I call these socks Helter Skelter because the spiral pattern reminds me of exciting trips to the funfair as a child, whizzing down the helter skelter perched precariously on a scratchy hessian mat!
They are a great introduction to working on double-pointed needles as the socks do not have a heel, so all you need to concentrate on is getting comfortable with working in the round. They use just knit and purl stitches and the spiral is created by moving the rib along after every fourth round. Any slight looseness in the stitches should be hidden by the spiral pattern and the natural springiness of the lovely DK yarn. Using a DK yarn and a slightly larger than normal needle makes them less fiddly for beginners too.
Although they don’t have heels, there is no compromise on style and comfort. The rib keeps the sock a snug, comfy fit and the spiral prevents bunching at the front. The tubular shape means they can be rolled round the foot and worn in any position. This gives them good wearability as you will not always have the same part of the sock at the high wear areas such as the heel and sole. As there is no heel shaping, they can easily be made longer or shorter simply by working more or fewer pattern rounds.