Let’s take a look at the various materials of socks at one time!

The key to determining the quality of a pair of socks lies in the fabric material of the socks. And the quality of the fabric is the biggest factor affecting the price ofsocks.

The fabric materials of general socks are divided into four categories, namely plant fiber, animal fiber, chemical fiber and blended raw materials. Here we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various materials one by one, and tell you how to choose socks for daily wear

Let's first talk about the plant fiber that everyone is familiar with. Plant fibers generally include cotton and linen.

Cotton fiber has high strength, good breathability, and good heat resistance, but poor wrinkle resistance and stretchability. It will shrink and deform after washing. However, cotton is soft and close to the skin, feels good to wear, and has good antibacterial and deodorizing effects, which can significantly reduce odor.

In addition, there are many types of cotton, including mercerized cotton, combed cotton, long-staple cotton, Egyptian cotton, etc. The quality of each type of cotton is different.

Most people like pure cotton socks because they are delicate and skin-friendly, soft to the touch, gentle and non-irritating to the skin, and have sufficient sweat and moisture absorption capacity to keep the feet dry for a long time. Moreover, cotton fiber, as a natural fiber, has a certain natural antibacterial effect and can effectively reduce the generation of odor.

Among the hemp, the most common and commonly used are flax and ramie. Because they have good heat dissipation and toughness, but the fabric feels rough, they are generally used to make hemp stockings.

Animal fiber: Animal fiber is a fiber obtained from animal hair or insect gland secretions. The fibers obtained from animal hair include wool, rabbit hair, camel hair, goat hair, yak hair, etc.; the fibers obtained from animal gland secretions include silk, etc. The main chemical component of animal fiber is protein, so it is also called protein fiber. Socks made of animal fiber have very good warmth retention, but the disadvantage is that they shed hair and are expensive. For those who have a strong demand to resist severe cold and do not care about the price, you can consider animal fiber socks.

Chemical fiber: refers to fibers made from natural or synthetic polymers as raw materials. According to the different sources of raw materials, they can be divided into artificial fibers made of natural polymers and synthetic fibers made of synthetic polymers. Nylon, acrylic, polyester (polyester fiber), spandex (elastic fiber) are all common chemical fibers.

The advantage of chemical fiber fabrics is that modern textile processing technology is used to make the fabrics have unique characteristics such as flame retardancy, high temperature resistance, radiation resistance, etc., which are strong and durable, wrinkle-resistant and easy to care for. The disadvantage is that they are easy to pilling, static electricity and hair balls must be removed regularly, and the dyeing process is troublesome.

Although socks woven from this type of material are durable and wear-resistant, and have good elasticity, they have poor sweat absorption performance, and some will produce odor. Therefore, in addition to Silk Stockings, it is not recommended to wear socks woven with a high proportion of chemical fibers. However, a certain proportion (such as 5%-10%) of chemical fiber blending is necessary in cotton or wool, and the quality of socks blended with spandex or lycra will be better.

This can be said about the following blended fibers.

Blended raw materials: refers to textile products woven by mixing chemical fibers with other natural fibers such as cotton, silk, linen and other natural fibers. Such blended fabrics relatively retain the advantages of natural fibers, while also absorbing the style of chemical fibers. They have good elasticity and wear resistance, and are dimensionally stable, not easy to shrink, and not easy to wrinkle, but cannot be ironed at high temperatures.

Generally, chemical fibers such as polyester and spandex are added. Among them, polyester is cheap, has poor breathability, and is prone to odor after sweating on the feet. Of course, polyester also has good and bad, and good polyester is more commonly used in sports socks.

Generally speaking, spandex is better than polyester. Spandex and cotton are mixed in a certain proportion. Spandex greatly increases the elasticity of the fabric and maintains the texture and comfort of pure cotton.

The above are common fabrics for socks.

In general, cotton socks are most suitable for daily wear, but in theory there are no real pure cotton socks, so some elastic fibers should be added. Why are there so many pure cotton socks on the market?

That's because the definition of pure cotton socks has clear standards. According to national standards, cotton content exceeds 95% and there are only two types of fibers (natural cotton fiber and elastic fiber) can be called pure cotton or 100% cotton.

As a close-fitting fabric, socks with poor materials can easily cause foot health, so it is important to choose and wear good socks. The editor recommends high cotton content + extremely low elastic fiber content. Such socks are not only soft and warm, but also have enough elasticity. They will not fall off or squeeze your feet when worn daily. In addition, the high cotton content absorbs sweat and moisture, has its own antibacterial effect, and prevents odor.

Well, I hope this article can help everyone choose comfortable socks~