Sock-wise, all you need is a Crafty Bundle or a (clean!) old sock that lost its mate or got holey in the toes. We like styles that are little longer, especially if you want to make this a sewing-free project. If your sock is open on both ends, make a knot in one end, so you have a closed tube. If you want, you could also sew that end shut.

 For filler, there are a lot of great options: uncooked rice, feed corn, buckwheat hulls, barley, oatmeal, beans! Rice and barley are the most common options. Keep in mind that their grainy smell increases when you heat up the pack, so if you prefer a less hot-cereal scent you might like to add dried herbs and flowers like lavender and rose petals or mint and rosemary. If you decide to add a scent, mix it in with the filler and let them hang out together in a closed container for a while, so the smell gets nicely infused and distributed.

Now, all you’ve got to do is fill the sock with the filler! You want to aim for half to three-quarters full, this leaves enough room for the filler to scootch around and drape comfortably. Sticking the sock in a large glass and cuffing it over the top makes the filling process easier. A funnel is useful too, but so is a heavy piece of paper folded in half to make a sort of slide. Whee!

The second and last (!) thing to do is close it up! Again, a knot works just fine, but you can sew it if you want. Cut off any excess sock.

To heat your pack up, microwave for a minute or two and keep an eye on it for safety’s sake. You might also want to stick a small glass of water in the microwave with the pack while you heat it, the moisture helps heat sink into your muscles and helps ensure nothing catches on fire.

All ready to relax! But, what do you do if you don’t have the leisure to sit still and let the pack do its work? Here’s where a long sock comes in handy. Slip your pack into a long sock and let it fall to about the middle. Then use that long fabric to tie the pack in place! This works particularly well for lower back stuff (tie it like a belt) and shoulders (tie like a sash).

Now you can relax on the go, all thanks to this quickie craft (and socks!).

Nylon styles can be thin and anybody who regularly wears classic stockings has experienced a ruining snag. With socks you can darn holes or cut ‘em to make arm warmers, or use them as the base of fun crafts. There’s a lot more material involved in a sock than there is in a stocking. Sure, thicker and opaque styles you can turn into arm warmers (like at the end of this DIY post), but what about those classically styled, sheer “nylons”? Dreamer Zaf gave some good tips for dealing with holes recently on the Tumblr, but what about when there’s just no saving them?

Well, conveniently I collect household hint books, and even more conveniently, I’ve got one from the 1960s (reprinted in the 1970s), back when nylon stockings were a staple. Heloise’s Housekeeping Hints is pretty much my favourite household hint resource and between this old version and later versions (she’s even on the web, now!), there are lots of ways to get some last use out of snagged nylons. They’re not that craft-oriented, but they are crafty (as in sneaky and smart!). For all of these tips, use clean nylons and cut off any lace tops (especially if they have silicone grip strips inside).

Lotsa tips after the jump!

Because they’re light and not very textured, nylon stockings can be fantastic gentle scrubbers. Just ball ‘em up and have at whatever needs to be cleaned or dusted with a more careful touch.

They’re also so gentle that thin strips are perfect to tie back plants to stakes or to anchor climbing vines. I would have a picture here, but I don’t grow things (it’s for the best).

Maybe you already know the newspaper trick for washing mirrors (WAY less lint than paper towels!), but nylons work just as well. And even less lint!

Okay, you KNOW you dropped something back there, under the very heavy thing. Just rubber-band a sheer stocking over the open end of your vacuum cleaner hose and try fishing for it. The stocking is open enough that the vacuum still suctions, but isn’t so open that the vacuum eats whatever you were trying to find.

That porousness is great for making bath sachets too. Throw some powdered milk, baking soda, oatmeal and lavender in there (it’s easiest if you stretch the stocking over a cup), tie it off and hang it below the tap in your tub. Nothing gross floating in the bath, but all the benefit of fancy bath times!

And here is a truly crafty crafting option! Craftgrrl has a Cheap Screenprinting Tutorial! Easy and quick screen printing. Just some nylons, non-water based glue and an embroidery hoop.

There’s a lot you can do with socks, too, but whew, I think they’ll need a whole post of their own! Do you have any tips for reusing old nylons?

Drawing on nylon

Drawing on nylon is the easiest, so let’s start there.  Say your costume needs some sort of specific pattern on the legs. A good example would be Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Her stitched-together legs are a huge part of costume accuracy (which maybe I’m a big nerd about).  Here’s what you’ll need:

• A good reference picture (I like this one of assorted Sally parts) •
• A permanent marker—they make Sharpies in about every colour now, which is awesome! •
• white or off white tights, like the Opaque Tights •

Always test in an inconspicuous place, to make sure that what you’re using and what you’re using it on don’t hate each other. The Opaque Tights and Sharpies get along pretty well!

It is way easier to do this with the tights on, so suit up. Keep in mind there will be a little bleed through from the marker.

Now, keeping an eye on your reference image, start drawing! Try to go as smoothly as you can. Sometimes I found that the felt marker tip wanted to catch on the nylon.

Ooh, the detail really makes it. I wasn’t trying to get too-too accurate with the stitches, just going for the overall feel.

And, done! So easy! If you wanted to earn extra points, just add a blue-grey shade to ‘em with the skills you learned in DIY: Dyeing Nylon.

That’s tights, but what about socks? Join us after the jump for more tips and tricks!

Drawing or painting on cotton/acrylic blends

Now, the textured knit of cotton and acrylic blends presents more difficulty than just drawing on tights. There are two ways to approach this, with paint or with pen. I decided that even though a permanent marker and a fabric pen look the same initially, I wanted to go the fabric pen route for permanence. Fabric markers can be hard to find, but plain ol’ craft paint and the fabric medium that helps it seep into a sock’s fiber is a lot easier (and you can paint on fabric without the medium, but just like using a Sharpie instead of a fabric pen, it doesn’t work as well or last as long). I’m using blue paint and pen and white O Basics because I want to replicate the thin top stripes Fionna wears in Adventure Time.

Whether pen or paint, it is a lot easier to do this when the sock isn’t lying flat, so put it over something like an oatmeal container or a salt box. It’s silly, but it helps.

To keep my lines even, I wrapped a line of masking tape around the sock. It’s a nice trick—and masking tape was made for masking things off!

I’ll start with a pen first. I found a good reference image so I could keep the stripes proportional.

What drives me crazy about pens on cotton and acrylic blends is all the fuzz you ruck up. Be sure to clean the pen tip as you go, to keep your lines neat.

Remove the tape and touch up any lumpy spots. Remember, nobody is going to look as closely at these socks as you are, so don’t stress!

Painting is just as straightforward. Remember to read the instructions on the fabric medium. Most tell you how much medium to mix with your colour and if you need to heat set it after it’s dry. My fabric medium needed to be 1 part to every 2 parts paint and set with an iron after drying for 24 hours. Go slowly so the paint seeps in well.

Remove your tape and let it dry. If it needs to be heat set, don’t forget to do that! It will help your hard work last longer.

So painting or pen gives pretty similar results for simple stripes (pen on the left, paint on the right, below). Think of all the things you can do and costumes you can finalise!

Bonus round! Make those tights into arm warmers.

Oh wait! So you have Sally’s legs, from the first part of this entry, but what about her arms?! Easy. Get yourself a spare pair of tights and a pair of scissors and let’s go!

Cut off the toe seam and free the leg of the tights from the panty area.

Now just follow the outline of we showed you in DIY: Arm Warmer Basics! Mark where you want the thumbhole to be and cut it. Since these are just nylon tights, you don’t have to worry about unravelling!

All that is left is adding any pattern or decoration, dyeing if you need to and cutting the sleeves to the right length! But they’re already pretty spoooooky arm warmers!

And you can match your arms to your legs if you’re going as a cartoon character with crazy coloured skin, like grey or orange—and you can match any patterns or stripes they may be rocking on whatever limbs (I am pretty specifically thinking of Marvel’s Tigra).

Okay, you’re set to go! And if you’re particularly proud of your costume, enter the Costume Contest on our Tumblr! You’ll totally make my day if you name-drop any DIY from the Sock Journal that you used.

You can use RIT on nylon easy. Use our search to find a white nylon style, I’ve even queued up the search terms just for you!  If you’re using RIT, it’s okay if it’s a fiber blend, since this dye is made to work on cotton and nylon blends. Just follow the directions on the package, or the DIY we shared with you earlier this year.  So plain ol’ black and white Ribbed Pinstripe Leggings plus some RIT in Sunshine Orange can become these Halloween-tastic orange and black leggings! The dye won’t make any difference to the black stripes, so I’m free to choose what colours I want.

What’s wonderful about dyeing socks and tights is that when you can’t find the exact colour you want for something, you can make it!

Now, there is a fiber-specific way you can dye nylon, and there’s even an option at your grocery store! Join me after the jump for more nylon transformation!

Nylon, like silk and wool, is best dyed with acid dyes. Don’t worry! They’re not super-villain acidic (though you should probably wear gloves any time you dye things). Acid dyes work best with “protein” fibers like nylon.  A great resource for acid dyes and dyeing in general is Dharma Trading company.  But if you’re just curious about trying out dyeing nylon, then just pop over to your local grocery store and pick up a couple packs of Kool-Aid.

Yep. Kool-Aid.

Kool-Aid dyeing nylon

Kool-Aid is very acidic and works great as a dye on wool and nylon. You might even remember dyeing your hair with it in middle school (or, at least, I do).  It doesn’t take much effort to dye something with Kool-Aid.  And though I’m going to show you the stovetop method, there’s a way to do it in the microwave too. Here’s what you’ll need to do it on the stove:

• What you’re dyeing—which sharp eyes will notice that’s what is pictured is not what I actually end up dyeing •
• A stainless steel or enamel pot or saucepan •
• Packs of unsweetened Kool-Aid in the colours you want •

Put enough water in your pot to cover what you’re dyeing. In this case, I’m dying the some Sheer Lace Top Stockings with Backseams, which don’t need much to cover them.  Add packets of Kool-Aid to your pot. There’s no math involved, just more packets mean more colour!  Stir to dissolve.

Now add what you are dyeing and put the pot on the stove! Heat it to almost boiling and then turn the heat off. Let it sit, covered, for about half an hour.

You’ll know that you’re done dyeing when the water is clear.  All the colour is now in what you’re dyeing!  Wait until it is cooled and rinse well with warm water.

And ta-da! The camera cannot convey how bright these truly are. You can also see that maybe I should have used a bigger pot, so the stockings weren’t so cramped. Giving them a stir or two would help too. These will be going back in the pot to even out the tone.

If you want to use your microwave, just dissolve your Kool-Aid into water in a microwave-safe container. Pop what you’re dyeing in and microwave for two minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes then microwave for another two minutes. And done! Just like with the stove top, you’ll know you’re done when the water is clear.

Now, are you ready for fancy acid dyes?

Acid dyeing nylon

Using acid dye is a little trickier than using RIT or Kool-Aid. The dye I’m using came from Dharma Trading Company, a great resource for dyeing.  This is what you’ll need:

• What you’re dyeing, in this case the Paris Fleur De Lis Pantyhose •
• A stainless steel or enamel pot or saucepan, one that is just for dyeing, not food •
• Acid dye •
• Something to stir with that won’t stain or won’t matter if you stain. Think non-reactive stuff like wood, stainless steel and plastic •
• Vinegar •

Fill a stainless steel pot with enough water to properly cover whatever you’re dying, then turn on the stove top and add your dye.

You want about 2-4% of dye to the weight of the thing you’re dyeing. In my case that is not much. Use your eyeballs and common sense and if it turns out to light, remember you can always dye it again! As an example, to dye a pound of fabric you need 1/3 to 2/3 an ounce of dye. How much is a pound of fabric? Well, two pairs of Long Cuffable Scrunchables come to just under a pound, so that’s a lot! I found that the amount I added was more than enough and I probably could have gone with less.

Now, with everything properly stirred, add the thing that you are dyeing! Make sure what it is nice and wet, so the dye will wick in better, though it starts taking colour SUPER fast!

Bring your pot to just under boiling (185-200°F). If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, then know that you don’t want it to get to a “roiling boil.” Keep your pot simmering, but don’t let it get more feisty than that. This page has a good visual reference to the difference between boiling and simmering.  Once it is simmering, add your vinegar! The proportions are about 1/4 cup vinegar to one pound of fabric. Try not to pour it directly on what you’re dyeing, use your stirrer to push it aside while you pour the vinegar in.

Keep your pot simmering, stirring regularly, for half an hour.  When that time is up turn off the heat and let everything cool before rinsing in warm water. You will see that the water in the pot is clear, because all that colour went into what you were dyeing!

Probably, these were everyone’s favourite dye transformation. So purple! And look how well they match the Tibetan Flower Crews in Fuchsia!

There is so much you can do once you get dyeing! And sometimes, you learn something interesting about fiber! These Fingerless Lace Gloves with Ruffles I dyed with Kool-Aid (the red) and acid dye (the purple). They say on the label that they’re 90% nylon, but only the lace on the cuff and the fingers took the dye! Which means the body of the gloves is probably polyester, which doesn’t take acid dye. The result is pretty though, so I wasn’t too pouty about it. We’ve made a note in the Fiber Content for these gloves and are currently seeking confirmation as to what exactly they’re made of.

For more dye fun, here’s a great tutorial on tie-dyeing nylon tights, though we do have those ready made in a great cotton blend and lots of colours!

For more reference on dyeing protein fibers like nylon and wool, these two articles on Knitty are great jumping-off points. They refer to wool blends mostly, but the same techniques work on nylon:

• Kool-Aid Dyeing at Knitty •
• Using Acid Dyes at Knitty •

If you take the plunge into a vat of colour, share your results with us on Facebook! We love seeing when folks get creative with their socks. Until then, may your experiments all be as beautiful as you are!

Because I know I am biased about what I write and nerd about, I asked my fellow Dreamers what some of their favourite posts were this year.  The first one suggested was the Mother’s day post Something New for New Mothers.  We’d recently introduced maternity support tights and I thought that the comfort and support wonderful tights like these give new moms might be a good match for the holiday.

Of course, you can’t talk about new moms without mentioning dads and apparently I can’t talk about poppas without squealing over how adorable wee baby socks are when they’re paired up with larger-footed midcalves. So the pictures I took for Sock Ideas for New Dads were inevitable.

The recent Deep Sea Socks post was mentioned almost in the same breath as the mother’s day post—which tells you what we think is adorable: babies and multi-legged terrors from the deepest ocean.

Also mentioned was Frills and Lace for February, which compared some recent runway trends with much more accessible options that we carry and made the argument for wearing lacy sheers in the cold beginnings of spring.

I wasn’t allowed to forget the Socks on Film post, partially because I really need to get working on a post about socks on TV, but also because I think a bunch of folks started becoming way more aware of film characters’ leg wear.

Well, those are the posts that others dug. Want to know my favourites? Join me after the jump!

It should be no surprise to folks who know me that most of my favourite posts are informative. I love sharing information! I think my personal favourite is What is a Garter Clip?  It’s a tricky question with a tricky answer!

And I loved doing the post on dyeing, Ready, Set Colour. I very much look forward to doing one focusing more on dyeing nylon. It’s so easy!

I also had fun letting you know how to Wash Those Socks and Wash Them Well. Maybe a little because I got to use the phrase “kitty paws” to describe a washing technique.

This year also had three Friday the 13ths and with the Sock Journal updating on Fridays I just couldn’t let them go unmentioned. First I mentioned some Superstitious Socks in January, then in April I let you know that Size 13 Feet Don’t Have to Be Unlucky. Most recently, in July, I shared some suspiciously spooky good deals for $13 (and they’re all still $13!).

Whew! What a year! Thanks for reading and commenting, all of you make a fun thing even better!

Even if you’re not ready for learning the scientific ins and outs of fancy dyes, you can expand your techniques and start playing around with ways to add colour.  I’ve got two simple approaches to show you.  The easiest (and my favourite) creates something between marbling and tie-dye.  Called “low water immersion” or “scrunch” dyeing, it’s always a beautiful surprise to see how it turns out which, for me, is part of the fun.

All you’ll need for this technique are:

• Dye •
• What you’re dying (the unevenly dyed sock half from last week for me!) •
• A container not too much bigger than what you’re dyeing, remember plastic will stain! •
(to see what would work best, scrunch up your sock and try fitting it into various jars and containers)
• A container to mix your dye in •

Not shown:

• Very hot water (like for brewing tea) •
• Optional: vinyl or rubber gloves to keep dye off your hands •

Not that many things, is it?  Join me after the jump for the simple run-down and one more easy way to play with dye!

Get what you’re dyeing wet, just like before, so the dye is absorbed more easily.  Then take your socks and roll or scrunch it up into a container that just fits it.  This glass and jelly jar seem to do for me.  There is no precise way to do this (and that’s why trying things out with a Dyer’s Batch Crafty Bundle is perfect!).  How you shove or roll the sock into the container affects the final result.

Ready your dye, use the same amount of dye as normal (about a quarter package of RIT powder for a single long sock), but far less water.  You only want to add the dye to about as much hot water as can fit in the container you’ve shoved the socks into.  It’s perfectly fine to just guess.

Pour dye over your shoved, scrunched sock.

Set it aside and wait for two hours.

Remove your sock from the container and rinse in warm then cool water until the water runs clear.  This is the exciting part, getting to see where the dye got to and what patterns it made!  When you’re done, gently hand wash and let your creation dry!  No two attempts will be exactly the same, though you can get them pretty similar.  On the top is the one from the example, which I rolled (and if I’d rolled tighter, there would have been a better fade of pattern).  On the bottom is one I just scrunched into the container willy-nilly.

Now, if you’re ready for a slightly more involved dyeing process, let’s dry ombre dyeing!  Darker at one end and pastel at the other, ombre colour is fun and fashionable.

You’ll need:

• Dye •
• What you’re dyeing (thinner, non-ribbed styles work best, like O Basics)  •
• A tub, bowl or bucket (remember, if it’s plastic, it will stain!) •
• A container to pre-mix your dye in •
• An area by a sink to work in (this gets a little messy) •

Not shown:

• Very hot water (like for brewing tea) •
• Optional: vinyl or rubber gloves to keep dye off your hands •
• Optional: something to agitate/poke your sock with while it is in the dye (I use a stirring stick) •

Get what you’re dyeing wet and roll about two-thirds of it up. Set aside.

Remembering the quarter-box of RIT dye to one long sock (though you’ll need less for dyeing shorter and thinner socks like the O Basics and O Chevrons), dissolve your dye in some of the hot water in a separate container.  Once you’ve done that, add it to the rest of the water in the container you’ll be dyeing in.  Mix well!

Take your silly, partly rolled-up sock and dunk the unrolled end into your dye bath.  Softly move it back and forth to agitate it for about ten minutes.

You’ll notice that the dye starts to wick up the sock some.  This is fine! It helps smooth out the transition between sections.

Now, unroll about another third of your sock into the dye bath.  Agitate gently for about five minutes.

Here’s where you’ll probably want gloves.  Unroll your sock completely and use your hands to dip the top third of the sock into the dye, just long enough to reach a nice pastel shade.

Remove the sock from the dye and rinse it out in warm water, letting the water hit the lighter areas first (so the dye travels down to the darker section).  Make the water gradually colder and rinse until the water runs clear.  When you’re done, gently hand wash and let it dry.

The result is a pretty gradient of colour!  You can (and should!) experiment until you get the look you like the most.  Try two colours (just do the same process with another colour, starting at the other end!), start from the middle, go wild!

One quick note before I let you go, below is a snap of how the terry-lined feet of styles like the Ribbed M Stockings and Skater Stripes dye.  Styles that are terry-lined most of the way up, like the Dreamy Striped Tubes, will take the dye in the same way.  They’re totally dyeable, but the higher acrylic content in this part of the sock won’t get as dark as the rest.

You can see that the terry loops take dye well though (and they would have taken it better if I’d turned the sock inside out).  So that is something to keep in mind if you wear your terry inside out (which I do!).

There’s a wonderful world of fun ways to dye socks out there and we’d love if you share the results of your experiments with Crafty Bundles on our Facebook!  And if you like dyed stuff but don’t want the hassle, we have tonnes of gorgeous tie dye offerings ourselves!

Well, the logical thing to do is offer a white and off-white option of the Crafty Bundle, the Dyer’s Batch!  You still get five assorted socks, but they’re in easy-to-dye shades (and, since they’re all Dream Stockings and Dreamer Socks, easy to dye fibers too!).  What I’m especially excited about is that the Dyer’s Batch gives folks a chance to play with dyeing socks without the worry that they’ll ruin a favourite pair.  And, if the dye job turns out, it’s easy to whip them into something fun like arm warmers or any of the cool DIY sock ideas we’re pinning to Pinterest!

If you’ve never dyed socks before, don’t stress, it is super easy!  We’ll walk you through the basics, so you have the foundation to play to your heart’s content.

For just straight up dyeing cotton blends like the socks in our Crafty Bundles, something easy to get and use like RIT Dye works pretty well, especially if you’re just learning.  The common complaint with RIT is that you can’t get strong, vivid colour from it, so keep that in mind.  The RIT Dye site has lots of great tips and techniques that are worth checking out, no matter what dye you’re using.

You’ll need:

• A glass or plastic bowl or bucket that will easily hold what you’re dyeing •
(remember! Dye will stain plastic, so don’t use your favourite mixing bowl if it is plastic)
• Dye •
• What you’re dyeing! •
• Something to stir with •

Not shown here, because I am a space case:

• A smaller glass or plastic container to pre-mix your dye in •
• Hot water, think “as hot as tea”—doesn’t have to be boiling •
• Optional: gloves so you don’t stain your hands•

Once you’ve gathered your gear, meet me after the jump for the how-to!

Proportion is key with dyeing.  RIT recommends 1 package of their powder and 3 gallons of hot water to one pound of fabric.  But how much is a pound of fabric?  Well, some of our heaviest socks are the Long Cuffable Scrunchables and they weigh in around 8 ounces.

With 16 ounces to a pound, you’ll want to use just a half package and 1-1.5 gallons of water if you’re dyeing just one pair of longer socks, on average.  I’m just dyeing a single sock here (a Ribbed M Stocking in Natural), so I’ll halve that again.

Before you do anything, get your socks thoroughly wet.  This will help the dye wick into the fibers and you’ll get a less patchy finish.

Mix your dye and a little hot water in the small container. Put your socks in the larger bowl with the rest of the hot water.  Mixing the dye separately avoids clumps of un-dissolved dye making dark marks on your socks. For example purposes, I’ve cut my sock in half, to show you two dyeing methods.

Add the diluted dye to the bowl with the socks, stirring well. You can see that there are specks of undissolved dye, so get right in there and mix it up so nothing makes a permanent speck on what you’re dyeing.

Now, there are two schools of thought for the next step.  You can stir and agitate your socks for 10-30 minutes (depending on how pastel or vibrant you want the colour), or you can put something on top of what you’re dyeing to weigh it down and let it sit there for two hours untouched.  The result will be patchier, but if you’re going to be adding more dye or embellishment to it later, it doesn’t matter as much. Socks tend to be a mix of fibers and although dyes like RIT are made to work with fiber blends, the thickness of the sock and the mix of fibers can make it a little more difficult to get an even dye job with.

If you’re just leaving it be, put something on top of what you’re dyeing so that it doesn’t float up.  A small plate works.

The bowl on the left I’m agitating and the bowl on the right I’m leaving be.  Remember, what you’re dyeing will look darker when wet and in the dye than the finished colour will be.  So if you’re trying to go dark, go a little longer than you think it needs.

Below are snaps at 5, 10 and 15 minutes in the dye bath.  There is a subtle difference, but how much of that sticks really does depend on how long what you’re dyeing has been saturated.

I want these to be about middle-vibrant, so I only agitated for twenty minutes.  One they’d done their time in the dye bath, however long it is, rinse in warm water, gradually adding cooler water, until the rinse water runs clear.

On the left is the agitated sock (ha!) and the right is the one that just sat in dye.  This is why, if you want an even dye job, you have to agitate, as annoying as it is:

If you’re trying to dye pastel shades or are only going for a single colour evenly dispersed, the agitation method will work best, because you can better keep track of how much dye is taking hold.  If you’re going to dye another colour on top of this one, then the patchier result of just letting it sit in dye may work for you.

Give your freshly dyed sock a quick handwash and let it dry, either on the line or in the dryer.  Once it is dry it’s ready to be turned into whatever your imagination demands!

There are a million variations for the dyeing process and we’ll go over some fun ones next week (including my favourite way to cover up a patchy dye job like the sock on the right!).  Until then— if you’ve picked up a regular Crafty Bundle or a Dyer’s Batch, or if you’ve taken the plunge and dyed a pair of socks on your own, please share it here or on our Facebook!

Skeleton Socks!

If you need something like the Kawaii Skeleton OTK, all you need is a pair of black socks, a paintbrush and some white acrylic paint (like craft paint).  This one is easier to do if you put the socks on (it’s even easier if you have someone help you, though!).  Keep in mind, some paint will leak through to your leg, but that’s the beauty of craft paint, it washes off.

Using our image of the Kawaii Skeleton OTK or an image of leg bones as a guide, paint some bones on your socks. If you’re not comfortable freehanding, use a piece of chalk or a white eye liner to draw some guides before you paint.  The result is much more like an x-ray, which I kind of like!

Not too hard!  But if you want an even easier option, you can DIY your own version of a very popular stocking we sold out of way too fast this season.  That and more after the jump (believe me, you want to see what other Halloweeny goodness I have to share)!

Bloody Zombie Socks!

We sold out of the Bloody Zombie Thigh Highs in a blink and their supplier, Leg Avenue, didn’t have any more to send us.  But no worries, you can DIY your own!  They’re even easier than the skeleton socks, though they’re definitely messier.  If it’s not too cold, it’s probably better to do this outside.  You’ll need red acrylic paint and a pair of white socks. I’m a baby about the cold, so I’m doing this carefully inside with newspaper. If you want more realistic splatter, then add a little purple and brown to your red paint.  Whatever colours you use, add a touch of water and mix it in so the paint is runny.

Now just spatter the paint on!  You might want to practice on some blank paper first to make sure you like the effect.  You can use sticks, brushes and your fingers to hurl the paint at the socks. What’s nice is, if you spill, it still looks perfect.

Gross!  And awesome.  Pair these babies with some artfully torn clothes and stumble about for the full zombie effect.  Or strap on some stakes and you’re a vampire/monster hunter!

We just could not predict that the Bloody Zombie Thigh Highs would be so popular!  Every year we have to make a guess as to what Halloween costumes are going to be popular, so we can have the socks you need.  In the time I’ve worked at Sock Dreams, one costume started out super popular but has become less common over the years.  Strawberry Shortcake, with her green and white striped stockings, just isn’t as popular as she used to be, poor thing.  Which means that the Plush Strawberry & Bow Thigh Highs we stocked up just for Halloween have been sadly sitting there all month.

So sad! Well, not for you.  They’ve been marked down from $8 to $6, so we can clear them out! They’re seasonal, so you’ll probably see them again next year at full price, but grab a pair now while they’re on sale!

Speaking of key socks for costumes, our very first video is about just that.  Yes! Sock Dreams has made an adorable video about socks for costumes and Halloween.  You can see it here, on our fledgling YouTube channel!

Whew, lots of info, but lots of great info.  Remember, we love seeing how your costumes turn out, so share them with us on Facebook, especially if you decide to try these DIYs.  Have a fun and safe Halloween!

• A t-shirt that you love the fit of that’s the same thickness as the one to be fitted •
• A t-shirt that needs to be fitted (works best with a shirt that’s at least a size too big) •
• Scissors •
• Pins •
• Something to mark with •
(the blue in the picture is tailor’s chalk, we just used a white eyeliner pencil!)
• Something to measure with (optional) •

Are you all set, and all ready?  Well join us after the jump for the how to!

First, turn both shirts inside out.  Now, lay the t-shirt that needs to be fitted out flat, making sure any seams are straight and it’s more or less free of wrinkles.  Then, take the t-shirt that fits well and lay that on top, matching shoulder seams.  If you want to be precise about how centered everything is, measure it.

Now! Pin them together, making sure that you’re smoothing the fabric as you go—big wrinkles can cause problems.  Be careful with those pins!  Match arm seams where you can.

With what you’re marking with (we’re using a white eyeliner pencil, which are about a dollar at most drug stores), outline the shape of the t-shirt that fits well onto the shirt that needs to be fitted.  Extend any lines that go beyond the fitted shirt.  Use a ruler or any other straight edge (like scissors) to keep your lines straight.

When you come to the sleeves, you’re going to have to eyeball it a little, especially if the shirt you’re outlining has a cap sleeve.  Don’t stress too much though! You’ll get a chance to make the sleeve just the length you want later.

Okay, you’re all marked up!  Take out the pins that are holding the t-shirts together (careful!) and get ready to sew.  To make sure nothing wiggles while you’re working, pin the front and back of the shirt you’ll be sewing together.

Now, just go sew along the lines you’ve drawn!  Go on, do it!

Done?  Okay.  Try it on (inside out, since you’ve got all that extra fabric) and make sure everything fits okay.  Now is the time to sew it a little bit tighter, or take out your stitches and resew it looser.  Once you’ve got it right, trim off your excess fabric and put it on right side out.  Now you get to look in a mirror and decide what further alterations you need to make.

Rosalind decided to shorten the sleeves and deepen the neckline (like the quickie DIY we showed you when our logo t-shirts debuted) and, though you can’t see it, ended up shortening the shirt some too.  Remember, t-shirt material can be cut without hemming, which is one of my favourite things about it!

Of course, this is one of the more basic t-shirt DIYs you can do, there’s a whole world of shirt modding out there!  The T-Shirt Surgery Livejournal group is a good source and so is the tutorial list in the clothing reconstruction forum on Craftster.

Have you modded your Sock Dreams tee?  Are you in one of those tropical states where you’ve already moved on to tank tops—ooh, if so, have you modded your shirt into something cute and sleevless?  Well, either way, we always love pictures of how you rock our products over at our Facebook.