Turns out there is a reason we’re told it’s better to stick with one type of knitting needle when knitting a pair of socks. A pair of anything, really, provided you would like both parts of the pair to be the same size. While folding laundry I was matching socks and happened to focus for a second on my Egyptian Socks from Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks and was amazed at the size difference. I knit the first sock on double-pointed needles, and the second on a nine inch circular needle intended for small diameter items. As a result, the second sock is easily an inch taller than the first. My already loose gauge is made even looser when I knit with circulars, apparently.
Not a big deal, really, considering that the late, great Cat Bordhi has taught us (and I paraphrase) that if someone other than yourself is so bent on criticizing your socks, their face is near your feet, which makes it easier to kick. Also not a big deal that I generally wear either long pants or my boots when I wear these, so it’s not apparent that the second sock has more sock mass? A larger sock perimeter? A larger squared sock radius? More to the sock diameter? More sock-y square inches than the first?
And golly day, the forced perspective on that lovely photo (a bit of a contortion to get that shot) makes me look like I’ve got big ole banana feet.