Do you have to block your socks? Nope. Nope you are an adult with autonomy and I am absolutely not the boss of you. Does blocking your socks make a difference?

Eh…I say yes. But I also acknowledge that it’s pretty much just an aesthetic difference, and once they’re on a foot, the difference is negligible.

But for something like giving them as a present (or in my case, taking pictures of them), I think the effort to reward ratio is such that a quick block is more than worth it.

(These are Xanthophyll, one of my very early patterns long retired, and you may draw what conclusions you will about the existence of a shiny new pair of them suddenly appearing in my vicinity.)