I’m sitting here on this very chilly Monday, after another snowed-in weekend in the Witch City. On these super cold days, I always reach for my Crazy Zauberball socks. I rarely stray away from hand-dyed sock yarns for socks, but Zauberall is one of my few exceptions (along with Regia Premium Merino Yak).
About six years ago, I whipped up this pair of Wintersmith Socks in their Kleiner Fuchs colorway. Today, they’re showing some signs of being well-loved over the years (a few pills, definitely plenty of cat hair from living with four cats), but they’re good as new.
My Crazy Zauberball socks always come out in the depths of winter. All the colorways in this sock yarn collection are gorgeous long striping gradients, and the burst of color on my feet always cheers me up - even if they’re hiding inside my snow boots.
Zauberball can be a little scary to my fellow East Coast knitters. West Coast knitters are more rugged, and they tend to have a greater appreciation for rustic, hard-wearing wools. They know how to layer them, and that these rustic woolens are warmer and offer better protection against the harsh temperatures. East Coast knitters tend to prefer softer wools, leaning more heavily towards the softer hand of merino wool.
Rustic wools are the unsung heroes of super cold weather knitting. Even I can admit that Zauberball is a little too scritchy and itchy for crisp fall days (I stick to my hand-dyed merino blends for that season), but it’s perfect for winter. The itchy barbs in wool lay flatter the colder it gets, so while your Zauberball socks may feel like too much in October, by February, they are the best things to wrap your feet in.
The Wintersmith Socks are a pattern I wrote a few years ago, specifically with Crazy Zauberball in mind. This sock pattern is knit toe-up with a short row heel, and the plain stockinette really lets the beautiful gradient colors shine. But it also has a special detail: the Wintersmith Socks feature a princess sole! This means the sole is knit with purl side facing out, so you get to walk on the smooth stockinette side. This simple detail really makes all the difference!
Wondering if you should make a pair? You can also check out Tessa’s gorgeous Crazy Zauberball socks!
