Well, this is cool!

After I finished the lovely Kroy FX Clover Colors socks, I emailed Kroy, telling them about the gauge difference I encountered from one ball of yarn to another:

To: Patons Inquire

Subject: Small problem with Kroy Socks FX

I love your Kroy Socks yarn, and have used it for several projects over the years. I recently had an odd problem with two balls of Socks FX in Clover Colors. You can see the finished socks at the link below:

http://tinyurl.com/2g5rgyz

if the link doesn't work, go to www.sunnybookyarns.blogspot.com and scroll down to the Oct. 30 post.
As noted in my blog post, the dye lots were different so the socks are very different in color, but that's not a problem for me. However, I use the 2socks/2circs technique always when knitting socks, so they were knit at the same time on the same needles, but came out with very different gauges. You can see the difference in size in the two socks pictured. Is this a common occurrence with the FX line? I hate to think (because I despise swatching!) that I will have to start knitting gauge swatches from every ball of Kroy Socks yarn.
Once I noticed the difference in the gauge, I simply knit one sock a little longer than normal and one a little shorter than normal, and they came out ok. Both socks fit acceptably well, and I LOVE the colors.
Thank you for the feedback, and lets see MORE of those gorgeous FX colorways!

Becky Yoder
 

This was their customer service rep's response:

Dear Becky,

Thank you for contacting our company. With regards to your concern about the pattern in the Kroy FX yarn, there is no perceivable problem with the yarn itself the FX is a random patterning yarn. It is meant to create an interesting ‘effect’ – hence ‘FX’ and the socks will not match exactly in terms of the patterning-colors remain the same but the way they flow together creates the effect.

This product is a 4 ply yarn and it is combined of four different strands of a variegated yarn which is all different as well and they are spun together making each ball a little different and unique. That is why two socks will not be identical. Remember, every project will be a special one-of-a-kind treasure, so have fun creating your very own knit or crochet design.

If the two balls are the same lot and colour they should be the same gauge, we sincerely apologize for the difficulties you have experienced, and appreciate your comments. Please forward your mailing address and we would be happy to send you some complimentary yarn.
Once again, we thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention and thank you for choosing our products.
Yours truly,
SPINRITE INC.
Leah Cherrey
Customer Service

Ok, I thought, that was nice, they're going to send me a couple of balls of yarn...but nooooo....

I arrived home from work today, and this was waiting for me    --------->

Three balls of Kroy Socks Jacquards in Turquoise!

Three balls of Patons Stretch Socks in Licorice!

Three balls of the ever-lovely Kroy Socks FX Clover Colors!

Holy cow!  Complimentary yarn, indeed!  Sooo...if you're using Kroy Socks FX, be sure to get the same dyelot number OR swatch every ball!  Oh, and I checked...the dyelots are the same on all the colors they sent me. =)

I love good customer service!