Reverse Basic Ribbed Sock

I'm very fond of my Basic Ribbed Sock pattern -- I use it a lot. And I use it a lot with variegated yarns. I was looking at a half-completed Basic Ribbed Sock in a nice black and white mix of variegated yarn, when it occurred to me that I rather liked the fabric inside out. Click on the picture to see what I mean.

Whereby resulted the Reverse Basic Ribbed Sock. Tweaked so that the wrong side of the ribbing shows on the outside of the sock. Works terrifically well with a yarn that has short bursts of colour.

Sizes
Women’s S (shoe size 5-7), Women’s M (shoe size 7½-9), Women’s L (shoe size 9½+), Men’s S (shoe size 6-9 ), Men’s L (shoe size 9½+)

Materials
400m/440yds sock yarn – this pattern works for any sock yarn with a 28-30 stitch gauge
-the black and white version was worked with two skeins of Shelridge Farm's Soft Touch Ultra sock yarn
-the orangey version was worked with a skein of Arequipa sock yarn
1 set of 2.5mm (US size 1/1.5) double-pointed needles

Gauge
32 stitches, unstretched, across 4 inches/10cm in K3 P1 rib with 2.5mm needles.

Method
Cuff:
Cast 56 (60, 64, 64, 68) stitches onto a single needle. Distribute stitches evenly across 3 needles. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist.

Work 15 (15, 17.5, 20, 20) cm/6 (6, 7, 8, 8) inches of K3 P1 ribbing, as follows:
Round 1: *K3, p1; repeat from * to end of round. Repeat this for every round.
Yes, that's right, work the leg in k3 p1 ribbing. It's quicker for most knitters than p3 k1, and you'll turn it inside as you start to work the heel.

Turn Heel:
This portion is worked flat in plain stocking stitch.

Turn the sock inside out. You're going to start working in the other direction, so that the the ribbing shows at p3 k1 on the right side of the sock. You should be positioned so that the first st of the round is a knit st, followed by three purls.

Knit first 29 (29, 33, 33, 33) stitches. Put remaining 27 (31, 31, 31, 35) stitches onto a holder. Starting with a purl row, work 21 (21, 23, 23, 25) rows of stocking stitch, slipping the first stitch of every row. The right side is facing for next row.

RS: Knit 19 (19, 22, 22, 22) stitches, ssk, turn
WS: Slip 1, purl 9 (9, 11, 11, 11) stitches, p2tog, turn
RS: Slip 1, knit 9 (9, 11, 11, 11) stitches, ssk, turn

Repeat last two rows until all stitches have been worked. 11 (11, 13, 13, 13) stitches remain, and RS is facing for next row.

Re-establish Round and Create Gusset:
Knit all heel stitches. Using that same needle, pick up and knit 15 (15, 16, 16, 17) stitches along selvedge edge at side of heel, using slipped stitches as a guide. With a new needle, work in reverse rib pattern as established across the 27 (31, 31, 31, 35) stitches of instep – those stitches that you’d set aside on the stitch holder. Using another new needle, pick up and knit 15 (15, 16, 16, 17) stitches along selvedge edge at other side of heel, using slipped stitches as a guide. With that same needle, work 6 (6, 7, 7, 7) stitches from the first needle.

The beginning of the round is now at the centre of the heel. There should be 20 (20, 22, 22, 23) stitches on the first needle, the 27 (31, 31, 31, 35) stitches of the instep on the second, and 21 (21, 23, 23, 24) stiches on the third. Rearrange the stitches if you need to.

From here on in, the 27 (31, 31, 31, 35) instep stitches will be worked in the reverse rib pattern, and the gusset and sole will be worked in stocking stitch – that is, knitting every round.

Decrease Gusset:
Work a round even – keeping the instep stitches in pattern – twisting all picked-up stitches.

Work a decrease round as follows:
Needle 1: Knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: Work all stitches in pattern.
Needle 3: K1, ssk, knit to end.

Work an even round, keeping continuity of pattern.

Repeating these last two rounds until Needles 1 has 14 (14, 16, 16, 16) stitches and Needle 3 has 15 (15, 17, 17, 17) stitches. 56 (60, 64, 64, 68) stitches total on your needles.

Work until foot measures 6.5 (18, 19, 19, 21) cm/6.5 (7, 7.5, 7.5, 8.5) inches, or 6 cm/2.5 inches less than foot length. (Note that the finished sock should be a little shorter than the foot. This makes for a better fit.)

Shape Toe:
From here on in, you’ll work entirely in stocking stitch. Rearrange the stitches so that you’ve got 14 (15, 16, 16, 17) each on Needles 1 and 3, and 28 (30, 32, 32, 34) on Needle 2.

Work a decrease round, as follows:
Needle 1: Knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle 2: K1, ssk, knit to last three stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle 3: K1, ssk, knit to end.

Work 3 rounds even.
Work a decrease round followed by 2 even rounds, twice. [6 rounds total]
Work a decrease round followed by 1 even round, three times. [6 rounds total]
Work decrease rounds until 8 stitches remain.

To finish, cut yarn, draw through the final stitches and tighten. Weave in ends.