As much as I love toe-up socks, I couldn't get these to work that way. I tried following the pattern as written, I tried doing it the way I usually do my toe-up socks, then I decided to make things easy on myself and just start at the cuffs. After that they worked up quickly, even though it's been a frighteningly long time since I did a short row heel and I couldn't quite remember how it's done. Right or wrong, they've got heels. I'm hoping to finish the second toe tonight.