Fleece Socks Tutorial This tutorial includes the pattern pieces necessary to complete a pair of deliciously warm and comfortable fleece socks that can range in size from a women’s size 6 to a women’s size 11. The socks are approximately 9” tall, from the bottom of the heel. Materials needed:
At least 24” in length, of a fleece material (it can be anti‐pill or any other fleece you may have available) and must be at least 48” wide. The largest piece of the sock (the bottom part) measures approximately 9” wide by 22” long, depending on the size of sock you are making.
Using the enclosed pattern pieces:
You will need to make sure that you do not scale down the size of the pattern pieces. Make sure that your printer is set to print at 100% in size. You will be lining up several dotted lines to complete the 2 pattern pieces. Tape the pieces together to make sure that they don’t slip on you when you are cutting out the fabric pieces.
Cutting the fabric pieces:
When I cut out my pieces, I always make sure that the stretch of the fleece is going in the proper direction. You will see on each pattern piece a set of arrows telling you which way the fabric should be stretching. If you cut it with the stretch going in the wrong direction, it may make the socks too tight once you are done sewing them. I like to cut as little as possible, so I fold the fabric over (again, making sure the stretch is in the right direction) and lay the pattern piece on top so that I can cut out 2 pieces of the same side at the same time. Unless you have a fabric pattern that you are trying to fussy cut, this method should work just fine. The toes of the socks are interchangeable like regular socks, so there is no specific left or right sock that you have to worry about cutting out correctly. Sock sewing instructions: Once you have all of your sock pieces cut out (2 of the tops and 2 of the bottoms for a single pair), you will need to begin by creating the heel.
Heel construction: Grab your bottom sock pieces. Using the fold center line on part 2 as a reference, fold the sock almost in half and line up the fold lines as shown in part 2, with right sides facing. When I sew my heels, I like to use a walking foot, since this decreases the amount of sliding around with the fleece. I also like to use a ¼” seam and I like to begin sewing on the fold line. This also helps reduce and puckering as I’m sewing.
Here is a completed heel seam. The only thing left now is to stitch the sock top to the sock bottom. With right sides facing, begin pinning the pieces together, starting at the toe. I like to begin pinning at the toe because this will ensure a better chance of my pieces lining up when I get to the top of the sock, just in case I may not have cut the pieces out evenly. When you reach the rounded parts of the sock top, just do your best to follow the curve and pin the bottom part to it.
When you reach the heel part, you will need to kind of open up the seam so that it lays flat. It’s a little hard to describe, so I have included a video on my blog showing how to pin it. You don’t necessarily have to lay the seam flat like this, but I found that it helps reduce the bulkiness of the seam when you’re wearing it.
Continue pinning the rest of the edges, making sure to leave the top part open (so that you have somewhere to put your foot in of course). Sew along the pinned edges using a ¼” seam. I used my walking foot again.
Sometimes I trim the excess fabric around the toe area, but other than that, all you have left to do is to turn them right side out and enjoy their fuzzy, warm goodness.
