Five affordable sock yarns

There has been a huge trend in recent years for expensive, upscale, boutique, hand-dyed sock yarns. And don't get me wrong: I LOVE those yarns. I have bought many of them over the years myself. There is nothing like falling in love with a particularly beautiful skein of sock yarn, or knitting a gorgeous pair of socks with a luxury sock yarn.

But sometimes you just want something cheap, sturdy, and reasonably attractive. After all, socks go on your FEET, right? Here are my recommendations from years of knitting socks, as someone who has been knitting and wearing hand-knit socks daily for the last five years.

Image courtesy Flickr/zeegeezer

1. Red Heart "Heart & Sole"
This line of sock yarn completely surprised me. I mean, it's Red Heart! Gross, right? But I have to tell you, their sock yarn is fantastic. It knits up soft, and wears well. (This is one of those yarns that contains aloe, which frankly is kind of a dumb thing and just a marketing gimmick. Don't hold that against it.)

On the down side, the line of colors is limited, and doesn't seem to include any solid colors.

Price: I buy it at the crafts section in Fred Meyer where it is usually priced $5/skein (two skeins needed to complete a pair) but goes on sale for as low as $2.50/skein.

Image courtesy Flickr/TheKarenD

2. Regia
Regia is a German company, which means that the prices seem to fluctuate based on the strength of the Euro (and the desirability of the specific sock yarn line). Some of the premium Regia lines can be expensive, particularly when they are first released. They occasionally go on to become collectibles, with the high prices to match.

Price: If you hunt around and you're willing to wait for a sale, you can often find Regia for around $6-$8 per skein (one skein per pair of socks).

Image courtesy Flickr/MaryEllenCG

3. Opal
Regia and Opal are both German companies which compete in the American market. Opal seems to have better distribution, which makes it a little bit easier to find. As with Regia, Opal tends to sell out specific colors or lines when they are popular. But again, if you're more flexible when it comes to choosing your color, you can easily find a lot of great Opal sock yarn options both online and at your local yarn store.

In my experience, Opal and Regia yarns are almost interchangeable. Opal tends to be a little bit more dry and crunchy in the hand, but once it's been knit and washed, it's just as nice to wear. Both sock yarns are equally hard-wearing, and come in a dizzying variety of colorways.

Price: Opal sock yarn also varies widely in price. I paid almost $20/skein for their exclusive Hundertwasser line, but most skeins of Opal sock yarn will run you between $10-$15 per skein (1 skein per pair of socks).

Image courtesy Flickr/girlwparasol

4. Knit Picks Felici
Knit Picks is a great source for affordable yarns. Although I don't tend to order from them very often these days, because as a Washington knitter I get hit with a double whammy: their free shipping (from Ohio) takes ages to reach me, but since the company is headquartered in Washington, I have to pay sales tax.

I have tried many of their sock yarns, but Felici has been my favorite so far. It is surprisingly soft for such a hard-wearing sock yarn, and it manages to be soft without being fuzzy. (Fuzzy sock yarn makes my toes itch.) It also comes in a huge array of colors.

Price: $5.50/skein (2 skeins per pair of socks).

Image courtesy Flickr/quietjaneeyre

5. Patons Kroy
This sock yarn is often available at the big box craft stores, although typically only in a limited number of color choices. In the field of thicker socks (as you might wear in hiking boots), this is one of my favorites. It compares well to Trekking XXL sock yarn, at about a third the cost. It can sometimes be a little bit too fuzzy and make my toes itch, but it's a nice thick sock for winter weather.

Price: $5-$6 per skein (2 skeins per pair of socks). Buy them at Joann's or Michaels with a coupon that knocks the price down by 40 percent for one skein. Since this is a dye lot yarn, you will probably want to buy both skeins at the same time in order to match dye lots.

Main image courtesy Flickr/knitting iris