Ok you sock people! I've made about 6 pairs now and am without a pair on the needles NO GOOD. I realized the other day that all of the socks I've made are rather big and bulky. So the next pair I make I want to be sleek and slim, the kind you want to pull on all the time. In fact I'd like about 10 pairs of those.

Then I dedided, wouldn't it be nice to make a cashmere pair.
(did you see Martha Stewart darning ha ha her cashmere socks with Bette Midler. Martha says to Bette: "these are EXPENSIVE, did YOU buy these?" yeah right, Martha darn's her socks)

Anyhow, sorry, uh, oh yeah, so any suggestions for a cashmere that would be good for socks? Or maybe I should use a blend?

I found this new yarn: RYC (is that Rowan?) Cashsoft 4ply,

"Suitable for just about any purpose, Cashsoft 4-Ply is a soft, machine-washable merino/cashmere blend. This yarn will make great mittens, socks, and hats especially.
Content: 50% Merino/40% Microfiber/10% Cashmere
Care: Machine Wash Regular
Weight/Yardage: 50 Grams/197 Yards
Gauge: 7 sts=1" #3 needles
Knitting Weight: Fingering "

That's at Webs. Does that sound good or should I just go with all cashmere for a really luxurious sock?

Wow look at this: (cashmere yarn is really expensive isn't it!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/100-Cashmere-yarn-3-hanks-4-ounces-in-brown-red_W0QQitemZ190081839839QQihZ009QQcategoryZ36594Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And this from Ireland!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Celtic-Memory-Yarns-Incredible-Cashmere-Silk-Deep-Pink_W0QQitemZ170080451632QQihZ007QQcategoryZ36594 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It depends on how well you expect your socks to hold up. The softer yarns will develop wear spots and holes faster and won't have the memory, so they will tend to slump down the leg more.

I made a pair of baby alpaca socks, knowing they wouldn't hold up as well, knowing they would have to be hand washed, and knowing that if I tried to shove them in a pair of shoes they would bunch all up.

I didn't care, I wanted the softness, didn't mind if they were slouch cuffs. I don't wear them around without shoes on, and the shoes I wear them with are birkenstocks.

Most people who make cashmere socks use them for bed socks or such. I made some fingerless gloves out of cashsoft and I just can't see it holding up very well for socks.

If you do choose to go that route, the smaller needle you use, the better they will hold up, to a degree.

One compromise is to run a thin thread of cashmere or angora along with some merino wool or other sock yarn. Then you get the softness and if the cashmere or angora don't hold up.. it's just a thin part of the whole, and the sock should still do what it's supposed to. Pat Fly had some wonderful merino wool socks with a thin strand of angora and they were really nice.

I would suggest a nice merino wool like angora valley, lisa Souza, or socks that rock along with a smaller needles (a size US 1 to US 2 for most people... something that gives about 8 stitches to the inch or so seems to work well).

Mama Bear

Well Mamabear, that's a great detailed answer. Thank you so much!

So you wear them with Birkenstocks! I like that. I wear clogs a lot, clog slippers, Ugg clogs, wooden clogs on the street, so they would work with those.

I'll have to do both, a cashmere pair and then something stronger. Maybe a blend with cashmere and silk... I just saw some yarn somewhere that says the addition of the silk makes them very strong. Got to look around a bunch, since it's so expensive. Will look at the yarns you suggested also.

Thanks again!

lisa souza? never heard of that yarn