Starting with 60 stitches provisional cast-on on 2.25mm needles (CraSy Trio long). Purling the joint round as I like the optics. Added one round of plain knit stitches changing to 2.5mm needles, then start with the pattern. Using long circulars (magic loop) from here on as the long increase rounds are difficult to handle on the CraSy Trio.
Increased the gusset to 12 stitches on each side (to fit my anatomy) before starting with the heel. This also results in a slightly longer leg portion which I like as it fits well with the height of my sneakers.