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after thinking one of our favorite Dream Stockings styles was gone for good we have been blessed with lots of new colors of O Marled socks… and just in time for fall weather to start hitting us with chilly evenings and even chillier mornings.
These deliciously thick, ribbed socks stretch to an accommodating 23 inches around at the tops while still fitting those of us with scrawny calves… a true “Dream” stocking if there ever was one!
My inseam is about 30 inches and my thighs are 19 inches around so these come pretty close to the tops of my thighs if I pull them all the way up, but my favorite way to wear them is thickly cuffed just above my knees. Larger/longer legs will have varying results, but as seen in the image for charcoal, as worn by Trina, these can still be a great OTK…
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The biggest change with this new batch is that we decided to only do one foot size which we are calling large because it is larger [in the feet] than the small hunter we have leftover from the previous batches, but don’t worry, these fit a shoe size 7 right up to women’s 10 pretty well and we will probably switch that large to “one size” when those hunters are gone. I also think these itch a little more before being washed a few times, which we think is due to the marled bits, I solved it by wearing them over leggings, but really it just took washing them to soften them up.
Ember is my favorite color of these right now, and as I sit here telling you why I love them so much I am tempted to wear them through a second day because I don’t want to take them off!
by niqkita
September 15th, 2010
We had a super hard time naming these because they really are so amazing that any words we thought of either fell short or tipped the scale at unbelievable…
But these truly are extraordinary. So, after much thought, we went with it!
What makes them so extraordinary? they absolutely fit each and every one of us and then some.
Our smaller feet fit, our largest guys feet fit, then they not only go over our knees they did it without rolling or denting, surprising us all. All that and they formed nicely around our ankles, went with our cutest shoes and stayed up pretty well for something that doesn’t squeeze into our thighs.
So this is a new direction for our socks, still made in the US (just for us, you will not find these anywhere else) in solids & stripes with lots more variations in the works.
…and since it has taken far more years to come up with a sock that truly fits us all, we’re pretty darned proud and will be praising these far and wide with our various reviews in the days to come.
This is the first of a new line of Dreamer Socks, but will not be the last!
by niqkita
May 17th, 2010
Dearest Sweet Marcel,
I love your socks so very much!
I love them over my knees while I dream of tea in the conservatory at dawn
and I love them over my friends knees while we giggle with the dogs at noon…
All my friends love you for being so easy to get along with, in fact, I think my larger friends love you the most because your socks stay up so well on them, I often need to pull them back up now & again or use garters, not that I mind, I find it adds to the charm that is Sweet Marcel. I think we’re going to very good friends.
Love & warm toes…
always,
by niqkita
February 27th, 2010
EG Smith is one of our original suppliers and still among my personal favorites…
so when I was told Eric was creating a “green line” I was ecstatic. I thought it would just be a handful of environmentally friendly styles like our beloved Two Brothers Organics. Instead it is 40+ items! So I’ve been ordering them in small batches to get us started, beginning with the ones I found most appealing…
These Slinky Knees were most certainly the first one I wanted to try…
But first, just what was recycled and where did it come from?
I asked our rep Frank and he spoke with the resident yarn expert for the company in charge of EG Smith and it turns out that our recycled yarns are actually regenerated yarns. The mill takes the scraps from cotton jersey manufacturers such as HANES, and breaks them down, reweaves them and produces new product, it is recycling waste, but it comes from products never worn and cleans up the end result of “scraps” which in the old days would have made the rag bag or the dump. Also on the information highway, the uncertified cotton they are using as blends in the ECO socks comes from Poland and China and is reported to be Organic (they are working on Certification), which gives us an even better Green Product. They are also starting to blend in ECOFIL yarns (plastic water bottles recycled into polyester fill yarns). So they are recycled, regenerated, and still PURE enough to satisfy even the most ardent organic mavens.
So there you have it, the official explanation of the origins of our lovely new socks. More of these will be added this week, and over the coming weeks and months…
They are all pretty awesome!
by niqkita
June 3rd, 2008
If you’re looking for a warm wool sock to keep your feet and legs warm this winter, get the Lambswool Turncuff OTK. These are a thick knit sock, reminiscent of old socks that your granny would knit by hand for you. At first they are a bit itchy and tight to get on, just as their page mentions, and they weren’t quite long enough for me to turn a cuff down. I don’t usually pull my socks up very tight, but in writing this review I realized they should be able to have a cuff turned over, so I tried to pull them up much higher and what a nice surprise! I got at least an extra 2-3 inches in height. Which I promtly turned into a cuff. Once I pulled them tight they easily came over 4 inches above my knee. I guess the fibers needed to *warm up* to become more agreeable. Amazing what happens when you pull your socks up isn’t it? 
Made from 72% wool and 28% nylon, I was a little worried about itchiness before I got them on. For testing I put one sock over a nylon to try and reduce the itch, while the other sock was worn on bare skin. The one on bare skin *warmed up* better and I was able to pull it higher than the other sock. Interestingly, the sock on bare skin stopped itching completely so the nylon under the other sock became unnecessary. In fact, it became uncomfortable as the toes on that foot got colder. Wool has the amazing ability to retain body heat. So, hey, let’s learn some about wool shall we? 
edited from wikipedia.org:
Fibers with a fine crimp have many bends and usually have a small diameter. The number of bends per unit length along the wool fiber approximately indicates spinning capacity of the wool.
Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have a greater bulk than other textiles and retain air, which causes the product to retain heat. The amount of crimp corresponds to the thickness of the wool fibers. A fine wool like merino may have up to a hundred crimps per inch, while the coarser wools like karakul (a corser wool used mainly in Asia for rugs) may have as few as one to two crimps per inch. Wool possesses much greater ability to return to its natural length after being stretched than any artificial fiber.
~In water or steam, wool can stretch to about twice its length without breaking.
~It is difficult to ignite and has low flame spread and heat release properties. (A woollen rug has protected a horse from severe burns when his trailer caught on fire.)
~Wool has the power to readily absorb and give off moisture. It can for instance, absorb moisture up to one-third of its own weight. Synthetic fibers can only absorb 2-3 per cent of moisture before they begin to feel wet.
~Wool absorbs sound and reduces noise level considerably making it an ideal material to use in such places as concert halls to attain the best acoustics possible.
~The retention of moisture within the fabric prevents a build-up of static electricity.
~The tensile strength of wool gives it a very high resistance to flexing stresses. This feature enables wool to pass through severe processing without undue waste, and allows the manufacture of a durable fabric.
~Wool does not conduct heat, but acts as insulator to keep the body at an even temperature.
~Wool and sheep have not undergone any genetic modification. (Except Dolly the cloned sheep)
~Wool is generally a creamy white color, although some breeds of sheep produce natural colors such as black, brown, silver and random mixes.
So, wool is the perfect fiber for warm winter socks! I think the Lambswool Turncuff OTK are a fabulous sock! They’re long, beautifull and comfy cozy. I can see both men and women enjoying these socks. The marling is just gorgeous & the black has alot of blue in it. It’s quite beautifull. The feet fit my 6.5 feet just a touch loosely in the toes, so I’m thinking they’d fit a size 7-8ish perfectly. There’s big thick ribbing all the way down to the toes, yet the soles of the feet are a smooth knit, so you’re not walking on ribbing. Which can hurt after awhile.
After a washing they got even softer and more dreamy. But beware: because they are wool, heat and movement while wet will make these shrink up, so best to let them soak & dry flat. But they should also work well with wet stretching if any of you need to do that. These also stay up well too. They’re made by Hot Sox and come in 3 colours. At $17.00 a pair, it’s a wonderfull winter sock.
by Lauri
January 4th, 2008
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