Small Things: DIY On-Trend Chair Socks

Without getting into details, it’s been a stressful last few weeks. I’ve pulled a few late nights, have had lots of bad dreams, and I feel like I’ve been running on that anxious energy you get when things are uncertain. Coffee? No thanks – I have stress-adrenaline pumping through my system approximately 22 hours of the day.

Don’t worry, though, it’s over now. But I needed something really simple to work on here or there, to pick away at when I needed a few minutes to go brain quiet and just not think.

So I decided to knit some super on-trend chair socks.

I was inspired by all the great color dipped furniture DIYs out there in the world. I’ve definitely been mad crushing on this entry way table IKEA hack from my friend The Sweet Beast – but having just painted my kitchen table in the past few months, I wasn’t anxious to break out the sandpaper and paint again. I also enjoyed this wrapped and dipped method from The Brick House – but let’s face it, dismantling the living room console (which the giant flatscreen TV rests on, and which is filled with dishes and movies and photos and other miscellanea) is not the best way to relax and de-stress. Both of these posts have been featured in a round-up at Apartment Therapy though I am *just* pretentious enough to tell you that I saw them first, by subscribing to both of these blogs, both of which I recommend.

Here are the details:

• Yarn: Cascade 220 leftovers (colors), and Patons Classic (white, less than 1 ball).
• Needles: US 4. You want a really tight gauge for these since they will be helping to protect your floor. I used circulars because I prefer to use Magic Loop, but you could just as easily use DPNs.

First, I knit a 1×1 rib swatch. Then, because I was lazy super stressed out, I didn’t even finish it – I just stretched it around a chair leg, pinched it together, and counted how many stitches I would need to cast on for my chair socks to be snug.

This turned out to be 22. I cast on, knit 25 rows, then ssk all the way around once, and k2tog all the way around once, then pulled my yarn through and called it a day.

Repeat a total of 16 times.

I knit the four colored socks first, but decided the look wasn’t unified enough. Giving each chair one bright sock and three white ones evens things out and looks about as sophisticated as handknit socks for your dining set can be.

I left my existing felt pads on and pulled the socks on top, for added protection. I don’t recommend using just knit socks to protect your hardwood floors, because let’s remember: knitting is full of holes. Your chair legs will find a way to bust out of there and scratch the floor whenever you least expect it.

Now we all have warm feet and we can relax.

One last small thing: Over on Ravelry, user Tintti finished a Neon Ski Bonnet! This is the first finished object I’ve seen from my free pattern and I’m over the moon excited about it. If you’ve been thinking about knitting the pattern but waiting to see some finished projects, head on over to the pattern page on Rav and check it out.