Imagine at the end of each day taking your socks off and the using the button on one attaching it to the slot on the other. How many times have you emptied the laundry to find one of your socks has gone to sock heaven leaving its partner sadly on earth. Imagine attaching all your dirty socks together two by two at the end of each day. When you do your laundry you just throw them all in. Knowing, with security that after the wash you can hang them all out on the line together without all that unneccessary sorting or decision making as to whether to hang individually or seperatly intending to sort later. Imagine a world with buttons on socks.-- English Pete, Jun 10 2002 Baked. http://www.bend.k12...ytogether_socks.htmBeware. Intensely annoying background. Socks with snaps to attach them together for washing and storage. [StarChaser, Jun 12 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] Dammit' my secret identity revealed! http://www.halfbake...0A_20FISH!_20why_3f[ sctld ], Apr 08 2001 [thumbwax, Jun 12 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] PeterSealy http://www.halfbake...pression=PeterSealyThe boy who cried 'baked'. [stupop, Jun 13 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004] Unless you are one of those people that wears their socks insideout. Normally the sock would be on the outside so I believe it would not be an irritation.-- English Pete, Jun 10 2002 I think I will do this to all my socks, perhaps using all the spare buttons that came with clothes which have long since gone past the 'fixable-with-a-new-button' stage. Buttonhole feet for sewing machines are not easy to come by, though. You may need to do the fiddly stuff yourself. Or find a tailor.-- sappho, Jun 10 2002 stapling them together is quick and easy.-- po, Jun 10 2002 Knits don't always need buttonholes; small enough buttons might fit into the natural holes of a sock.
In fact, I have just experimented w/a handful of my socks & the smallest flat button in my buttonjar:
Wool ragg: buttonable synthetic 'extreme technical winter hiking' sock: not buttonable synthetic summer whoop-te-do sock: buttonable merino&lycra, heavier than dress sock but lighter than hiking: buttonable (close thing) fine cotton socks, either natty clocked trouser socks or tenny-runner ankle socks: not at all possible.
An excellent idea, and executable without special equipment for more than half my socks. I may now sew some buttons on to test wearability & wash-resilience.-- hello_c, Jun 10 2002 Nothing personal, Pete, but I've had bad luck with buttons trying to stay buttoned during a wash/dry cycle. I made myself a small mesh laundry bag for hosiery, complete with lots of buttons to secure it. What I found, time and again, is that there's just too much wriggling and tossing about in the machines for buttons to remain closed. I had to give up the bag for a string tied mesh bag.
A square knot never unties during the wash...but they can be a pain to undo.
Another issue, I don't like the idea of a button and buttonhole sewn onto my socks. I anticipate discomfort.-- XSarenkaX, Jun 10 2002 thats exactly what bliss said, Excess. I have bought 3 little mesh bags with zips but I doubt if I can provide a link.-- po, Jun 10 2002 I believe I lose a sock on 22.5% of my laundry cycles. But with the Button Sock I believe that 90% of the time the socks will come out still attached together. SO that means of those which come unattached have a 77.5% chance of making it through the rest of the cycle. Which results in the chances of losing a sock being reducing to 2.5%. If you take into account that you may have attached your socks to other pairs if one button was to come undone the chance of it being fixed on the end and being lost is negligible. So I think it will be OK. I am glad that people have already started experimenting and validating the idea further.-- English Pete, Jun 10 2002 They'll say, "Button your lip, young sprat!"
Alpha Centaurians aren't sentimental.-- hello_c, Jun 10 2002 // I believe I lose a sock on 22.5% of my laundry cycles //
It's not sock buttons you need - it's a new washing machine.-- drew, Jun 10 2002 hey, a mathematician. we need a mathematician. what happened to the last one?-- po, Jun 10 2002 Don't you remember? We ate him.-- drew, Jun 10 2002 oh yes, tasty - sum thing for every one-- po, Jun 10 2002 dim sum thing-- drew, Jun 10 2002 OK last up, I will put the light out, night night.-- po, Jun 10 2002 <pessimist>Now instead of losing your socks, you'll lose your sock-buttons in the wash.</pessimist>-- pottedstu, Jun 10 2002 Or possibly I'll lose my socks in pairs, instead of singly, and where will I get rags for dusting and refinishing? Unintended consequences.
[moderator moment: I removed the exclamation point in the title, on grounds of 'spurious punctuation'. (See Help.) ]-- hello_c, Jun 10 2002 How about small clothes pegs(the plastic ones used to attach socks to clothes lines but made smaller)? would they work?-- RobertKidney, Jun 10 2002 Confessions of a sock fanatic:
I have a special drawer in which I collect my odd socks. At the beginning of the month the odd socks get a yellow sticker. If the yellow sticker socks have not found their mate by the time blue sticker month comes around, they get biffed out.-- Helium, Jun 10 2002 While wearing them, men should button their socks to their pants so that when they pull off their pants, the socks come off too, 'cause a man dressed only in socks is not a pretty sight.-- FarmerJohn, Jun 11 2002 FarmerJohn's got a good idea there. Double-duty for those sock buttons.-- XSarenkaX, Jun 11 2002 //Confessions of a sock fanatic// I don't sticker 'em, I just toss 'em if there's a no-show-- thumbwax, Jun 11 2002 I like Farmer Johns Idea of connecting the buttons to the bottom of the trousers. I think I might fit buttons to my underwear and fix them in my trousers to. That way at night when I undress everything comes off together. Meaning that in the morning I can have an extra 40 seconds in bed. As Hey Presto insert each leg in to trouser, underwear and sock ensemble and pull on. I am dressed in seconds. Fantastique Farmer John I think you have solved a major problem in life. Maybe I could wash the lot together as well saving further time. Dear Moderator I replaced the exclamation point in the title, on grounds of that 'spurious punctuation' enhances the title.-- English Pete, Jun 11 2002 Pete's in trouble...-- XSarenkaX, Jun 11 2002 That's what I was thinking before I even got to [mighty-cheese]'s annotation.-- stupop, Jun 11 2002 Ah, but you moderators do not realize that the exclamation mark is a factorial sign, and English Pete wants to multiply socks with buttons by socks without buttons, probably to create a hybridized range of socks that with their increased vigor will take over the world.-- pottedstu, Jun 11 2002 buttons on socks....definite sox appeal....-- runforrestrun, Jun 11 2002 One question that may have been answered: why is this in the business section?-- NickTheGreat, Jun 11 2002 Sorry mighty cheese I will not use spuriously punctuation in future.?!:;/\'@#~!!!!!!!!!!!!. Now can you put it back in the Home section.
Remember all you Half Bakery people big brother is watching you !!!!!!!!-- English Pete, Jun 11 2002 It appears now that Socks with buttons have become a fashion item. To be in keeping with this requirement I suggest that we use large coloured buttons on our socks. Using large enough buttons these could be used like in line skates around town. Further possiblity when using with hiking socks they could then be used as picnic plates.-- English Pete, Jun 12 2002 As well as sneakily tying people's shoe laces together, you can now make doubly sure they trip by buttoning their socks together.-- stupop, Jun 12 2002 //I still think I pegged him. Sealy speak up// [ sctld ] is Peter Sealy, see link - muahahahahaaaaaa-- thumbwax, Jun 12 2002 Much better. Now keep it here.-- NickTheGreat, Jun 12 2002 Who is Sealy ?
Further benefits: Buttons could be used as shields in footsie fights.-- English Pete, Jun 13 2002 [English Pete] see link.-- stupop, Jun 13 2002 //Who is Sealy ?//My, my, doesn't time fly? If you need to ask, you'll never understand, but the short version is 'former halfbaker'.-- angel, Jun 13 2002 Large plastic press studs, woven into the elasticated band at the top of the sock. Male on one half , female on the other. Tell left socks from right by the gender of the press stud.
Put an opposite press stud on the inside of your trouser legs, pop the sock on and your socks neve fall down and get all rumpled.....
Manufacturers would have to agree on a standard size for the poppers .... otherwise you could have socks that are incompatible with your trousers. Aaargh !
For the sartorially challenged, only matching or appropriate socks would fit the press studs.
Would WinSock be appropriate ? (Nerd Pun)-- 8th of 7, Jun 13 2002 Former PeterSealy seems to have a lot of stuff written about him/her. But I can assure you that I am not Peter Sealy. I am sure there is more than one Peter in the world.-- English Pete, Jun 13 2002 Blissmiss: Hmmmm. Disposable paper socks - wear once, throw away. Odour-eater option for the "negatively fragranced" .... cuts down on washing. can be used for firelighters, or impromptu memo pads. Absorbent.
I think you hit on something here !-- 8th of 7, Jun 13 2002 Why wear socks ! Could we not have shoe liners instead ? These could be made of a washable fabric.-- English Pete, Jun 13 2002 White sweatsocks are almost cheap enough to be disposable already (we used to toss them after one gym class at school!). Somebody needs to come out with truely disposable sweatsocks that you wear once and throw in the trash. No washing, no sorting. A new pair each day, then chuck them-- pdp, May 04 2004 random, halfbakery