While the toe-up method I learned worked fine, I wanted some height to the toe. I had tried directions that worked for cuff-down socks and began experimenting. When I read Priscilla Gibson's book Ethnic Socks & Stockings I found different toe-up construction methods. I altered one of these methods to get the height I was looking for. Also, while this might seem fiddly, it's pretty fail-safe. I've done directions for both counterclockwise and clockwise knitting.

I'm also a fan of anatomically correct socks. Since I'm hand knitting them, why not make them left and right footed? After the first toe-up socks, I figured out how to stagger the toe increases. For the first round, increase four stitches, two on each side of the sock. On the second round, work the big toe side of the sock even but still increase two stitches on the little toe side. This is what would normally be an even round. Repeat these two rounds until the sock toe fits. Quite often, I work second rounds back-to-back at the end of the toe increases to get the number of stitches I need.