Book Review: Sockupied Fall 2015

Despite being woken up at the crack of dawn this morning (why are the seagulls in Glasgow?  there's no sea here, gulls), I've ended up having a very pleasant morning reading through the newest copy of Sockupied.  I bagged a chance to review this recently (courtesy of Interweave) and have been looking forward to sitting down with a cuppa & reading it.  

I've been doing a lot of sock knitting recently, and it's always interesting to see what people are making, how they're doing it and what the effects of different techniques are.  Usually I browse the pretty pictures on Ravelry, but a magazine is a welcome change! 

Having never really browsed through Sockupied before, I sort of wonder why!  It has been around for a few years, I've obviously been missing a trick.  Overall, I'd say this is a good issue and definitely worth a look - and I *need* those cover socks.


Summary
What it is: a good, solid collection of socks. Provides variety and nice explanations.  Very reasonably priced at £1.27 ($2) per pattern - $11.99 total.  Well laid-out.
What it's not: an instructional handbook. not for beginners.  no standard sizing.  not sock theory.

Sockupied is an e-mag, which was initially created in 2010 for interweave.  I have the PDF version, but when bought through the interweave site/i-store or similar online mag platform, it also includes interactive videos etc. too. 

The Fall 2015 edition, as with previous issues, contains 6 sock patterns and a couple of nice articles/interviews.  The articles are interesting, and I particularly liked the first one from Debbie O'Neill with some sock tips. 

The sock collection in the book mainly consists of the top-down variety - though the construction varies considerably from your 'standard' top down sock, to ones which are knitted all the way down the back and picking up stitches to work your way from the toe up the front to cuff again.  There are a couple of stranded colourwork projects, which could be challenging for some knitters, but these are interspersed with relatively simple sock patterns, so there is something for most abilities.  Importantly (or maybe not, if you like your books on a strong theme) there's a good variety of styles, good for gift knitting or if you're not sure which kind you like to knit!

Sockupied is well laid out, with clear transitions from item to item, and clear subcategories.  The text is easy to read, and the photos are, for the most, attractive and informative.  

The Hominy sock photos are unfortunately not very clear - I can't make out the pattern - and come only in one size, so they're my least favourite of the lot.  I wouldn't ever chose to knit these, which is a shame, because maybe they're nice.

My personal favourite socks from the collection are the ones on the cover (though my loves of both orange and grey are probably clouding my judgement). They come in  many sizes, and both foot and calf circumferences are given, which is useful for knee-high socks!   

As much as I've noted that there's no standard sizing, this can be incredibly difficult with socks due to lace / colourwork repeats, especially when many different designers are involved!  What could perhaps be standardised is whether the 'to-fit' or 'actual' measurements are used. 

There is a nice section at the end explaining common sock starting/finishing techniques, which may serve as a useful aide-memoir to readers, and explains some of the trickier / more unusual techniques in the mag.

In particular, I do adore that the photoshoot was carried out in the LYS - for some reason I feel closer to the idea this way, lets face it, most of us can't afford to go on a nice beach holiday to photograph our socks...


Have you been knitting socks recently?  What resources have you been using?
I worked on a short-row toe video recently to accompany some of the sock patterns, did you find it useful?   

:D