These socks are really quite simple but have a useful feature. The toes, soles and heels are re-knittable without affecting the leg and instep of the sock. This makes them appropriate to knit for recipients who are very hard on their socks; and a help for those who like to use expensive but not hard-wearing yarns for the upper part of socks but which wear through in five minutes if used for the sole. Also, it enables use of a luxury yarn for the whole sock but permitting a re-enforcing thread to be worked back and forth on the toe, sole and heel but no affecting the instep or the leg.

The socks are cast on at the cuff. When the bottom of the leg is reached the heel stitches are reserved for later. Knitting continues with just the instep back and forth until the toe is reached. This is a “mock-short row heel” done as a toe.

Then the underside of the heel and the sole are knit connecting the knitting together with the sides of the instep all the way to the heel.

The heel is a toe-up heel flap design. When this is complete the heel stitches are grafted to the back of the leg with Kitchener Stitch (32 stitches).

When the socks go into holes cut one of the grafting stitches, put the leg stitches on a needle, unravel the heel and sole as far as necessary to get rid of the worn bit, and re-knit and re-graft the sole and heel.