I have been making socks and hose for about 40 years - I found that the bar of stitching across the top of my toes on bought socks was just too uncomfortable after a couple of hours walking in boots, even the soft ones suitable for the English Pennines.

The trick is to use washable wool, wool that has been treated to prevent the scales of the fibres rising and interlocking.

Wool still in the natural state feels wonderful, but you are better off felting it from the beginning rather than trying to maintain it, as you might be able to keep it so as a jacket, hat or scarf, but socks - you really have no chance as the heat, humidity and friction socks experience are the requirements for felting par excellance.

Sock yarns available last century here in the UK, for everyday wear in shoes was a 90/10 mix of wool and Nylon, with the wool being quite high quality. Boot socks could be 20 to 60 percent Nylon, and the wool content of a tougher coarser kind.

Older washable yarns had a very strange feel, and even an odd smell when washed, and were not very nice to wear. Modern methods of treatment - I think it is a resin coating, are much better and far more like the natural feel of wool.

Hand knitted, or machine knitted with thick enough yarns, can be reworked to replace damaged feet, or have the foot part removed, the edge neatened and be worn with short socks - if worn with open shoes they can have a strip or band of knitting around the instep to fill in the gap and secure them in place, made from the unraveled part.

Anne the Pleater