I wear a lot of handmade socks, and do a lot of darning.

I thought it would be nice to get the darning in ahead of time.

These socks are made to be as hard-wearing as possible, especially in the places where I find my socks wear out.

The cast-on uses a long tail cast on (more robust than the surprisingly stretchy cast on, which relies on a single thread at the top edge) which is further reinforced by, well, reinforcement yarn.

The heel flap is cushioned by an eye of partridge slip stitch, and the square heel pattern continues under the base of the heel.

The toe is reinforced by reinforcement yarn, which also makes the fabric thicker. The toes are shaped separately so that there is additional space for the big toe.

Darns are then added to the key locations in a variety of styles and colours.