ANTIPAST

Antipast turns a plain sock into a small scene here: pine trees, a gabled cabin and a snowman knitted in across the leg in a soft, muted palette. A fine knit keeps it light rather than bulky. A picture book worn under trousers, not over them.

Antipast turns a plain sock into a small scene here: pine trees, a gabled cabin and a snowman knitted in across the leg in a soft, muted palette. A fine knit keeps it light rather than bulky. On black the scene stands out like a print rather than a pattern.

Antipast keeps its socks playful without overreaching. This ribbed wool-blend pair sets a slim contrast stripe at the ankle against two soft pom-poms in a lighter tone, a small flourish on an otherwise plain sock. Against black, the paler pom-poms do all the talking.

Antipast keeps its socks playful without overreaching. This ribbed wool-blend pair sets a slim contrast stripe at the ankle against two soft pom-poms in a lighter tone, a small flourish on an otherwise plain sock. In low white the stripe does the work and the pom-poms sit almost tone on tone.

Antipast keeps its socks playful without overreaching. This ribbed wool-blend pair sets a slim contrast stripe at the ankle against two soft pom-poms in a lighter tone, a small flourish on an otherwise plain sock. Navy is the quietest of the four; the pom-poms read as a pale mark at the ankle.

Antipast keeps its socks playful without overreaching. This ribbed wool-blend pair sets a slim contrast stripe at the ankle against two soft pom-poms in a lighter tone, a small flourish on an otherwise plain sock. Orange is the brightest of the four, made to show below a cropped trouser.

Antipast knits a whole autumn wood into this pair: oak leaves in plum, pink and slate, acorns, a squirrel or two and a bee, all worked in intarsia on a rust-orange wool-blend ground. A small frilled cuff in brown finishes the top. The detail shows in the gap between a hem and a shoe.

Antipast pairs pattern with text on this knee-high sock. A leafy branch climbs the black wool-blend leg in grey and taupe, dotted with small white blossoms and falling pods, beside lines of tonal lettering knitted into the rib. A white picot edge trims the top, the only bright line on the pair.

Antipast works from a Japanese textile studio's eye for pattern, not a runway one. Small florals in muted pink, navy and olive are knitted directly into the wool-blend, scattered rather than gridded, so no two socks read quite the same. Playful underfoot, precise in the making.

Antipast works from a Japanese textile studio's eye for pattern, not a runway one. Small florals in muted pink, navy and olive are knitted directly into the wool-blend, scattered rather than gridded, so no two socks read quite the same. Playful underfoot, precise in the making.