I was >this< close!

It was a close race.

That tightly wound ball of yarn kept getting smaller and smaller.

(I probably should have taken a picture of it getting smaller...)

But it was so tightly wound, it kept surprising me....

And in the end,

Just the last row needed to be done in an almost-but-not-quite matching yarn.

You might ask why I didn't just cast off a row sooner, and not need the extra yarn at all, but it's already a row or two shorter than the first one, and I wanted a really loose bind off, so I used the extra yarn to do it.

And they're adorable.

Yarn:  I have no idea.  Something out of the stash.  It feels/looks like a cotton/bamboo blend.  Sport weight.

Gauge: k2p2 rib, 10st/in, 9 rows/in
Needles: US3

Pattern:

Cast on 48 stitches (loosely!)
Join and knit in the round,
Rounds 1-12: K2,P2 (place markers to divide in equal thirds - a marker every 16 stitches)

Round 13: {K2, M1, P2, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 14-21: {K3, P2, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 22: {K3, P2, M1, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 23-30: {K3, P3, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 31: {K3, P3, K2, M1, P2, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 32-39: {K3, P3, K3, P2 *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 40: {K3, P3, K3, P2, M1, *K2, P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 41-48: {*K3,P3* twice, *K2,P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 49: {K3, P3, K3, P1, P2tog, *K2, P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 50-57: {K3, P3, K3, P2, *K2, P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 58: {K3, P3, K1, K2tog, P2, *K2, P2* to marker} 3 times
Round 59-63: {K3, P3, *K2, P2* to marker} 3 times (remove extra markers on last round)
Round 64-76: K3, *P2, K2* to last 3 stitches, P3

Cast Off Loosely