Maybe you haven’t given much thought to what goes between your soles and your shoes, beyond which designs sing your songs and get your groove going. So today we’re going to take a look at the nitty-gritty behind what makes Sock It To Me Socks so unique. We’ve enlisted our super sock engineers to help us out and give us the deets; Alicia and Britt are our design team and they know all about what goes into making a seriously stellar sock.
Combed cotton, our preferred material for our core line of cotton socks, is a powerhouse textile. Fine “combs” align all of the fibers in the correct direction as the yarn is spun on cones. This makes combed cotton stronger, softer, and cleaner, without any nasty fuzz or pilling on the side with the designs.
These combed cotton fibers are long, which avoids distortion of our designs. The breathability and softness are an extra perk, too. You don’t have to worry about itchy, sweaty socks. Yuck! While we’re talking about things that are gross, there are no harmful chemicals in our cotton. They’re OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.
Sock It To Me’s pattern yarns are made of polyester. This material is wrapped around an elastane core, which is stretchy like melted mozzarella, or spandex, if you prefer. The polyester is knit as a backside, and it gives the entire thing support.
Think of our polyester yarn as the skeleton of our socks. It makes them stay up - no slouching! - and they’re super stretchy to conform to your calves, ankles, whatever. There’s no sliding around in your shoes, and your socks will keep their shape. This flexible fiber is the perfect partner to our combed cotton exterior. It’s a pair of materials that’s a match made in heaven.
The knit face of our socks keeps the designs from cracking and peeling. Unlike old tee-shirts (or other brands of socks,) our designs will stay put no matter how many times you wear them. Their fabric stretches with the foot instead of just over the foot, and the fact that they’re knitted means they are super-duper stretchy. A 2-ply reinforced heel and toe will avoid tears or holes, and our amazing art will keep your style on point.
Meet Our Athletic Ribbed Crew Socks, A Total Slam-Dunk You might know about our wide-calf stretchy socks, our turn cuff socks, or even our LUXE fancy-pants socks, but we also have a new launch of Athletic Ribbed Crews. Our Athletic Ribbed Crews utilize aerosilver polyester yarns, which means that the polyester is ion-bonded with silver like some sort of superhero. This makes it awesomely moisture-wicking and odor preventing. Infusing silver into fabrics lends antimicrobial properties that go along with making it perfect for UV protection, and it’s quick drying to boot.
Slipper Socks, You’ll Only Fall for Them
Our slipper socks and toddler socks have grippers! You’ll be stuck on them.
If you’re still working from home, or just looking to turn up your relaxation game, these socks are for you. The grippers on the sole give you plenty of stability, preventing slips and falls as you move about.
If you or a loved one is heading to the hospital, these are a great gift; they’ll keep you warm while the silicone grippers will keep your feet on the ground, all while being BPS free and Prop 65 Compliant.
Britt, one key member of our design squad, knows all about this, as she needed our slipper socks during her recent stint in the hospital following surgery. Don’t worry, she’s a-ok! Thanks in part to not taking a tumble in some slidy, slick-bottomed non-gripper socks. Silicone to the rescue!
The STRETCH-IT Story
We noticed that our customers kept requesting wide calf knee-highs. The funky patterns on our knee-high socks meant that sometimes they fit snugly, which wasn’t accommodating larger calf sizes. As our design team says, “The product needed to be more inclusive, so we evolved it!’
After speaking to our factories, some of whom we’ve been working with as far back as 2006 and 2010, we learned that there was no existing sock machine able to fulfill this requirement. The machine required literally did not exist, period.
Did this stop us? Nope.
We worked with the factory and the company who engineers and makes commercial sock machines. In the end, the engineers took a part from one machine and added it to another type of machine. Like Voltron, this super machine made material magic happen.
Back at the sock lab, we conducted fittings and wear testing on a variety of calf sizes to make sure the new socks would work for our customers. Then we identified the new size chart for various foot and calf sizes.
At first, these STRETCH-IT socks weren’t stretchy enough, so we went back to work. We tweaked the process with the new machines until we were able to provide the perfect blend of stretch and swag for the wider-calf models. We love being able to provide and adapt on the fly.
No Small Feat for All Feet, Including Small Feet! When it comes to our designs, we’re always hoping to cater to people’s interests. Whether it’s a goofy gift or a conversation starter, we hope our socks offer something for everyone that’s not just high-style, but also high-quality. Express yourself from your feet up! Check out our catalog of products and designs and see which really make you smile.
