There are so many ways to approach making socks. Firstly, assuming a typical sock construction... There's the decision of knitting cuff down or toe up. Then there are different cuff options, ribbed, rolled, picot or otherwise. All variety of leg pattern options. Rounded toes, square toes, star toes, short row toes, and others. There are so many heel options! Heel flap and gusset, eye of partridge, slipped stitch, fleegle, strong heel, fish lips kiss, sweet tomato, afterthought, and a dozen others I'm sure!
After all these design choices are made, there's also needle size to consider! Do I use smaller needles and more stitches? Larger needles and less stitches? What's the perfect gauge for socks? And then there's how to actually knit the socks on the needles... Double pointed needles? Long circular with magic loop? 23cm circular needles? A few flexi- or curved DPNs? TAAT on magic loop? Or 2-in-1 socks on DPNs or small circulars?!
I have to admit that I do not yet have answers to all of these questions. I've actually made a couple of socks with no pattern, that fit just fine, but I have no idea how I did it, and I feel like I need to figure it out all over again! I don’t even remember what needle size I used!
My last socks that I made both had problems with the fit, and so I'm really hoping that my latest attempt are much more successful (especially as I'll be finishing both socks at the same time).
Maybe I'll find sock perfection soon, but for now, at least I have lots of knitting ahead of me!