Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Sockalong,

Happy birthday to you!

Well, here we are into the second decade of the Sockalong tutorials – it’s the Winwick Mum Sockalong 11th birthday!  Wow, I can hardly believe that I’m writing that!

This year sees 11 years of the Winwick Mum Sockalong tutorials helping beginner sock knitters get to grips with their first pair … and who knows where that will take them?  These tutorials have helped family sock knitters, gift knitters, charity knitters, even future sock designers get started, boosting well-being with every stitch and, of course, having the best dressed feet around!  I’ve always joked that I’m taking over the world one sock at a time with my Sockalong tutorials, but last year I said I’m going to go one better and say that between us, we’re IMPROVING the world one sock at a time and I’m absolutely sticking to that, because who doesn’t benefit from wearing hand knitted socks knitted with fabulous yarns, lots of love and the odd swear word? 🙂  Now, that’s something we can all celebrate!

If you’re new to the blog and sock knitting, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.  Nowadays, it’s really easy to find online tutorials and videos to help people learn to knit socks and many local yarn shops offer regular classes, but back in 2015 when the Sockalong tutorials were first published, it wasn’t quite as simple.  We forget how technology has moved on!

I knitted my first pair of socks in my teens, wrestling with DPNs and a pattern that seemed to be inordinately complicated for a new knitter (you can read my story about that here), only returning to socks when not so small daughter was a baby.  Even then, I probably wouldn’t have done so had it not been for three things:

1     Balls of stripy Kaffe Fassett sock yarn on the yarn shop counter – I used to knit Kaffe Fassett colourwork jumper samples for my local yarn shop as a teenager and as nobody ever told me I couldn’t do it, they taught me to be a fearless knitter and I really love his colour choices – this yarn was hard to resist!;

2    My husband is not a woolly jumper kind of husband but I thought he might wear socks if I made them for him (and he does – they’re his “proper” socks!);

3     The pattern was free.

There was absolutely no reason not to cast on!

Fast forward to 2015 when, after yet another person had told me that knitting socks was far too hard and why would you bother anyway, a chance conversation at a knit n natter group had me throwing my hands up in air and saying “But socks aren’t hard to knit!”

Before I knew it, I had announced to the world that I would be writing some beginner sock knitting tutorials for the blog to go with the free Basic 4ply Socks pattern that I had released the year before.  The Winwick Mum Sockalong tutorials would also be free because by the time I wrote them, I’d knitted many pairs of socks and I knew that the well-being resulting from sock knitting was so important that I didn’t want anybody to be stopped from experiencing this for themselves – and I never thought about charging for the pattern because I had really appreciated a free pattern myself when I got back into sock knitting.  It’s nice to pay it forward!

The idea was that anybody who wanted to knit socks would be able to follow the Sockalong tutorials and discover the joy of hand knit socks that many of us already appreciated.  I would write them as if we were sitting together because it’s always nicer to knit with a friend, and there would be lots of photos to go with those words – this does mean my tutorials are more wordy than some, but I like to think that we’re chatting and we’ve got a lot to say!

And that’s how it all started.  I love that I’m still chatting to people about socks eleven years later, and it truly makes my heart sing every time I think of how many people have benefitted from bringing sock knitting into their lives.

And as you can probably imagine, I’ve not stopped in those eleven years!

In the same year as the tutorials were written and published on the blog, I turned them into paperback form as Super Socks for those who couldn’t or didn’t want to be online all the time, and also e-book form for those who prefer that format.  I started the Winwick Mum Sockalong Facebook group so that people could ask questions in real time and that’s been amazing – there are thousands of people from all over the world in this group and thanks to the magic of time zones and people’s generosity in helping others to learn, this really is a group that works in real time – whatever the time!  There’s also the Winwick Mum Knit n Natter group on Facebook which came about as those who were knitting socks also wanted to chat, to share other project pictures and to just connect with other people.  The Facebook groups have been wonderful places to see not just socks started and finished as people have decided that now is the right time for them to be learning to knit socks., but also see progress as knitting confidence has developed (it’s amazing what you can do when you’re cheered on by like-minded friends!) – and more than a few on and offline friendships start too!

What else?  Well, a bit later on I wrote More Super Socks for people who had knitted their first basic pairs and wanted to move onto a different pattern, but still felt that other patterns were a step too far.  It contains four of my in-depth tutorials (with videos!) and four exclusive patterns which are more wordy than many you will find, but those extra steps have made it easier for people to step out of their comfort zones and to branch out with their knitting.

In 2023, I created a new notebook called Project Super Socks so that knitters both new and experienced could keep all of their sock knitting notes together, and have a copy of the Basic 4ply Socks and the Basic 8ply (DK) Socks patterns (a chunkier version of the Basic 4ply Socks) at hand in their project bags.  I’m delighted to tell you that it’s been a huge hit and even I am wondering how I ever managed without my own copy!

I’ve also won a few awards now and I’m very proud of them, I’ve been delighted to be invited to write articles and design socks for magazines, yarn shops and of course, my favourite yarn company, West Yorkshire Spinners!  I’ve been designing for them since 2017 and together we’ve produced a number of pattern books.  I have been very proud to have been asked to design the sock patterns to go with their special Christmas yarns for the last seven years, and even more delighted to see those patterns being used all year round, not just with the Christmas yarn!

What I never could have imagined when I first started writing Winwick Mum, never mind the Sockalong tutorials, and best of all is that I’ve got my very own Signature 4ply Winwick Mum yarn designed in collaboration with my lovely friends at West Yorkshire Spinners.  Goodness, I could hardly contain myself when the first samples arrived in the post!  Not only did I get to design the yarn, but I got to design the patterns to go with it and you can see those on my patterns page here.  I have loved seeing the yarn being knitted up, knowing that people have enjoyed using it and have been able to support their local yarn shops by buying it.  And let’s not forget all the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made along the way too … it truly has been an incredible time!

 

I have a lot to be thankful for, from that day in the yarn shop when I couldn’t leave that stripy Kaffe Fassett yarn on the counter!  I don’t ever take for granted the incredible times that I have had over the last eleven years – seeing people discover that sock knitting really isn’t as hard as they might have thought, and all of the good things that have come from it.  I have been very blessed, and I never forget that how much of that is down to you … thank you for knitting the socks, for sharing the tutorials with others who want to learn, for giving your time to help others once you have learnt yourself, for buying my books and my yarn … thank you! xx

 

So what happens now?  Well, as far as the Winwick Mum Sockalong goes, nothing is changing.  The Sockalong tutorials are staying on the blog and they are still free – I have always said that if someone has the money to buy the yarn and needles or buy the book then I would much rather than they bought the yarn and got started – so there’s no change there.  Super Socks is still available for anybody who wants to buy a paperback or ebook version.  More Super Socks, the follow-on book with more techniques and patterns, is also still available in paperback and e-book versions.  Project Super Socks continues to save the day when we need to know what we did on the last pair of socks we knitted for someone and can’t quite remember how many rounds we worked for the foot … 😉  West Yorkshire Spinners are still producing Winwick Mum yarn which is available from WYS stockists worldwide and there are two collections, so that’s eight colourways to choose from.  There are also videos on my YouTube channel, and I’ve got plans for more later this year.

 

I’d really love you to be part of the Winwick Mum Sockalong 11th birthday celebrations, so here’s what I’ve got planned for this year!

 

Winwick Mum Sockalong birthday giveaway

Every year, I get to do this to share my good fortune in having something I love be such a important part of my life, and every year I think how fortunate I am to be able to even think about it!

There are two prizes full of all kinds of sock-knitting goodness – let me tell you a bit more about what’s here!

💜  First of all, and because this is the Sockalong birthday, I’ve got two signed copies of Super Socks, the paperback version of the online Sockalong tutorials …

The book contains the same information as the online tutorials but is set out by needle type rather than across sock sections as the online tutorials are.  It’s a good big size to prop open with your brew and there are pages at the back to make notes, which is a useful thing to do, especially if you’re going to adjust the pattern for yourself or knit for other people (and you don’t have a copy of Project Super Socks yet 😉 ).

There is just one sock pattern in there – the Basic 4ply Socks pattern – given in both 4ply and 6ply versions, and this is because this is a book for beginners.  The point of the book is that it’s a tutorial, the best way I could think of for you and I to sit together and knit a pair of socks without confusing everything by trying to cram lots of other patterns in there as well.  You can go and find other patterns at any time, but my intention with Super Socks and the Sockalong tutorials is to help you knit your first pair so that you understand what you are doing and you feel like a sock knitting superstar when you put them on your feet!

If you want to see inside the book, take a look at this post here as it shows you what’s in there and how the book was put together.  If you want to see the online tutorials as well so that you can compare, and check out my writing style if you’re a Winwick Mum newbie, you can find those here.

 

💜  I’ve got some amazing treats from Emma Ball, perfect for storing needles and accessories … goodness, she has been generous to us!  I’ve got two project bags, big enough for lots of pairs of socks, two cute stitch marker tins (I’ve put some bulb pins in too) and two packets of sticky notes.

💜 I’ve got some yarn from my lovely friends from Wool Warehouse – their merino sock yarn makes a fabulous pair of socks …

What else?

💜   there’s a tape measure (perfect for checking your tension 😉 ), an exclusive Winwick Mum bookmark and Winwick Mum Sockalong pin badge for each winner.  This enamelled purple badge is ideal for project bags and also for wearing to festivals so that you can spot other Sockalongers.

I really love being able to put these giveaways together each year to say thank you for being part of the Winwick Mum Sockalong, and I am always very thankful to have such generous yarny friends to help me!

 

There’s one more thing …

It’s the Sockalong birthday and I’m encouraging everyone to start a new pair of Basic 4ply Socks!

Oh, let’s just do it!  Let’s cast on en masse and fill the world with fabulous sock knitting energy!

If it’s your first pair, you can check out the Winwick Mum Sockalong tutorials for help with choosing yarn and needles to start with, then working out your size and knitting the socks all the way down to the seam-free toes.  If it’s not your first pair, join in anyway!  You know I always encourage everyone to have a sock on the go for emergency situations (never be caught without your sock in your bag just in case!), and it’s the perfect time to cast on.  It’s always the perfect time to cast on … I am unapologetically biased and want everyone to knit socks! 🤣

 

You might be needing a lie down after all this never mind a brew, so let me get on and tell you how to enter the giveaway!

For the last ten years, I’ve been asking you to tell me how many pairs of Sockalong socks you knitted since the last Sockalong birthday.  I’ll never know for sure how many pairs of socks have actually been knitted using the Basic 4ply Socks pattern and tutorials, of course, but I have so enjoyed keeping a rough count over the years – plus I hope that it shows those teetering on the edge of their own sock adventures that it really is possible! – so this year I will be continuing the tradition of the Annual Sock Count.

So far, the running total through the blog stands at 23,173 pairs, which is absolutely unbelievable and never something I ever expected on that January afternoon when I announced I’d be writing sock tutorials!  I wonder how many more have been knitted this year?!  It’s not a competition with previous years, it’s just a bit of fun (and might also tell me how close we are to really taking over the world with hand-knit socks 🙂 )

To enter the giveaway, please comment how many pairs of Basic 4ply Socks (not other patterns, please) you have knitted since May 2025.  Don’t worry if you’re still making your first pair or are about to cast on, just write that information and your comment will count too.  And then, because I would love to know how far our sock connections reach, please tell me where you are in the world! (Please do remember not to post any personal details, just a general idea of where you are is great so that we can see where everyone is.)

Only comments on this post will be entered into the draw, and please only comment once!  

The giveaway will be open until 8pm BST on Friday 8 May 2026 and I’ll announce the winners on the blog over the weekend.  I’ll also send the winners an email so do check your emails and spam folders next weekend.  If no response is received within 14 days, the prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected.  No alternatives to the prizes as shown are available.

I am happy to post the prizes anywhere in the world, so don’t feel that you can’t be part of this because you don’t live in the UK.  I think you can choose to leave your comment as “anonymous” if you don’t have a WordPress account, but don’t forget to put your name in the comment so that when I post the winners I’ll be able to identify you!  And finally, don’t worry that your comment doesn’t show straight away – the comments are set for me to check them before they upload to the blog to make sure that no spam gets through so they are all safely stored in my blog messages until I’ve seen them.  I’ll make sure they’re all uploaded on time!

 

Happy birthday Sockalong, here’s to many more years of socking all over the world!