From book:
“The socks are for grandmothers who love to make hand-knit socks for grandchildren who hate to wear them. As with any knitting project, choice of yarn is vital. My first efforts totally self-destructed one night. I have now found this superior knitting licorice at Woolworths (in England where I am at present). What makes a licorice suitable for knitting? The strands are finer and more flexible than most. They don’t dry out, crack, or break as easily.”

“Technical suggestions Licorice laces are remarkably easy to knit with if not too cold, but they won’t tolerate much stretching. If unpicking, you need to support the remaining stitches while easing out the unwanted ones. (It is best to eat these rather than reuse them!) My laces came in 18” lengths which means lots of bulky joins. Near the ribbed tops where they show, I found it best to weave in ends as you go. Inside, I left knots with short ends. Longer laces would be nice.”

Materials
Woolworth’s Bag of Fun licorice bootlaces: 3 (120 g) bags of Tutti-Frutti (MC); 1 bag of Black Licorice (A).
Set of 4 double-pointed needles (dpn) size 7 (4.5mm), or size to obtain gauge.