How To: Frilly Lace Socks

I love socks, I love frills. Inevitable combo for a tutorial? I think so. Ever since Topshop introduced the various beauties you can see above, plus plenty more besides, frilly socks have been a must have accessory  Jellie Shoes, Mary Janes, Wedges, Heels... you name it, they work with it. Teamed with a cute dress and satchel, they are the epitome of schoolgirl chic that manage to cover up those pesky holes in the toes of your tights with ease.

However, I for one refuse to pay £3.50 for one humble pair of socks. Sorry Topshop. Call me a tight wad, but I am a student, and £3.50 is equivalent to two ready meals and half a malibu and cranberry on student night.

With that in mind, and having been inspired by various sock DIY's on blogger and pinterest, I thought I'd try my hand at making my own whimsical foot friends. Armed with some plain coloured socks from Primark (£2.00 for 5 pairs in assorted colours) and a bit of lace I had knocking around in my sewing box, here is what I came up with.

Not bad eh? Without further edo, here is my step-by-step tutorial. Geddit?

You Will Need:

• 1 pair of socks (whatever colours you fancy, I went with a bluey/purple to complement the blue lace I was using)
• Lace trim (The lace I used here was just what I had in my sewing box, and with hindsight, it would have looked better if it was a bit fatter. Aim for lace trim that is about 15-20mm wide. Crochet trim would also work well. You will need less than 50cm but buy a metre, because these are super easy to make and you will get addicted!
• Pint Glass (to stretch your sock around to make sure you don't rip the seams when you put the socks on. If you are sewing the socks using a sewing machine, skip this step - you can use the sewing machines built in arm)
• Needle and Thread/Sewing Machine
• Pins - to keep your lace in place (in the face space base... the rap career starts here)

1)Gather your material together for an instagram worthy 'before' picture

2) Stretch the sock over a pint glass - this will keep the ankle nice and wide whilst you attach the frill, which will help it bunch nicely when you wear the socks, without splitting the seams.

3)Pin the lace into place (still rhyming!) - you want to get it perfectly in line with the top of the sock, with the frilly scallops facing downwards.

4)Use a simple loop stitch to sew the lace onto the sock, making sure to pull the thread nice and tight. Sew all the way round and fasten

5)Repeat steps 2-4 until you have two matching socks

6)Pull 'em over your tootsies and get wearing! Can't say I'd go out wearing these colours socks with my red Topshop shoes (clash overload) but you get the idea.

So, as you can see, there are only three real steps to this and the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes by hand - hardly brain busting. With eBay boasting crazy amounts and types of lace, ribbon and crochet for next to nothing, and trusty Primark offering a myriad of multi-coloured multipack socks, there really is no excuse to skip the high street versions. I love Topshop even more than the next person, but when the alternative is this easy, I'd rather have creative control over my ankles.