Proxy Socks - A Pun That Had to Be Done - HTV on Socks!

 

The Ultimate GEEK Project!

I was skimming my Twitter feed one day and saw a tweet stating, "Someone please invent a pair of socks that say 'proxy' on them, thanks." This got my creative juices moving...Socks + Proxy? What does that mean? 

For non-geeks, socks (or SOCKS5, to be precise), stands for "Socket Secure" and is a networking thing that makes communication between servers more secure. Technical details are here, should you want to read about it. Suffice it to say that if you create a set of 5 socks with the word "PROXY" on them, your IT networking guru will probably laugh hysterically as soon as the pun registers. Other IT geeks that also know a bit about networking will also chuckle. 

I should have used the stretch HTV for this project instead of the Cricut patterned HTV I chose because the stretch HTV would better handle the expected stretching of the socks over the long run. However, this product was on clearance at JoAnn's with 50% off the clearance price, so it was perfect for an experiment. Also, I just happened to like the subtle pink tie dye coloring. My camera washed out the colors in my photos, but I used the middle color sheet for the words.

 

 

I selected a basic tube stocking so I would not have to worry about the lump created by the heel which would be found on socks with built-in heel shaping. I did not try on the socks prior to applying the HTV, but assumed that they would have to stretch quite a bit. This meant that I had to ensure that the words would be able to stretch.

First step was to select a font that allows stretching. That would be any stencil font because the letters usually are not totally solid. I selected a font called "DESIGNER". 

 As you can see, the letters in the font are made of shapes that are more flexible than traditional more rigid fonts like the one used in this blog. I figured that letters like this would better handle being stretched without fracturing since most letters already were cut into multiple pieces. 

If you are applying HTV to socks (for any other project), keep in mind that the socks stretch the most horizontally (left to right), so stencil style letters may work better in a situation where stretching will occur. Infusible ink could work well for socks, but white or other very light colored socks would be required because infusible ink is designed for use on light colored materials. I haven't tested infusible ink on black, but I don't think it would show up, and I don't want to waste the materials in an experiment just yet. 

To create the "PROXY" word, I typed in PROXY in all capital letters and hit ENTER between each so each letter would be on its own line. 

The first thing you notice when the letters are in place is that the "O" is wider than the other letters and looks as if it is not aligned with them. The proper resolution for that issue is to set the alignment to "centered". 

Now, although the "O" is wider, all letters are aligned along their centers and the word looks "normal". I also narrowed the Line Spacing from 100% to 80%. This pushed the letters slightly closer together. Whenever you are placing letters vertically, adjust the vertical spacing to fit them together nicely. The vertical spacing for any font usually takes into consideration the height of letters that fall well above the middle (like "d", "f", or "l") and letters that fall well below the middle (like "p", "q" and "y"). 

Notice how the letters at 80% look better than the previous view with line spacing at 100%. I also set the font size to 144 px. This made the full design about 7.5" x 1.5". Although I wear a ladies' size 9, I thought it was a little tall for me, so I shrank the whole design down to about 6.5" x 1.14". 

Since the material we are using is HTV, the next step is to mirror the design. Right-click on the design and select "Flip Horizontally". 

We need 4 copies of the design: two for the front upper section of the socks and two for the soles of the feet. Copy/paste the design to create 4 "PROXY" designs. 

If you have Business Edition of Silhouette Studio (as I do), you can add in weeding lines automatically along the vertical separation between words. If you do not have Business Edition, you can add the weeding lines by drawing vertical lines between each "PROXY" word and in a box around the whole design. 

Load the HTV onto the mat. For the Cricut patterned HTV, the proper orientation is to put the plain side up and the pattern touching the mat (the pattern side is where the clear carrier plastic is). Load the mat and hit "Send". Silhouette Studio will ask if you want the design mirrored. Since we already mirrored the design, we can tell it to cut as is. 

I found that the default settings for HTV are not quite deep enough. A setting of depth 2 did not cut the HTV. I changed it to 3 depth and it cut through the part that needed to be cut without scoring the carrier plastic. 

Once cutting finishes, cut the design items off from the remainder of the HTV. Weed out the HTV that is not part of the design. Finally, cut into 4 separate strips so that each word can be individually placed on the socks. 

Weeded "PROXY" ready for application. I flipped over the two on the left in "ready to apply" mode. It's interesting that the camera still shows them as white even thought each word is a tie dye pink. Stupid camera. 

Before applying the HTV, press the socks for about 15 seconds, then put the letters in place and cover with a teflon sheet. I don't know for certain if the teflon is required, but it protects my Cricut Easy Press to keep it clean. 

The instructions said 30 seconds at 340 F, then 15 seconds from the back side at 340. Peel when cool.  

I placed the "PROXY" on the bottoms of the socks so that it would be right-side up when the wearer is sitting down with feet up on a hassock. 

Completed "Proxy Socks" front view. 

Bottom of my foot. I'm amazed I managed to balance standing like this to take a picture that isn't blurry. The camera almost got the colors - the "Y" is showing a bit pink. 

Sitting on the floor with my feet together. I couldn't get a good photo of the bottoms of my feet. I guess I'm not bendy enough to get that just right. (Try it. I bet very few people can get a good "selfie" of the bottoms of their feet. And by good I mean something where you see the feet but you don't see hardly anything of the rest of the person so it's reasonably modest and all that).

The socks as seen "in action". OK, I'm sitting on the floor with my feet flexed. But you can see how the stencil style font called "Designer" allows the letters to be stretched horizontally without having the HTV crack apart.

HAPPY CRAFTING!