To move is to submit to friction. Farmers know that machinery and livestock, gates and gear, tools and appendages scrape, chafe, rub, wipe and peel.
And yet, perhaps the most universal truth of farming friction: if you wear a pair of socks, at least one will fall down. It will bunch over your toes or slide clean off your heel, and regular pauses to fix it will cost you time and patience. But what is the source of the problem, and can anything be done to fix it?
A perusal of Internet blogs, articles, forums and comments reveals a tight-knit community of long-suffering sock wearers. They point to three things as the source for slippage: the footwear, the socks and the feet. Here are some tips to guide your sock pathology.
--Footwear: Ill-fitting shoes and boots can wreak havoc with friction, causing your feet to slide, rub and pull at the sock material. In the comment thread, “I love my boots, but they hate my socks. Help!” on the website MetaFilter, one contributor offered, “I always have this problem if my boots are too big. I’ve solved the problem by wearing thicker, or wearing a second layer, of socks.”
--Socks: If your boots fit just right, investigate the socks themselves. Beware of socks that are too large (creating excess fabric that bunches), too small (forcing the sock to retract to its proper size), or improperly shaped. Fitted socks — socks shaped to the basic curves of the human foot — prevent slippage better than tube socks, which are the same circumference from bottom to top. Some people find success with fitted socks that reach just below the knee, using the bulge of the calf to stay up.
Leanne Forbes, of Canadian company, McGregor Socks, adds that the quality of the sock material is important.
“Quality yarns such as combed cotton, mercerized cotton and merino wool blended with Lycra® or spandex make a difference in durability as well as stretch and shape retention,” Forbes says. “If you buy 20 pairs of socks for $10.00 then you should expect to ‘get what you pay for.’”
Feet: You may spend hours in boot stores, and you may be gifted naught but the finest of fitted socks. Still your socks may slip. Your challenge may be a unique set of feet, which could include the depth and width of your heel, the arch of your foot and the relative length of one foot to the other. For you, a thorough understanding of sock anatomy is in order.
Andrea Rangel, a Victoria-based knitting designer, teacher and author of the books Rugged Knits and Alterknit Stitch Dictionary, stresses the importance of understanding your unique anatomy. She offers tips for hand-knit socks that hold valuable lessons for general sock fit.
First, Rangel says, observe the size of your leg. “(Socks) should be a bit smaller than the calf to help them stay put, but if they’re too small they’ll slouch down to a spot they can stay more easily,” she says.
Equally important is the fit at the foot, which “should be about an inch smaller than your actual foot measured at the ball,” Rangel notes. (The ball is the cushy part of the foot between the toes and arch). She stresses the “one size smaller” principle for both knit and commercially-made socks. Anyone in search of the ideal sock fit should spend some time with a tape measure or, if they’re truly committed, knitting needles.
But Rangel’s tried-and-true method of keeping her own socks up is more method than theory; she wears them over leggings, which increase friction and prevent slippage. Here, we enter the world of gadgets and quick fixes for the time-strapped and impatient. Your options include sock glue applied to the leg, tucking your pant legs into your socks, socks with plastic grips built into the sole, socks with bobbles or padded rims that anchor to the top of your shoe, shoe insoles, socks with a separate compartment for each toe, and — for the dapper among us — sock garters.
So go, ye weary sock tuggers, and save your soles. Please report back with your victories.
— Lily Jackson