What’s the difference between lounging  socks and regular socks, you may wonder? To  my mind, lounging socks need to be thick,  warm and washable but they do not need to  fit easily inside shoes. For regular socks, I  universally prefer natural fibers because of  their breathability which prevents sweaty  smelly feet in shoes. For lounging socks, I  find acrylic yarns to be fine as they are not  trapped airlessly in shoes and rubbed from  both sides between the shoe and the foot .
YARN, GAUGE, SIZE AND MACHINE  These socks are made on a bulky or mid-gauge machine if your mid-gauge handles #4 yarn  well and can match the gauge of 4 stitches/6 rows per inch. Select main stitch size to  match the gauge, and use 2-3 whole numbers smaller for the ribbing. The yarns used in  the sample are Red Heart With Love for the main part of the sock and Mary Maxim Starlette for the heel and toe. Any soft sturdy yarn of the appropriate weight may be used.  Sizes fit ladies’ shoe size 5-15 which equal men’s 3-13.