Help me with the RULES FOR SOCKS

[mysticmountainsmama]

Hi All. I've been looking all winter for SOCKS to dye, of all things! But I can dye them in a snap, assembly line style and they sell like hotcakes being a low cost item. Last year I had 40 pairs that I bought a a liquiation place that were PERFECT. They dyed so nice, they were thin summer socks and cheap too ($5 for  4pair)  I just bought 3 different types to try out (in sizes that my family can use if not...) and when I dyed them I could see the dye not absorbing into some of the knit of the sock. They are the type with 'terry cloth' in the bottom but they are atleast 80% cotton. I don't think they will work out, i have avoided this type and been able to find 'smooth cotton' socks for kids and babies at walmart for $1 per pair but none for adults unless they are 'diabetic socks' $8 a pair! There are some Buster Brown socks at www.shopnational.com, 100% cotton, but they don't sell to Canada!! Or I would have tried them and gotten a few dozen pair if they were good...target.com has 80 cotton/20 spandex for kids and up to 9-11 (is that a ladies size?) for a good price, are these the right ones?? Of coarse there is Dharma but they are expensive...
What are the rules for socks :??If I knew I could choose better!
1. Over 80% cotton but is nylon , polyester, elastic, spandex OK? in what quantities?? What are the contents of the socks that YOU use?
2.Not the cushioned 'sports' type
3. Not over $2 US per pair (my rule I don't want to charge more than $6-8 for socks!)
What else? I'd love to stop running around looking and buy 5 dozen ladies socks and get to dying them!
Thanks

[ktaltre]

How do you tie/dye your socks?

80% cotton socks should dye just fine - I wash everything in synthrapol first, before dyeing.

Here's a few sites for socks:

Zappos has a gazillion socks:
http://www.zappos.com/n/br/bq/1202.html

I just looked on ebay; jeesh, they're selling used socks!!!?

Here's an interesting sock site; the socks are 80% cotton, and a good price too, but I can't really see them - I think they are crew type:
http://www.blackandwhitesocks.com/index.php

And lastly (I'm done for the night), Hanes site:
http://www.onehanesplace.com/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/Storefront.d2w/report

Socked out - k. taltre

[pburch]

Which brands of socks, specifically, have you found to be satisfactory? Which sources of socks have worked out the best for you in practice?

I found some mercerized cotton socks to be unacceptable to my family because they were too small in diameter, which made them too small to put on easily and too tight to wear comfortably, although the individuals involved did not have fat or wide feet. I don't even want to mention where I got them, because the problem may very well have been fixed by now, since I last tried them years ago. Mercerized is normally my favorite kind of cotton, because it dyes so much more brilliantly than unmercerized cotton.

Another sock I did not entirely like was an organic cotton blend that unfortunately had its synthetic fibers right on the surface, giving a heathered look to the foot region of the sock. I much prefer socks whose spandex fibers are completely covered with cotton, so that they dye brightly. There's nothing wrong with 20% synthetic/80% cotton socks, if the cotton covers the synthetic, but I don't like it as much when the undyeable fibers show. The socks are very comfortable, but the results just do not look quite as good. They're not bad, though.

My very favorite dyeable cotton socks came from Maggie's Organics. They are very comfortable and look very good when dyed. They also sell hemp socks which dye nicely and are comfortable, though not quite as soft as cotton. Unfortunately, Maggie's Organics socks are extremely pricey.

I do not like to tie-dye socks. I much prefer to lay them out flat on top of my grid table and directly apply the unthickened dye, with no ties to impede the flow of the dye. Here's a link to my  2003 page about dyeing socks.

Paula