Here is an attempt at explaining how I started the toes, figured out with lots of help from cwoz (THANK YOU!!). Page 6 contains visual/written instructions for the Middle East Wrap CO (also known as the Turkish Cast-On), but this drawing seems to have little to do with the pattern’s toe instructions. I largely ignored both the toe instructions and the first few chart rows for the toe, and instead followed the instructions on Page 6.

Here (I think) is what I did instead. I’ll use the color names that she refers to in the pattern, just for clarity if you’re referring to the chart. I started with the Middle East Wrap CO, wrapping the pink yarn 2 times (not 3!), then the wine yarn 2 times, then the pink yarn 2 more times (not 3!). I knit across the sts on the first needle, following the colors I had used in the cast-on: knitting the pink sts with pink and the wine sts with wine, then rotated the work and did the same thing on the second needle. Then I knit across the first needle again, doing the same thing. THEN, I picked up two sts along the side of the piece between the first and second needle and knit them with pink. Then I knit across the second needle again, knitting the pink sts with pink and the wine sts with wine. Then I picked up two more sts along the fourth side of the piece, and knit them with pink. At that point I had the correct number of sts, but here’s what took a long time (and some help from cwoz) to figure out: the two wine sts on either of the two original needles are not the center of the top and bottom of the toe – they’re the SIDES of the toe. The pink sts I picked up are the top and bottom of the toe. So I probably knit across the second (original) needle, and then began increasing. I did not use the increase method given in the PDF, since it didn’t work for me with these socks. Instead I used the colorwork increase method Eunny Jang described for her Anemoi mittens, making a YO in the color indicated for a new st and then twisting it on the following row.

I think I increased 1 pink st here, knit across the two pink sts on the side (BOTTOM!) of the piece, increased 1 pink st, knit across the first (original) needle, increased 1 pink st, knit across the two pink sts on the side (TOP!) of the piece, and increased 1 more pink st. That was how I worked Row 5 – and then I began actually following the chart, starting with the second wine st on the second (original) needle.

Row 6: K1(wine), k3(pink), inc1(wine), k2(pink), inc1(wine), k3(pink), k2(wine), k3(pink), inc1(wine), k2(pink), inc1(wine), k3(pink), k1(wine).

I hope this is helpful. The socks are really worth it, once you get through the confusing toe!