Hamer’s Humdingers — Fulled Socks by Joan Hamer

Hamer’s Humdingers — Fulled Socks

Copyright Joan Hamer

These are house socks that are very thick and very warm. If you’ve made the original Joan’s Socks, these will go even faster because they take less rows per inch. Before fulling, these socks will look enormous! Trust me that they will be perfect in the end. The felting technique comes from Robin Hanson’s various writings on the subject, to whom I’ve forever grateful.

Materials 2 balls Lopi, Icelandic Samband or Brown Sheep Bulky wool or any single ply pure wool. Should be a color because white often doesn’t full very well.

Needles Size 10-1/2 US (6-1/2mm) & 11 US (8mm) dpn’s

Fulling Materials

Murphy’s Oil Soap (helps retain oils), table salt (speeds fulling process), rubber gloves, ice cubes (to keep water very cold), washboard, or cookie cooling racks, hair conditioner, old toothbrush. OK, so this might require some shopping, but you’ll probably make more than one pair!

This is a variation of the Joan’s Socks pattern. You will need the instructions for those socks to do these.

Use the same basic pattern with these changes:

  • Use only one strand of the bulky wool. The regular Joan’s Socks requires two.
  • No ribbing at top. Cast on with 10-1/2 needles. Make sure your cast on is loose – use a large needle if necessary. Cast on 4 more stitches than the original which will give you an inch more.
  • Work in stockinette stitch and let the top roll down.
  • To keep the foot the same, at about 4″ and 6″ work a decrease round as follows:
    • K1, ssk, knit to within 3 sts of end of round, k2tog k1.
    • After the second decrease round (at 6″) you will have the original number of stitches for the foot.
  • On last round of leg, change to size 11 needles.
  • Work foot to at least 2 to 2-1/2″ longer than you normally would. Remember it will shrink much more in length than it will in width. You will be able to control the fulling and stop when they are the size you want.

Fulling

Machine fulling will not produce as dense a fabric and this “hands-on” method. Using 2 dishpans (or double kitchen sink) run hot water into first adding Murphy’s Oil Soap. I boiled additional water to keep it very hot. Be sure and wear rubber gloves so you don’t burn your hands. Into the 2nd sink run very cold water with a tray or two of ice cubes and about 1/4 cup of salt.

  • Put the socks into hot water, letting them soak for about 10 minutes. Rub more soap into them and scrub them vigorously on the washboard, dipping them into the hot water to keep them hot and making sure your scrub all sections of the sock. Good for the frustrations of everyday life! Primal scream is optional.
  • Wring out excess water and immediately plunge them into the cold water. Squeeze water through and let rest a few minutes. Take out and wring out excess water.
  • Repeat Steps 1 & 2 until they have fulled to the size you want. It will take 3 or 4 of these actions before you notice a drastic difference. Keep looking at them and stop when they are the size you want. Try them on wet if you must. These are thick and the outside measurements might be deceiving.
  • When you have them the way you want them, run a pan of warm clear water, adding a bit of hair conditioner. Rinse thoroughly and squeeze out excess water by rolling in a towel.
  • Push and pull the sock into shape and then brush them with the toothbrush from top to toe on both sides.
  • Throw them in the dryer until nearly dry. Don’t overdry. Roll top into shape and let air dry.