by Mary the Hobbit

I knit a lot of socks, and I like to use broken rib for everyday socks because it goes faster with fewer purls. And it looks good, too. But after turning a sock inside out I noticed that those broken ribs look pretty nifty on their own. However... so much purling! Could I make the socks inside out? Thus was born the idea of Reverso Socks.

This sock has a smooth side and a rough side. The leg is worked "right-side out" down to the heel turn, then turned inside-out and finished with the rough side on the outside. You can wear them either way, depending on which side you like better. Personally I prefer the interesting texture of the rough side.

The gusset is positioned in an unusual place on this sock. Arch expansion is done at the sides of the ankle, and the stitch pattern is carried down the back where a heel flap would normally be. It looks somewhat like Cat Bordhi's Cedar Architecture. However, the first time I encountered this heel construction was with Anne Campbell's fabulous Show-off Stranded Socks. I still love wearing and showing off the socks I made from that pattern six years ago!

SIZE
Adult S[M, L]
Red socks shown in size L with leg 7.5 inches long
Blue socks shown in size M with leg 6.5 inches long

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Foot circumference: 6.5[7.5, 8.5] inches
Foot length: adjustable to fit
Leg height: adjustable to fit

MATERIALS
Yarn
Red sock
Abstract Fiber Mighty Sock [50% superwash merino/50% tencel; 380 yd/347m per 100g skein]; color: Sangria; 1 skein

Blue sock
Koigu KPPPM [100% merino; 175 yd/160m per 50g skein]; color: P418; 2[2, 3] skeins

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
#1.5 US/2.5mm needles for working in the round

Notions
2 stitch markers
Yarn needle

GAUGE

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

Smooth Rib
(across a multiple of 3 sts, in the round)
Round 1: [K2, p1] around.
Round 2: Knit.

Rough Rib (across a multiple of 3 sts + 2, in the round)
Round 1: [P2, k1] to last 2 sts of instep, p2.
Round 2: Purl.

P2tog tbl: purl two sts tog through the back loop.

Sl1 wyif, yb: With yarn in front, slip 1 st purlwise, then move yarn to the back for knitting.

Grafting:
Instructions for grafting can be found here.

DIRECTIONS
Cuff
Using the Long Tail or other stretchy method, CO 60[66, 72] sts. Distribute sts across needles as you prefer and join for working in the round.

Cuff ribbing: [K2, p1] around.
Work ribbing as set for 1 inch.

Leg
Leg round: Work Smooth Rib around.
Work as set until leg measures desired length, ending with round 1 of pattern.

Increase for Arch/Gusset:
Setup round: K2. This is the start of the back of leg, and the new start of round. K28[31, 34] back of leg sts; pm for start of instep and k32[35, 38] to end of round.

Note: Back of leg sts begin and end with a purl st; instep sts begin and end with k2.

Round 1: M1R, p1, [k2, p1] to marker, M1L, slip marker; [k2, p1] 10[11, 12] times, k2. 2 sts increased on back of leg.

Round 2, 4, 6: Knit.

Round 3: M1R, k1, p1, [k2, p1] to one st before marker, k1, M1L, slip marker; work instep sts in pattern as set. 2 sts increased on back of leg.

Round 5: M1R, [k2, p1] to 2 sts before marker, k2, M1L, slip marker; work instep sts in pattern as set. 2 sts increased on back of leg.

Repeat Rounds 1-6 2[3, 3] more times, and for sizes S & L only, work Rounds 1-2 again. 48[55, 60] sts on back of leg.

Heel Turn:
Setup round: K48[55, 60] back of leg sts; work instep sts in pattern as set.

Heel row 1 [RS]: K27[31, 33], SSK, k1, turn.

Note: At this point, you're going to turn the sock inside out, effectively exchanging the RS and WS. Although you've just worked a RS row, the next row will be the new RS.

Size S only: 28 sole sts. Proceed to Heel Finish.

Size M only:
Heel row 21 [WS]: Sl1, p27, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 22 [RS]: Sl1, k28, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 23 [WS]: Sl1, p29, p2tog, turn.
Heel row 24 [RS]: Sl1, k29, SSK.
31 sole sts. Proceed to Heel Finish.

Size L only:
Heel row 21 [WS]: Sl1, p26, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 22 [RS]: Sl1, k27, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 23 [WS]: Sl1, p28, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 24 [RS]: Sl1, k29, SSK, k1, turn.
Heel row 25 [WS]: Sl1, p30, p2tog, p1, turn.
Heel row 26 [RS]: Sl1, k31, SSK, k1, turn.
34 sole sts.

Heel Finish
At this point you will resume working in the round. The start of the round is at the start of the instep sts.

Foot setup round: P32[35, 38] instep sts. In the gap between the instep and the sole, pull up a loop as if to M1R and knit it tog with the first sole stitch; k to end of round.

Foot
Foot round: Work Rough Rib across instep sts; k to end of round.
Work as setup until foot is 1.5[2, 2.25] inches shorter than desired foot length, ending with round 1 of pattern.

There are 32[35, 38] instep sts and 28[31, 34] sole sts -- the next four rounds work decreases to even out the stitch counts.
Round 1: P2tog, purl to last 2 sts of instep, p2tog tbl; k to end of round. 30[33, 36] instep sts.
Round 2: K5, [p2, k1] to last 5 sts of instep, k5; k to end of round.
Round 3: P2tog, purl to last 2 sts of instep, p2tog tbl; k to end of round. 28[31, 34] instep sts.
Round 4: K7, [p2, k1] to last 7 sts of instep, k7; k to end of round.

Stitch counts for instep and sole are now equal - 56[62, 68] total sts.

Toe
Round 1: P2tog, purl to last 2 sts of instep, p2tog tbl; k1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased.
Round 2: K6, [p2, k1] to last 6 sts of instep, k6; k to end of round.
Round 3: As Round 1. 48[54, 60] sts.
Round 4: K8, [p2, k1] to last 8 sts of instep, k8; k to end of round.
Round 5: As Round 1. 44[50, 56] sts.

Size M & L:
Round 6: K7, [p2, k1] to last 7 sts of instep, k7; k to end of round.
Round 7: As Round 1. -[46, 52] sts.
Round 8: K9, [p2, k1] to last 9 sts of instep, k9; k to end of round.
Round 9: As Round 1. -[42, 48] sts.
Round 10: K8, [p2, k1] to last 8 sts of instep, k8; k to end of round.
Round 11: As Round 1. -[38, 44] sts. Proceed to FINISHING.

Size M only:
Round 12: K7, p2, k1, p2, k7; k to end of round.
Round 13: As Round 1. 34 sts.
Round 14: K6, p2, k1, p2, k6; k to end of round.
Round 15: As Round 1. 30 sts.
Round 16: Knit.
Round 17: As Round 1. 26 sts.
Round 18: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts of instep, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased; 22 sts.
Round 19: As Round 18. 18 sts. Proceed to FINISHING.

Size L only:
Round 12: K10, p2, k10; k to end of round.
Round 13: As Round 1. 40 sts.
Round 14: K9, p2, k9; k to end of round.
Round 15: As Round 1. 36 sts.
Round 16: K8, p2, k8; k to end of round.
Round 17: As Round 1. 32 sts.
Round 18: K7, p2, k7; k to end of round.
Round 19: As Round 1. 28 sts.
Round 20: K1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts of instep, k2tog, k1; k1, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. 4 sts decreased; 24 sts.
Round 21: As Round 20. 20 sts.

FINISHING
Graft toe closed. Block as desired and weave in ends.

Mary the Hobbit is a computer programmer turned obsessive sock knitter who loves experimenting with stitch patterns, sock constructions and new techniques. A Silicon Valley expat, she now lives in the Biggest Little City in the World with The Spouse, the Princess Bird, and the Dinosaur.

You can see her projects and patterns on Ravelry.