We’ve got a Mother’s Day Favourites section, but most of those styles are the ones our moms like, and if your moms are like ours, they keep their fancy stuff pretty basic. They like comfy crews, cozy bedsocks, maybe a ‘crazy’ splurge on some hand-printed trouser socks.

• Meg Unconstricted Top Crew •
• New Zealand Bed Socks •
• Polonova Flower Trouser Socks •

But, the best gifts are the ones that you know the giftee would never think to get themselves. Something fancy, maybe a little more than they like to spend on themselves. Our Indulgences section is a good place to go for just that sort of thing. I’m going to be honest, these are our pricier styles. But they earn their price, with fabulous fibers, fit and construction. This is where the luxurious stuff lives.

That doesn’t mean you have to go wild picking something out for your moms. There are some great options under $25 that feel fantastic and look gorgeous. Plus, they’re practically basics, so you won’t get chided for going overboard.

• Multi-Lines Knee Highs •
• Orkney Angora Wrist Warmers •
• Philippe Matignon Silk Anklets •

Of course, if you can and do want to spoil your mom, we can help you there! Check out three sweet indulgences after the jump!

Probably one of the most luxe knee highs we carry are the B.Ella Ginger Ribbed Knee Highs. They’re 81% cashmere. That’s a lot of cashmere! Soft, cushy and feeling like they’re made of clouds, these knee highs are a favourite of folks who want to really treat someone they love.

The next step up are the St. Petersburg Gloves. Don’t worry, that’s not real fur they’re trimmed with, but the gloves are 100% wool, crazy cozy and amazingly classic in line. Plus, they have a fabulous little pocket hidden in their cuff. Moms need to feel fancy too, and dang if these gloves won’t help them feel like an old-time movie star who is also a spy, using films as their cover.

For the ultimate indulgence I present the Orkney Angora Over The Knees. 50% angora, 50% lambswool, made by a family-run business in the Orkney Isles, these socks are like hugs. Which you should give your mom, by the way (and not just cuddly, fuzzy, high-end sock hugs). What is great about the Orkney Angora Over The Knees is that they are comfy and wonderful, but they’re also tall socks. So your mom can feel kind of foxy too.

Of course, you might not be able to indulge your awesome mom with luxurious gifts. But if you’ve got a marvellous mother, let them know, however you can.

There isn’t a whole lot of difference and sometimes we do use the phrase “knee sock” when we’re talking about knee highs. But, more often than not, when we call something a “knee sock” we’re talking about a sock that ends somewhere around the knee—sometimes below, sometimes above, sometimes right there in the middle of your knee cap—depending on your leg shape. The Bess Cashmere Slouch Rib Knee Socks are a perfect example of this, you can see how they end at different spots on different models’ legs:

Since we try on all the styles we sell and almost all of the models you see in our pictures are Sock Dreams employees, we get to see how socks act on different leg types. Long legs and fuller calves mean some shorter over the knee styles don’t fairly deserve the name “OTK”. But those same socks can’t properly be called knee highs either because just as many other folks had them go over their knees. So, we started using the phrase “knee sock” to highlight that ambiguity.

It was Sourpuss’ styles that made us first start using the phrase more actively, they’re shorter for over the knee styles and even though Sourpuss called them OTKs, we couldn’t after testing them, even though we love them.

• Octopus Knee Sock •
• Galley Ho Knee Sock •

The DreaM Stockings “knees” styles are another great example of a knee sock. Available in seven variations (with lots of varieties for each!), they can be worn as over the knee socks or knee highs, depending on your legs (or on your personal taste, I prefer them as knee highs, even though I’ve got short legs).

Clockwise, from top: Purple Knees, Pink Knees, Green Knees, White Knees, Orange Knees, Blue Knees. Center: Brown Knees,

A way to find these in-betweeners is also to choose both “knee high” and “OTK” in Advanced Search then click the word “ALL” next to the header for Coverage. This shows you styles we’ve found fall both above or below the knee, depending on your leg. If you’ve got longer legs or fuller calves, you may already know the trick of wearing OTKs as knee highs, cuffing or double-cuffing to take care of any extra length.

A knee sock isn’t a style that couldn’t cut it as an OTK, nor is it just an over-achieving knee high. They straddle both coverage worlds, offering their stylish services to more leg types.

Diamonds are, according to popular song, a girl’s best friend, but they’re also clear so they’re not easily represented via sock. If only there was a pattern or something that was diamond-y . . .

• Diamond Jester Knee Highs •
• Dreamer Harlequin Diamond OTKs •
• Harlequin Diamond & Stripe Tights •

Right! “Diamond” is a pattern/texture you can check off in our Advanced Search. It’s a gorgeous, simple pattern that goes with everything, kind of like the gemstone, even.

Top row, from left: Diamants Lace Topped Knee High, Sheer Pattern Knee High, Vienna Trouser Socks.
Bottom row, from left: Sheer Pattern Crew, Five Toed Sheer Knee High, B.Ella Gigia Microfiber Crew.

Sweet peas are pretty little pastel flowers. They have a distinct shape and don’t seem to be a popular choice to decorate socks with. Daisies too! Other than the flowers the Sock It To Me Elephants are holding, there isn’t single daisy on the socks we currently carry. I suppose I’ll just have to make my own. Let’s see, we need some solid white styles for the outside and some solid yellow for the middle:

Clockwise from top: Bobby Socklings, Ribbed M Stockings, Socklings, Opaque Thigh High with Bows, Taller Tabis, Harajuku Arm Warmers.
Center: Arm Warmer w/Thumb.

Did you know the daisy is a compound flower? Each petal and each cluster of yellow in the middle is an individual flower. Nature! So crazy and awesome.

The constellation that makes up most of April is Aries, the ram. I know the ram is kind of like, this noble symbol, but even the most dignified ram is still as fluffy as the sheep on the Sleepy Sheep bedsocks (though I’m sure the facial expression would be more stern). Sheep provide a lot of wonderful wool, with merino being a popular choice when luxurious softness is sought. We have a nice selection of merino styles to pamper your toes, but here are a couple that I consider the fluffiest, thanks to the amazing combo of soft wool and boucle yarn:

• B.Ella Katy Striped Wool Socks •
• Alpino Merino Mousse Crew •
• Franco Wool Boucle Stripe Midcalf •

April! Fluffy flowers, sparkling sheep! Spring all of its wackiness in full force.

One style Gumball Poodle calls “dress socks.” You can spot ‘em by their contrast heel and toe. Smooth textured and thin enough for snugger shoes, they’re perfect at hiding under office slacks, looking like a plain dress sock at the ankle while secretly being like, a ninja.

The other style is called an “athletic sock.” True to its name, this style is rugged and ready for anything. A terry lined foot cushions and absorbs—in the copy for the athletic styles we even say “Keep in mind that they are SO cushy they bring your shoe size up by half a size, so they’re best for roomier sneaks and boots.” Their lightly ribbed body is a pro at staying up, they’re no sissies.

Beyond just style, the differences between the dress and athletic socks affect the fit. The dress socks don’t stay up as well on some legs as the athletic socks and there is no way the athletic socks are fitting into snug dress shoes. But with over forty words and phrases to choose from we know you’ll find a fit that strikes your fancy and says exactly what you mean.

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!).

Even though we love science, none of us are professional scientists (yet!), but luckily the compression brands we carry have plenty of them. Therafirm, Sockwell and CEP are all amazingly designed graduated compression brands, each of them designed for different lifestyle needs. Therafirm’s Preggers styles are graduated compression tights designed to energise and support the tired legs and feet associated with pregnancy. CEP is designed for sports, maximising performance and recovery after competition or working out. Sockwell has socks that maximise fun and health, with gorgeous designs and smartly built socks. Even Dahlgren and Injinji have compression styles with the same smart sports and lifestyle designing that defines their brands.

• CEP •
• Sockwell •
• Therafirm •

There’s a trick to putting compression socks on correctly, though. As you might have noticed, compression socks are tight and can be hard to put on. There’s a reason for that. Just yanking them on won’t distribute that smartly designed sock correctly and will prevent the sock from giving you the benefit of proper graduated compression. Plus, for styles with higher compression, it can be unhealthy, since they are designed to be worn with the fabric evenly distributed up the leg. CEP has a fun little video on YouTube showing the basics of putting on compression socks and Therafirm’s Preggers has some great tips on their website for donning compression styles.

This simple little trick just takes a minute or so extra but is worth every second. For folks who prefer a photo reference, we got you covered after the jump!

First, put your hand inside the sock and grab the heel from the inside. While still holding the heel, turn the body of the sock inside out, to where you’re gripping. The heel area makes kind of a little “ear.”

Now open up the sock and put the foot on, up to the heel.

With the foot in place you can ease the sock up your leg a bit at a time; either by pinching and pulling small sections up, starting at the ankle, or by gathering the body of the sock and gently working it up the leg. The pinch and pull approach lets you deal with just one layer, instead of an entire handful of bunched up sock, allowing you to more properly and easily distribute the fabric of the leg. If you gather the sock, as shown here, you’ll need to go back and make sure that everything is distributed properly.

Now that you’re all en-socked, take a second to check: Is the body of the sock twisted and are the toes straight? CEP’s arcing stripes and the little plus sign on the back of Sockwell compression styles are a guide to proper alignment. A twisted up sock is uncomfortable, imagine how much more uncomfortable a twisted up compression sock would be! Taking a second to check everything now saves you annoyance and discomfort later. Running your hands over the body of the sock, make sure it is evenly distributed. The Sockwell styles  in particular like to bunch at the ankle, so pinch and pull that extra fabric up, distributing it along your leg.

The last thing to do is enjoy the hugging comfort of a perfectly placed compression sock!

So, whether you stand a lot, sit a lot or work out hard, graduated compression socks can help refresh, recover and relax tired legs and feet. Just remember to take that extra minute to put them on so that their benefits can truly benefit you.

The aptly named “water of the sea” Aquamarine is turquoise beryl (its deeper green cousins are emeralds!). Now, we’ve got a lot of things that are turquoise, it’s a very popular colour (although, I will confess, it’s a real bear to colour correct!)

Clockwise from top: Opaque Solid Nylon Trouser Socks, Nuova Baby Ribbed Wool Socks, Harajuku Arm Warmer, Classic ToeToe Socks, Harajuku Scrunchy Socks, Layered Tulle Petticoat.

But March gets two birthstones! The second is Bloodstone, also known as Heliotrope, even though it is totally a different colour than the Heliotrope flower. Deep, dark green with flecks of red, it’s sort of the perfect counterpoint to the clear blues of Aquamarine. Green and red don’t appear together on socks very often, but I think we can capture the ideals of Bloodstone pretty easily.

• Dreamy Striped Tubes •
• New Zealand Bedsocks with Stripes •
• N Stripes •

I always forget that March’s flower, the Daffodil, is properly called the Narcissus. Frilly and yellow and already flowering in my yard, they’re harbingers of spring, reminding us that sun is around the corner. I was a little worried about picking styles to represent these flowers. Yellow, despite the recent popularity of mustard as a colour, isn’t a common shade of sock, but lo and behold I found a couple of shots where we used the Narcissus to bring out the best of lemony shades!

• White Knees •
• Sock It To Me Bumble Bees •
• Vertically Inclined Knee Highs •

Properly following February’s Aquarius sign, March’s constellation is mostly Pisces, symbolised by two fish. And we’ve got two-by-two options for you, both straight up fish:

• Sock It To Me Koi Fish •
• Mouthy Fish 3-D Socks •

And more symbolic scales (maybe your feet are the fish!):

• Lola Knee High •
• Mermaid Armor Over the Knee •

March marches on, bringing us the start of spring and sneak peeks of sunshine. Are you a March birthday? Do you pick Aquamarine or Bloodstone?

• Snappy Shamrock Garters •
• Lucky Knee Highs •
• Sock It To Me Clover •

Thanks to our colour search, you can find lots of green styles to satisfy any anti-pinching needs. The Green Knees are a great start, and you can find a grassy shade in a lot of the knees styles.

From top: Green Knees in Black, Green Knees in Kelly, Green Knees in Purple, Green Knees in Fuchsia, Orange Knees in Kelly, Pink Knees in Lime.

There’s a lot of history behind what colour you wear on St. Patrick’s day. Some folks wear orange, a colour you also see on Ireland’s flag. We offer a lot of oranges, from rusty shades to crayon brights.

• Extraordinarily Longer Thigh High •
• Harajuku Arm Warmers •
• Opaque Tights •

Recently (like I mentioned last year) we see folks sporting rainbows and gold.

• Rainbow Piano Knee High •
• Metallic Leggings •
• Over The Rainbow Thigh Highs •

But did you know that St. Patrick and Ireland used to be symbolised by hues of blue? From the sky tints of history to the richer shades used today, “St. Patrick’s blue” is still found in modern symbols.

• Cotton Slouch Socks •
• O Basics •
• OTK Tubes •

So many colours to pick from! But no matter what you choose, have a happy St. Patrick’s day!

From top: N Stripes in Royal & Light Blue, N Stripes in Red & Orange, N Stripes in Kelly & Lime, O Tie Dyed.

If you’re a knitter, you’re probably familiar with the ways to get a little more stretch out of a sock. High percentage cotton and wool knits can be manipulated when wet (“blocking”), sneaking out a little more room or tightening up the fibers for a snugger fit. You can’t change the stretch or size of a sock dramatically with blocking, but you can add (or remove) a little extra for a more custom fit.

Whether you’re looking to add some more stretch in the body of the sock or shrink the foot a little, you’ll need a small towel, hot water (Be safe! Wear rubber gloves if you need to and keep the water about the temperature of a hot bath) and a place you can splash a little. And of course you’ll need the socks you’ll be working on. I’ll be showing you the process using O Basics.

If you’re looking to stretch the body of the sock, you’ll also need something to stretch around. Coffee cans are pretty perfect for this, but anything sturdy and round can work. Use a measuring tape and find something that’s just a bit wider around than the sock can stretch now. Or you can go around putting the sock on things to see what just barely fits. That is more fun.

Wet Stretching

Right now there is a lot of variance in the calf stretch of O Basics, so sneaking a little more stretch out of this style is pretty useful. Wet the area you’ll be working on by dunking the body of the sock into your water. Get it thoroughly wet, somewhere between dripping and just damp. I’m mostly concerned with the calf area, so that’s the only part I’m getting wet.

Now gently but firmly stretch the sock over whatever you’ve picked to stretch it over.

Now you just wait a couple of hours (or longer, depending on how humid where you live is). Once your sock is dry, slide it off and check it out.

Before stretching the body of these O Basics stretched to just barely 16 inches. On the can they were stretched to about 16 and a half inches. Now they stretch to 17 inches! How much you can get out of wet stretching depends on the fiber blend, the colour of the sock (some colours just have no stretch, it’s crazy!), a lot of little variables. But you can almost always get a half inch more. Keep in mind that you’ve reduced the elasticity a bit, so your stretched-out sock may not stay up as well as an un-stretched sock.

Shrinking the Foot

This process is more of a try and try again sort of procedure. You’ll notice that for high cotton content styles like the O Basics we recommend that you “Machine or hand wash in cold to cool water, tumble dry low or hang dry.” If you’ve ever had a pair of high cotton or wool content socks sneak into with a load of bathtowels you know why—they shrink in the heat!

Unlike some of the other DreaM Stockings (like any of the striped “knees” styles), the O Basics have a smaller foot, which we recommend for “Women’s shoe size 5-10, maybe even bigger.” But it’s loose on a size 5, so let’s see if we can make them work better. They’re starting off at about 6.5 inches from toe to heel, unstretched (my measuring was a little more accurate than this picture!).

WARNING: doing this is going to shrink the body of the sock a little too, so if you don’t want to lose any calf stretch, you might be better off using this awesome sewing method we linked to on Pinterest from Little Porcelain Princess.

The first step is just getting the foot thoroughly wet in hot water. Just get the foot wet (and the ankle, if it’s too baggy on you), unless you’re trying to shrink the whole sock.

Now throw it in the dryer on medium, with towels or some other bulky stuff. If you can (although it’s a waste of energy and quarters), dry them with things that aren’t wet or damp, so the body of the sock doesn’t get wet and shrink as much as the  foot. As the sock dries the fibers contract. Now the foot is about 6 inches unstretched! Not a huge difference, but it can mean a lot to little toes. We did try getting the foot wet and letting it air dry AND getting the foot wet and putting it in front of a hot air heater, but they didn’t create any noticeable shrinking.

Remember, wet stretching doesn’t totally transform the fit of a sock, it just helps you get that extra perfect fit. Read those Sizing Tips and remember you can always drop us a line for more in-depth sizing info.

 This year, we’ve got a Valentine’s gift for you. No, not a sale or a code, but something much sillier. May I present four covers for (pretend) romance novels featuring our favourite stars, socks! If any style tugs at your heart strings, I’ve given the names links straight to the colour shown.

Love’s Captive

Her love held him, but would their fibers keep them apart?

 Shirley was a gorgeous cotton sock and heiress to a fortune. When she finally meets Michael, the one sock who seems to love her for more than her money, Shirley knows in her deepest heart that he’s too good to be true. When he turns out to be a wool blend she works even harder to bind him with love, hoping he’ll stay and that their different washing techniques won’t keep them apart. But will Shirley go too far and actually felt his cashmere-blended heart?

Knit Together

A baby can test your patience, but can it test your love?

Bea and her baby Dottie give Sabina the family she always wanted. Sabina has never hesitated about jumping into a situation with both feet, but she’s also never jumped into something quite like this. Is sharing the duties of mother too much for the Bea and Sabina’s growing love?

Branded “L” for Love

A sheriff bootsock romance.

Sheriff Gregorio was never easily swayed by a steady life or a pretty sock, until he met April. The flirty knee high was as sweet as could be, but it was her streak of bull-headedness that roped him in. When he finds out that April has been running her family’s ranch by herself, Sheriff Gregorio pitches in and finds that he and his trusty steed might be ready to settle down.

Tides of Desire

They never expected to be swept away . . . by love.

The beach cottage was playboy Greyson’s getaway, a place to escape to. Just like he’d escape to the arms of whoever he could find, leaving both love and cottage when the city called him. This time he chose Franco and, as the sun-warmed days wore on, Greyson began to doubt he could leave his soft embrace—but could Franco fit in with Greyson’s city life?

I am not ashamed to admit I maybe spent a lot of time thinking of the stories for these. I mean, I love socks, why couldn’t they love each other?

Have a lovely Valentine’s day and remember to treat yourself too! Because, if I can paraphrase one of my favourite quotes, “if you can’t love yourself, how are you gonna love someone else?”