I improvised these basic-yet-functional socks for my husband, the Snook. I used Judy’s Magic Cast-on for the toes, but I decided to try an experiment. Instead of making the toes symmetrical, I decided to do make them more pointed on one side (mimicking the outline of my husband’s toes). So on each toe, I increased every row on one side, and every few rows on the other side. I don’t know whether it’s going to make any difference to the wearer’s comfort, but it was fun to try.

Of course, making separate toes meant that the socks aren’t interchangeable. You have to wear the “right” sock on the right foot. To make it easier to tell them apart, I knitted in an L or R on the back of each leg against a background of reversed stocking stitch.

The gusset increases and heel turns were taken from “Widdershins” (on Knitty). I like doing the reversed turned heel, and I think it fits better and looks nicer than a short-row heel. I did an “eye of partridge” heel for added strength as well.