubled sock blank — Wind a double stranded sock blank into two separate balls of yarn.

Use a separate core for each ball. Unravel some yarn (two or three rows of your blank) and wind one strand onto a core. Set that one aside and wind the other strand onto the second core. Set down the second ball, unravel some yarn, and wind the two separate balls again. Don’t unravel too much yarn at once or you’ll find yourself with a tangle.

What to Make

Ready to begin your own project? Here are some suggestions.

Obviously, socks. Choose a simple knit or crochet sock pattern that will showcase the dying.
Many shawl designs would be wonderful showcases. Try the Summer Breeze Shawl by Sharon Ballsmith in crochet, or the Pack-Me-Up Shawl by Laura Reinback for knitters. Both designs are worked from the center top outward and would look great in a slowly changing gradient colorway.
It would be a fun kid’s project to dye a double stranded sock blank. Use non-toxic food coloring or powdered drink mix and let them create their own custom colorways. Once the sock blanks have dried, unravel the yarn and teach them to knit or crochet.

Expand your yarn options by trying a sock blank. Whether you dye your own or purchase a beautifully hand-dyed blank, you’re sure to have a great time.

What Questions do YOU Have?

Send your questions to knitting[@]goldenpeakmedia.com or crochet[@]goldenpeakmedia.com and put Ask The Expert in the subject line. You just might see the answer in an upcoming newsletter!

Sandi Rosner
Technical Content Editor, Yarn