[janelanespaintbrush]

I looked through knitty again, and found this which I think I'll try with some waste yarn on larger needles before even thinking about trying them on real socks. If you read all the way through the article, it doesn't seem so daunting. I have never used magic loop (nor do I know what it is) and I prefer dpns to circs.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll try to post pics of this pair of socks once I'm done, and my next pair so we can compare

Never done those myself, but one thing I remember reading about them is that it's common for the inner sock to turn out smaller -- just the problem you want to avoid! So I definitely think it's a good idea that you want to swatch first. Your other option is to just start both socks at the same time on separate sets of DPNs and go back and forth between them. If you've got an extra set, that may be easier.