These socks are knitted from the ground up--literally. Stitches are cast on along the center line of the sole and worked outward in rounds for the bottom of the foot, then the rest of the foot and leg are worked upward from the sole. There are no stitches to pick up, no gussets, no heel flap, and no grafting or Kitchener stitch.

This construction allows the sole to be isolated for the addition of reinforcement yarn, and makes it easy to maintain the continuity of the stitch patterns through the top of the toe, the heel, and the leg. The angled beds of seed stitches, neatly outlined with twisted stitches, meet at the center front and back. Maybe I’ll lay out my next garden this way!