Welcome to Sock Madness
October 16, 2006
Inspiration has struck and Sock Madness has been born. In March of 2007 this will be the home of a competitive sock knitting event like no other. It will involve knitters from around the world knitting socks in a tournament style competition. The patterns will be released at the start of each round and, we hope, will be unique. There will be prizes and buttons and more. The success of this event depends on volunteers to assist with various preparatory tasks. Here they are:
- Sock designers - We hope to use 7 new patterns in this competition. They will be of increasing difficulty and complexity. I will attempt to design one but we have little experience with these things. If you are interested in writing a pattern for the tournament or know someone who is – please let us know. Ideally, one of the benefits of involvement in Sock Madness will be that, regardless of how far you go, all competitors will wind up with copies of each pattern at the end.
- Spread the word – this competition won’t be a success without people to play along. It is being carefully structured to encourage newbies and experienced knitters alike. By the later rounds all competitors will be more experienced than at the start so please don’t be discouraged. As with any tournament, we’ll need spectators and cheerleaders too.
- Loot – if you would like to contribute towards the prizes it would certainly be welcome. The more donationes we get the more prizes will be awarded.
- Input – if there is anything that you can suggest to make this event a success – please don’t hold back.
If you can help with any of the items above, or if you just want to let us know that you think it’s a great idea then e-mail us – sockmadness at gmail dot com
Entry Filed under: Rules and Admin. .
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1.
yarnjunkie | October 16, 2006 at 6:01 pm
this sounds like fun
2.
aija | November 1, 2006 at 1:25 pm
This sounds really interesting. Good luck with it
(PS, a small suggestion? Under designer guidelines you list that sock sizes should be listed by shoe size– womens 7.5, mens 8 etc– I’d suggest that your designers submit a foot circumference guide instead, say 8.5″ (women’s medium), 9.5″ (men’s medium) and length of foot in inches guides as well. This is easiest as shoe sizes can vary, you want international knitters (right?) and it will help those with larger/smaller feet easily knit along.
Good luck! I wish I had the time to crack out a design submission for yall, but my holiday knitting is killing me.
3.
Julie | November 1, 2006 at 3:24 pm
This really sounds like fun!
4.
Carole | November 1, 2006 at 4:41 pm
Sounds like fun. I’d love to play along. Do you need a button for this?
5.
Astabeth | November 1, 2006 at 11:33 pm
I don’t think I could participate (sorry kid, Mommy can’t help you, I have to get this sock finished), but I would like to help pattern test if you need someone.
6.
Melanie | November 1, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Woohoo!
This sounds like fun! I am so joining in.
I can make socks, but I don’t think I am at a level to design one yet.
Can’t wiat to start!
7.
Kat | November 2, 2006 at 1:21 am
Sounds interesting, I’ll knit along. I’m slow sock knitter, so you can make me a 16 seed.
8.
Caroline | November 2, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Ooh this sounds fun – can’t wait!
BTW – having completed only 2 pairs of socks, I’ll be a 16th seed like Kat…
9.
firefly8868 | November 2, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Good luck with this; it sounds like a fun engaging activity with a very good intention behind it.
~firefly
10.
Joanne | November 2, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Count me in to design a sock pattern. Just send me the designer guidelines and a deadline and I’ll get started.
11.
Spark | November 2, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Great! I would love to participate! I am not an expert sock knitter but not a novice either…how do I sign up?
12.
Bobbi | November 2, 2006 at 5:00 pm
I’d be interested. Let me know when you have designer guidelines and deadlines (hopefully not Dec 25). Sounds like a LOT of fun! Cheers!
13.
Bridget Landry | November 2, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Am currently still alive in Sock Wars, so I am totally up for this. Please send me info on how to submit designs. Also, when can we start signing up? I heard you were only accepting 128 entrants; since Sock Wars had nearly 800, I’d like to sign up as early as possible, to better my chances of getting in.
Good idea! I’m looking forward to it!
14.
Heraldis | November 2, 2006 at 6:40 pm
I’d love to join, I’ve become addicted to socks!
I tried emailing, but it bounced, should it be dot com rather than net?
15. March Madness has met it&&hellip | November 3, 2006 at 12:56 am
[...] Did I miss something here? Am I supposed to be buying knitting needles, yarns and patterns and crazily learning to knit before March 2007? Is Hanes going to quit mass producing socks? [...]
16.
poseymom | November 3, 2006 at 9:04 pm
I was an early casualty in SOCK WARS and would love another go at a competition. If you’re not familiar with SOCK WARS, you might be able to learn from it’s pitfals to avoid them when planning your competition. I believe people have made suggestions on the forum for improvement if there is another WAR in the future.
Be sure I’ll be bookmarking your page to watch for more info!!!
17.
Anastacia | November 3, 2006 at 11:01 pm
I can probably do a sock design – though Jan 15 deadline is a bit tight for me. Please send me designer guidelines & any other info you may have as well. Thanks!
Anastacia
grannysquare AT intergate dot com
18.
Thomasean | November 6, 2006 at 5:44 am
I’m a pure novice. But I’ll WAR. Tell me what I need to do to be fully prepared.
19.
Koren | November 6, 2006 at 3:22 pm
I really want to do this but I don’t have a digital camera so I won’t be able to post pictures… hopefully someone will remedy this lack for me this Christmas. I’ve been dropping hints – ones like “You know, Mom, I’d really like to get a digital camera for Christmas this year…” So maybe it’ll work.
Just one question (which I guess is several questions in one) about the designs – are any individual modifications allowed? Like if I want to do a different kind of heel/toe than is specified in the pattern, or do toe-up vs. cuff-down? Are yarns going to be specified, or can we use whatever we have on hand? Do I have to make tall socks, when usually I make short cuffs because I prefer ankle socks? I know this gives me an advantage in speed knitting, which might be unfair – but I don’t like wearing tall socks myself. I suppose they could end up being gift socks.
I know I’m being all detail-y and stuff – sorry. I’m super excited about this – I want to start NOW!
20.
Christine | November 7, 2006 at 11:25 pm
This sounds awesome. Finally a way to justify increasing my sock yarn budget. I don’t design (yet) but I’d love to participate.
21.
Luv2knit | November 8, 2006 at 3:43 pm
I would love to participate in this WAR. I have knitted a few pairs of plain socks, but I am certainly not an expert. I am bookmarking this site so I make sure I am in the 128!
22.
Janet Payne | November 11, 2006 at 7:03 am
I would love to join the contest, socks are a madness that you can’t escape from once you start knitting them!
23.
MissyJoon | January 11, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Am I too late–not for the design, but for the knitting competition?!?