I like them so much I think I'll knit another pair just like them!Seriously, like many sock knitters I prefer identical twins. When I am knitting with a self-patterning yarn I take great pains to ensure that each sock matches its mate, from the cast on to the heel to the tip of the toes. Ahem, some people might even say I'm obsessive about it. After today I might even agree with them.
Berroco "Sox" has a much longer pattern repeat than other self-patterning yarns I have used; from beginning to end it extends over about 5" of knitted fabric. As I worked through the first of my pair of Sox, I started thinking about where in the pattern the sock might end. I was hoping it would be close to the end of a repeat so that I could begin the second sock at the beginning of a new repeat with a minimum of waste--I didn't want to go through metres and metres of yarn to find the correct starting point. Furthermore, if the gap between the repeats was too long I might not have enough yarn to complete a second sock, unless it was fraternal. And believe me, the idea of knitting a pair of fraternal twins disturbed me much more than the idea of wasting perfectly good yarn.
As I began my toe decreases I calculated that the first sock would most likely end pretty much where the second sock would need to begin. Just my luck. There might be a litte wiggle room but not much. I marked the spot on the yarn where the new cast on needed to start and watched as the toe stitches of the first sock ate up more and more yarn. When I reached the end of the knitting, instead of cutting the yarn I picked up another needle and cast on for the second sock.
When I finished I had exactly 10.5" of yarn left stretched between the socks. Leaving about 3" for the cast on tail, I cut the yarn and proceeded to graft the toes of the first sock. Here's what I had left over.
Hah, take that Knitting Fates. (Yes, I realize I have now set myself up for a big fall. I'll risk it.)
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