Upcycling socks: Sock quilt

All of us have been in the situation of hunting for a missing sock. I for one do not feel at peace until I have searched everywhere – the washing machine, the laundry bin, the clothes line and the cupboards – until my socks are reunited. Given that I am not always successful, you can imagine that I must be quite a disturbed soul – once every month at least, if research findings are to go by!

A study by Samsung in 2016 (you can read the details here) reveals that “we each lose an average of 1.3 socks per month – accounting for more than 15 socks per year and 1,264 over a lifetime”. Though this study was done in Britain, it could well apply to any country where people wear socks.

So what does one do with the single socks?

One could wear them on Odd Socks Day – a day when people are encouraged to wear a pair of odd socks to celebrate individuality and uniqueness. Or on Down Syndrome Day – a day when people wear odd socks (socks are used as the symbol of Down Syndrome) because chromosomes are shaped like socks and people with Down’s syndrome are born with an extra one. Or on any day for that matter, because wearing odd socks (or shoes) is something that would not raise too many eyebrows in today’s society.

If one prefers not to wear odd socks, then here is an interesting way of putting them to good use.

JBCN School in Mumbai recently had “recycling” as the focus of one of their annual events. Children were given the opportunity to conceptualise a recycling project, and the shortlisted ones were asked to actually execute it.

My neighbour Avani and her school mate Divija used the socks collected from residents of our apartment block to make a nice warm socks quilt. They used not only odd socks, but also those that had developed holes or whose elastic had lost strength. Squares and rectangles were cut from the socks and then these were sown together.

“If every child in the school saves their socks, many quilts can be made and donated to the needy people”, was the sentiment behind their effort. Indeed! And just as important is not throwing them with the rest of the garbage, thereby saving them from landfills where they would lie useless.

Well done girls! Here is what they presented…