Knitting in History
Well, I’m coming to the conclusion that the writer of this design could have made it a lot simpler, and better. After knitting the foot and ankle section in the round the writer has us cast off. The foot sole is then knit as a flap attached at the toe as shown here.
The next steps are to knit a separate lace border and sew it to the cast off top, and to sew the sole piece in place. So there is quite a bit of seaming in this tiny object!
As I have knit it I have concluded that it would be possible to knit the sole first and then pick up stitches around the circumference for the foot. A nice little knitted frill could be grown on from the top of the ribbed section without the need for a seam.
However I’ll continue as instructed for the genuine experience of making this sock as designed in 1880. However I’m planning a new design inspired by this sock with modifications to make it easier.
The Sheep in the Looking-Glass 
I agree that you can definitely improve this pattern. It is a cute little sock.
It is sweet. The yarn I’m using is al wrong if it was intended to be worn. It needs something finer and softer. This sock is too big as it is in this yarn. But it’s been good for testing as it gives very clear stitch definition.
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