Abstract: An athletic sock having a knit-in, cushioned shin area. Preferably the sock also includes a knit-in, cushioned sole and ribbed support rear leg area. The cushioned shin area of the athletic sock may be formed on a single feed, single drum knitting machine by needle manipulation rather than by sinker manipulation. A selectively operable, special cam operates in conjunction with a radially shiftable lifting cam, and with long and short butt needles. The special cam lifts the short butt needles to an intermediate level where they grasp the body yarn but not the terry yarn. The long butt needles meanwhile are initially lifted by the special cam to the same level as the short butt needles. However, the lifting cam, which is retracted to clear the short butt needles as they pass by, further elevates the long butt needles to the uppermost level where they grasp both the terry yarn and the body yarn as they are lowered by the center cam.