one reason why i always wanted to learn to knit my own socks is that i detest the seam in the toes of commercial socks. they irritate me, they rub places on my feet, and for years i've just worn my socks inside out so the seam doesn't bother me. which means for years i've worn nothing but plain, ordinary, non-exciting socks.
and then, it came to me--the seam should be on the outside. so i ripped out the seam in a pair of socks, turned them right side out, and re-seamed them. IT WORKED! these socks feel great, and since the seam is inside my shoe, it doesn't show.
inside sock, before:
inside sock, seam opened:
inside sock, after:
the ripping was tedious, so on the next pair i just cut the whole seam off, and that worked just fine, the seam is so narrow that it didn't make any difference at all in the socks.
i used a serger, but you can do this with a zig-zag on a sewing machine too. in fact, i might even do it by hand on some of ella's socks--that way i can make a very tiny seam and use very lightweight thread.
yes, it is a little effort but only a little, and to me this is a quality of life issue. and by the way, sock manufacturers, YOU could do this too--and of course you'd have the motivation to use matching thread.
outside sock, after:
