the case of the unexpected socks

I bet you weren’t expecting that!  Socks for chairs!
You might be thinking that chair socks is crafting taken one step too far, but I would argue the chair socks, though cute as cute can be, are primarily appealing for their practical purposes.
Recently my kind friend  gave me some sturdy stools for my kitchen.  I was excited when they came home to roost, but I noticed something right away.  The bottoms of these stools were lethal weapons and they were aimed at my floors. Since I own my floors now I was very perturbed.
The idea came to me in an instant.  Iwona had some time ago made adorable little chair socks for our chairs at the Knit Cafe. I decided to steal this idea to protect my floors from my new furnishings.  I went to work with crochet hook in hand and within a few hours I had 8 new wee socks ready to swaddle my stool’s feet. Amazing! Crisis averted! Floors saved!

This is how I made them.
I used left over sock yarn (we all have some of that).  A good choice cause most sock yarn is sturdy and washable.  I used a 3mm crochet hook.
I started with a slip ring and made 6 single crochets into the ring.
Next round I made 2 single crochets into each single crochet for a total of 12.
Then I just single crocheted in rounds till the sock reached the desired length. On the last round I decreased by a couple of stitches for a snug fit.
You could easily adjust these instructions to fit your own chair legs, increasing more or less on the bottom to make a different circumference.  Note that the crocheted bottom spreads out a little after your last decrease round so err on the side of too small,  Crochet is a great way to make these as it is easy to try them on as you go and ensure the fit is right but if you don’t know how to crochet or prefer to knit here is Iwona’s knit recipe for chair socks:

Needles: 2.5mm
Yarn: fingering weight (leftover from making socks will do here)
Gauge: 7sts/1inch, knit in stocking st in rounds.

Measure the circumference of your chair leg in inches. Multiply that number by 7 (gauge). If you end up with a decimal number round it down to a nearest whole number. This is going to be number of sts to co.
Example: 2.25” (circumference of chair leg) x 7(gauge)= 15.75 – .75= 15sts.

Knit your socks in ribbed st pattern. They will hug the legs of your chair better and they will not roll down. Depending on the number of sts you cast on, you can choose different rib pattern. My socks turned out to be 15sts, so I knit k3, p2 rib. I could have also done k2, p1.

If you have an even number of sts you can do k1, p1 rib. If your even number is multiple of 4 sts you can knit k2, p2 or k3, p1 rib.

Once you establish your pattern cast on your sts loosely. I use long tail method over 2 needles, but you could also use cable cast on over bigger needle (4mm or slightly bigger).

Divide sts between 3 needles; join into round being careful not to twist the cast on edge.

K in pattern till desired length. Next, k2 together till 4 or 5 sts remain. Break yarn, leaving about 6″ tail, using darning needle thread the remaining sts through yarn, pull tight and weave in all ends.

Now go to it!
Craftily yours
Kristin