Today's pair of socks needs some surgery. You can already see a new brown toe on the end of one of these babies. It's partner isn't doing too well.
Look closely at the sock, evaluate its needs. This one has holes AND weak spots. A quick darning of a small hole isn't really an option. It needs a whole new toe & part of the foot reknit.
Find a spot a few rows (rounds) below the weak spots. You don't want to darn into weak yarn as it'll just cause more holes in the future. Snip ONE strand of yarn.
Work that yarn out of the sock stitch by stitch, leaving open loops in your wake. DO NOT FREAK OUT. This is (most likely) WOOL and won't go unraveling on you and leave you with a pile of yarn. The worst that may happen is a stitch may run down one or two stitches. You can deal with it. Really. :)
I find it's easier to unknit this round if I use a smaller knitting needle to help pull the yarn through the stitches.
Snip the yarn tail as you go. Having a shorter tail to pull through means less tugging on the stitches and you'll have less chance of stitches working down a row or more.
After making it around the tube, pat yourself on the back. You've done it! You now have a foot and a separated toe.
Put the loose stitch loops onto knitting needles and knit yourself a new foot and toe!
Scatter the yarn scraps around the yard or near trees where you know birds and squirrels have nests. The critters love wool scraps to make their nests warm and cozy!
I'm off to knit myself a new toe plus a little bit of the foot. I'll share a photo of how to deal with if a stitch has unknit a few rows down too. I didn't have any stitches unravel, but I'll force one to and take pics for you. Be back with toasty toes fresh from the Sock ER soon!
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