These good uses for single socks will give purpose to those lonely orphan socks you've been accumulating for years
88 Absolutely Brilliant Uses for Old Socks
Jewelry case
Use that old sock as a makeshift travel jewelry case to hold jewelry when you travel. The sock will provide cushioning and also (hopefully) deter thieves.
Protect breakables
Use spare socks when you need to pack breakables like glasses or vases, or as padding in boxes.
Knee pads
The next time you garden, Cut off the cuff part of two socks and put them over your knees to protect your clothes and provide a bit of padding.
Keep wrapping paper in place
Another holiday tip: Cut off the cuff part of the sock and put it on wrapping paper rolls so the paper won’t slide off.
Organize cords
You can use the cuff part to wrangle and contain loose electrical cords.
Protect from paint
When painting, slide larger socks over your shoes to shield them from splatter.
Prevent floor scratches
When moving furniture at home, put socks on the feet of a chair or table legs to prevent scratching the floors.
Keep the cold out
Take multiple socks, fill them with a mix of popcorn kernels and quilt/pillow batting, and connect them. Voila: You’ve got a nifty draft stopper to put under the door.
Ball storage
Keep any stray golf, Ping-Pong and other small balls for sports and hobbies together in a sock.
Umbrella holder
These next four uses for single socks can help with car troubles. Put your wet umbrella in an orphan sock to keep the inside of your car dry.
Stop the fog
Fill socks with silica kitty litter (which is extremely absorbent), and keep them on rear and/or front window ledge to stop windshields from fogging up.
Prevent burns
On a hot, sunny day, place a sock over the metal parts of seat belts so they don’t burn people’s skin.
Prolong wipers
In the winter, put them over windshield wipers after you park your car to prevent wipers from freezing and sticking to the glass.
Roll out muscle knots
These next eight uses for single socks can help with body aches and your daily beauty routine. Place a tennis ball inside a sock, knot it and use this to roll out knots in your back or legs.
Get rid of cramps
Combat aches and cramps with a DIY heating pad. Just fill a clean, dry sock (use one that’s all or mostly cotton or wool, with no embellishments) with white or brown rice (not the instant or quick-cooking kind), dried beans, flax seed or barley. Either knot the sock or sew it shut with cotton thread and microwave it for one minute. If it’s not hot enough, up the time in 15-second increments.
DIY ice pack
For pains and itches that require a cold touch, fill a plastic bag with ice and place it inside a sock to make a softer ice pack.
Wrist rest
For an ergonomic wrist rest for your computer, take a sock, stuff it with filling and sew it closed.
Hair tie
In a pinch, cut off the cuff and use it as a scrunchie in your hair.
Sock bun
Use an old sock to create a chic sock bun. Don’t worry: You’ll be the only one who knows a sock is in there!
Overnight curls
Curl your hair while you sleep by tying it up with singleton socks. In the morning, you’ll have mermaid waves.
Relieve dry skin
When dry hands and feet need extra attention, slather lotion on your extremities, cover them with socks and go to sleep. Wake up to baby-soft skin.
Pan handle cover
These next three uses for single socks can help you in the kitchen. For starters, when cooking on the stove, slip one sock over the handle of your saucepan or frying pan; this will not only shield your hand from the heat but also prevent the handle from getting sticky.
Open jars
Use a spare sock as a grip to help open stubborn jars.
Sticky jar cover
Keep your cupboards and refrigerator clean by deploying single socks to cover the bottoms of bottles or jars containing messy, sticky, drippy stuff like syrup, honey, molasses and barbecue sauce.
Eyeglass storage
These next 17 uses for single socks can help step up your clothing and accessory game. Store your eyeglasses in a sock.
Wristband
Cut off the cuff of a sock and use it as a wristband.
Fingerless gloves
Or, make fingerless gloves. If you want a matched pair, use an extra-long knee sock.
Colorful scarf
Using 10 or more socks with complementary colors and patterns, you can even sew them together to create a scarf.
Sleep mask
Fashion a sleep mask with an old sock, some flat backing fabric and an elastic band.
Drawer fragrance
Put potpourri or dried flowers and herbs inside a sock, knot it and stash it in dresser drawers to make them smell nice.
Keep moths away
Fill a sock with mothballs and stow it in a drawer, chest or closet to ward off moths.
Soften laundry
To soften laundry without using fabric softener or buying dryer balls, take a couple of socks, put a tennis ball inside each, knot them and throw them into the dryer before running it.
Dryer sachet
Create an easy dryer sachet by filling a sock with a mix of lavender and flax seed, closing it and adding it to a dryer load.
Delicates wash bag
A larger sock can make an improvised wash bag to hold laundry delicates like lingerie or stuffed animals.
Laundry room board
Decorate your laundry room and help reunite your missing socks by pinning the stragglers to a board.
Polish shoes
Use an old sock as a mitt to polish shoes.
Cover shoes before packing them
Place your shoes inside spare socks next time you’re packing your suitcase.
Deodorize shoes
Fill two spare socks with baking soda, coffee grounds or coffee beans, and leave them in shoes overnight to deodorize them.
Make shoes last longer
Stuff one sock into another sock, then put the whole ball inside your shoes when you’re not wearing them. This will help them retain their shape (and looks) longer.
Boot stands
Take two tall socks, fill them with newspaper or paper, then place the stuffed socks into boots to keep them from falling over.
Boot cuffs
Take a tall sock and make boot cuffs—these can add a pop of color and design and stop chafing.
Clear chalkboards
Check out these next five uses for single socks for some cleaning hacks that can help around the house. Use a sock to wipe off dry-erase boards or chalkboards.
Clean nooks and crannies
Put a sock on your hand, dampen it and clean hard-to-reach places, like between blinds, along moldings and in corners.
Dust high places
To dust extra-tall (e.g., on ceilings) or extra-narrow (under appliances or radiators) spots, fasten a sock to the end of a yardstick or a broom, dampen it and wipe.
Swiffer cover
Employ a sock as an eco-friendly, reusable Swiffer cover by stretching it to go over the bottom (chenille socks are especially good at picking up dust).
Clean houseplants
Put your hand in a sock, dampen it and use it as a mitt to wipe houseplants free of dust and other debris.
Pincushion
To get crafty, check out these next seven uses for old socks. Construct a pincushion by stuffing a sock with toy filling (you can find it at craft stores) and sew it into a ball. Bonus points for fashioning it into a pleasing shape.
Flower pot cover
Reserve your more attractive single socks to serve as colorful covers for flower pots or vases.
Braided bath mat
For those of you with a large number of spare socks and a high level of crafty-ness, cut socks into strips and braid them together to make a bath mat or even a rug.
Christmas decor
You can create a variety of cute stuffed Christmas decorations—from table toppers like these snow people to the hanging-from-a-tree variety.
Sock wreath
Combine socks with a variety of hues and patterns to craft a fabric wreath—make one for Christmas or year-round.
Easter egg cozies
For Easter morning breakfast, dress up hard- or soft-boiled eggs with adorable egg cozies. For this, you would decorate baby socks with felt, eyes and feathers.
Stop shedding
Try these next six uses for old socks with your pets. When shedding season arrives and you can’t find a brush, put a sock on your hand, dampen it, and use it to remove excess hair from your cat or dog.
Pull toy
Put a tennis ball or chew bone inside a sock, knot it and you’ve got a pull toy for a dog.
Puppy outfit
If you have a miniature or teacup dog and you can sew, you can actually make a fetching sweater-and-cap ensemble from just one sock.
Pet bed
You can also make a pet bed for a small dog or cat. Construct a stuffed snake, coil it and sew it into an oval.
Hamster sleeping bag
Hamster owners, there’s a craft for you too. You can use an old sock to make a sleeping bag for your wee one.
Flask jacket
Try the next five uses for single socks for your drinks. Use a bigger, prettier sock to make a jacket for a flask.
Can koozie
Use the cuff as a soda or beer can koozie to keep your hands dry and your beverage cold.
Keep water bottles cold longer
When you go on a hike or day trip on a hot day, pack a frozen water bottle and put a sock over it to keep the water cold longer.
Coffee sleeve
Use a sock cuff as an eco-friendly alternative to cardboard coffee sleeves. Or, use it at home to hold hot mugs.
Wine holder
Next time you give someone a bottle of wine, wrap it in a cute sock (not a white athletic sock) to dress it up and cushion it.
Sock toys
The next 18 uses for single socks are good for parents of young kids, or even kids themselves. Socks can be turned into a chest full of soft toys, the easiest and most basic being a sock puppet.
Sock animals
By taking a sock, stuffing it and sewing it, you can turn it into a zoo’s worth of animals, both real (like monkeys, rabbits, chickens, owls, sheep, lions, octopi and bears) and imaginary/extinct (like dinosaurs, monsters and dragons). Search around on Etsy and Pinterest for ideas.
Horse head
Use a stuffed sock as the head for a homespun hobby horse.
Stuffed fish
Craft a school of stuffed fish from socks, put magnets in them, make a fishing pole from a wooden dowel with yarn or ribbon and a washer, and presto! You’ve got a sock fishing game. (Note: Please be careful about playing with magnets around young children, who could accidentally swallow them).
Fish mobile
Remove the magnets and attach the fish by strings to a frame, and you’ve got a fun mobile.
Rattle
Put a bell inside a baby sock, add polyfill stuffing, sew it shut and embellish it to make a rattle.
Hacky sack
Construct a hacky sack by filling a single sock with rice, lentils or sand, shaping it into a ball and sewing it closed.
Indoor snowballs
Furnish the fixings for an indoor snowball fight by constructing stuffed snowballs from athletic socks.
Advent calendar
Put together an adorable 3D advent calendar for a child. Use babies’ or children’s socks in attractive colors or patterns, attach numbers, enclose gifts and pin up.
Doll clothes
With scissors and pins, you can make all kinds of clothes for all kinds of dolls, whether they’re Barbies, American Girls or others.
Soap case
Since soap can be slippery for small hands, put the bar inside a clean sock and knot it to make it easier for kids to use.
Crawl guard
Cut off the toes from a sock and use the cuffs to protect baby’s knees when they’re learning to crawl.
Scratch protector
When your baby has chickenpox or insect bites, put socks over their hands to stop them from scratching themselves.
Washcloths
Cut up spare adult socks to use as baby washcloths.
Baby socks
One adult sock can be stitched into a pair of socks for a baby.
Baby leggings
You can also sew together two adult knee socks (use colors or patterns that go together) to make leggings for a baby or toddler.
Patches
Since kids are frequently ripping their clothes, spare socks can provide comfy material for patches. You can also use a spare sock to add pockets to their clothes.
Sock art
Depending on how many socks you have and how big your imagination is, you could use them to craft a funky art installation for your home.
New ideas
Finally, why not use your socks to find the next big business idea? After entrepreneurs Arielle Eckstut, Jason Dorf and Jonah Staw noticed that teens and tween girls were wearing mismatched socks, the trio founded the company Little MissMatched and began selling socks in colorful packs of three (each with a different color or design). They’ve since expanded into clothes and bedding.Â
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Sources:
- Pinterest (@Lyndsey Marie): Wrapping paper holder
- One Good Thing by Jillee: Draft stopper
- Beautylish: Sock bun
- Whimsy Soul: Heatless hair curlers
- Ruffles and Stuff: Gloves
- Made by Joel: Sleep mask
- Ask Suzanne Bell: Boot toppers
- An English Accent: Dusters
- Making Do with The Not So New: Sock rugÂ
- One Creative Mommy: Sock snowman
- Work In Progress Kits: Sock wreaths
- Parents: Easter egg ideas
- Itchmo: Dog sweater
- Repeat Crafter Me: Coin purse
- Nest of Posies: Sock cozy
- Popsugar: Old sock craft ideas
- Red Ted Art: Stick horse
- WikiHow: Hacky sack
- Pieces by Polly: Snowball fight in a bag
- Alex Anna Beal: Barbie clothes
- Meatloaf and Melodrama: American Girl doll clothes
- Made by Joel: Baby socks
- Sew 4 Bub: Baby and toddler leggings
