The Miracle Socks

I finished Twinkle's purple socks today.

I had enough yarn.

Are you in awe yet? If not, it is because I have failed to adequately explain. Well, then, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

A week or two ago, I began knitting 'Stache a pair of socks. I had one Zauberball, which ravelry.com tells me was probably 459 yards. I knit a pair of size 10 men's socks.

'Stache's socks

 There is a substantial amount left, so I began to knit a pair of socks for Munchkin. I knit a pair of size 8ish boys socks.

Munchin's socks

There was still yarn left, just a bit, so I started a pair of size 4.5ish socks for Twinkle. I knit and knit and the ball got smaller and smaller and ... I finished them.

I know these look just like the last picture but these feet are Twinkle's!

With 22 inches to spare.

459 yards and I knit three (three!) pairs of socks, in the specific sizes to fit the specific feet in my house and ... 22 inches.

What makes this even more incredible is that all three pairs were top-down socks. In the world of sock knitting (and let me assure you, it is a beautiful, crazy world indeed, you should come visit) there are basically toe-up or top-down socks, knit in exactly the ways their titles describe. The sticking point here is that when you knit a top down sock, you can't stop a little short because you ran out of yarn. Because then you have a ridiculous sock suited only for nail painting and flip-flop wearing. However long you made the leg, you're stuck with it. If you run out of yarn you have to unravel the whole foot and heel, unravel a few rows of the leg, and then put your sock back on the needles and knit it again with extra yardage this time.

And I didn't do that.

Three pairs of socks, I just knit the amount that seemed right for that wearer and that size and ...

Blurry, but look! Everyone's feet in the same picture.

Three pairs of socks.

Sock Recipe for a Toddler with Size 4.5ish Feet

Light to mediumweight sock yarn and size 3 needles.

Cast on 40 stitches over 3 needles.
Knit in 2x2 ribbing for 10 rounds.
Knit in stockinette for 15 rounds.
On 1/2 the stitches, knit a short row heel, using Cat Bordhi's wrap and turn technique. The "corner" of the heel is when you have 6 live stitches left in the middle of your wrapped ones.
Knit in stockinette for 17 rounds
Decrease 4 stitches every 2 rounds until you have 12 stitches left.
Cut off your yarn, leaving a generous tail, and sew the stitches together with Kitchener stitch.
Weave in and trim your ends.

*Fair Warning* I haven't test knitted this pattern so mistakes may lurk - call out if you spot any.

Also *Fair Warning* I can't guarantee that if you get a Zauberball that you will be able to achieve this 3 pair miracle. I can't even guarantee that I could do it again myself. It all depends on exactly how tightly or loosely you are knitting. But regardless, it is a LOT of yarn, so I'm sure that you could do something great with them!