ok i have a little headcanon that’s been bugging me about CLONES and SOCKS
ok so the socks the GAR issues suck. They just do. They develop holes, they rub wrong, they don’t last, they don’t insulate very well, but hey- they’re cheap. And any soldier in the field will tell you that the most important item in your pack is an extra pair of socks. Because good socks are absolutely vital to field performance.
Let’s say that at some point, some clone or other is billeted at a civilian’s house while on some small backwater planet. And he sees the woman who owns the house fiddling around with four pointy sticks and a bunch of yarn and he asks her “what are you doing?” and she goes “I’m knitting socks”. And she shows him a pair of her hand-knit socks. And our clone guy is like “holy shit. these socks. HOW DO YOU MAKE THESE PLEASE MY FEET ARE COLD AND BLEEDING”. And the woman takes one look at the shitty GAR socks the trooper has and is like “well fuck that I’LL SHOW YOU”. And she teaches him how to knit, specifically how to knit socks. And because you need yarn to knit, she also gives him a drop spindle and shows him how to spin. She’s got a few banthas that she raises for fiber and meat, and when Sock Clone’s stay is up, she sends him on his way with a spindle, four knitting needles, several pounds of bantha wool, and a basic sock pattern that’ll fit his feet.
(btw, it is totally possible to learn to spin and knit well enough to make socks within a few weeks, given dedicated instruction and practice. of course, it helps if you are Genetically Engineered to learn faster and better than regular humans).
So Sock Clone starts spinning and knitting socks. And the guys in his unit are like “SOCKS. BRO. YOU GOTTA SHOW US HOW TO SOCK.” and so the knowledge of sock making spreads throughout the GAR. It’s a craft that fits in pretty well with the clones’ lives- the tools are small and simple, and can easily be made out of old bits or armor or random sticks you pick up off the ground. (fiber is a bit harder to get ahold of, but the locals on many planets are usually willing to barter a fleece or two for food or military-grade odds and ends like compasses, boots, blankets, shovels, etc. And eventually some quartermasters start straight-up requisitioning wool as part of their regular supplies. because GAR socks really do suck). You can tuck your needles and yarn or fiber and spindle into your pack easily and it won’t take up much room. You can spin or knit while listening to a briefing, on the transports, while walking the halls, heck, any moment of downtime can be filled with sock-making.
The troopers dye their socks with wild colors, using whatever they can get their hands on e.g.
clone 1: hey i like that reddish-brown color you used for the heel what’d you dye the yarn with
The colors aren’t consistent by unit, like their armor is. instead, units develop unique stitch patterns. You can look at a guy’s socks and tell by the unique patterns of cables, lacework, and textured stitches exactly which unit he belongs to, even down to which 9-man squad he’s in.
The barracks have hanks of yarn hanging off the ends of bunks to dry. Troopers use the hot water of the showers on the ships to wash and set their yarn. In the parts of the ships where non-clones don’t go, it’s a common sight to see clones walking down the halls with a spindle or needles in their hands. Trooper socks give a certain sense of pride and unity to the clones, something they can claim as uniquely their own, something which identifies them and belongs to them, something they make with their own hands that is only for them. When a unit gets a new guy in from Kamino, he’s bombarded with spare socks the moment he enters the barracks, and an older clone will sit him down, hand him a spindle and some wool, and start teaching him.
Troopers spinning or knitting socks is a common sight. Less common is seeing a trooper darning his socks. Because a well-made pair of trooper socks will last longer than the average lifespan of a clone in the GAR.
