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More Ideas: The Not-So-Basic Ribbed Sock
Here's a short collection of tips and tricks for modifying the Basic Ribbed Sock pattern. Enjoy!
Making Heels Deeper
Some folks prefer a deeper heel to ease tension across the ankle. You can work the heel over 60% of C to accomodate this request. You can also try working more short rows in the heel by pivoting when there are less than 1/6 C unworked stitches. You could also work a mini gusset at the heel; I haven't tried this method, but those who have say that it works like a charm.
Other Ways To Do Short Row Heels And Toes
There are many ways to knit short rows. Two that come to mind involve yarn-overs and wraps at the miter line to close the gaps. If you have instructions for another type of short row heel, you can simply substitute them in the Basic Ribbed Sock pattern where the Sherman Heel and Toe are mentioned.
Sneaky Leg Shaping
Look at the way your calf is shaped. Even on my skinny goofy chicken legs, the circumference increases dramatically just a few inches up from my ankle. If you knit a sock with a long leg, the cuff will have to stretch much further than the lower leg. To avoid tight cuffs and loose ankles, you can improve fit by doing leg shaping.
Leg shaping can be done in two ways. The more challenging way would be to cast on extra stitches and decrease as you knit toward the ankle. This is a great way to make plain stockinette knee socks fit better, but it's hard to decrease in ribbing so that the ribs are still visually pleasing. An easier, faster, sneakier option is to simply use larger needles. I learned this technique from PGR's Dream Socks article in Interweave Knits and have used it to great advantage.
For an average crew sock, figure your cast on amount as usual but begin with needles that are .25mm larger than the ones you need for gauge. Cast on and work half the leg with the larger needles, then switch to the smaller needles and finish the sock. For a taller sock, work the leg in third. Cast on and knit the first third of the leg in needles .5mm larger than required for gauge, then work the middle third in needles .25mm larger than gauge, then finish the sock using the gauge needles. This creates a gently flared leg that fits very well.
Using Reinforcement
Reinforcement is thin nylon thread sold on cardboard bobbins. (Jawoll sock yarn comes with a round plastic bobbin of reinforcement tucked inside the skein; Blauband has a card of reinforcement tucked inside the yarn band.) You carry it along with your yarn as you knit to reinforce areas, like heels and toes, where friction, heat, and moisture would cause felting or wear.
Reinforcement does not need to be woven in when the sock is done. Just snip the ends at about 1/2" and you're done. You do still need to weave in the ends of the regular sock yarn, of course.
Unless you are using the Jawoll or Blauband reinforcement, which are matched to the colors of the sock yarn they came with, your color selection is pretty limited. However, you can achieve a nice ragg effect by contrasting your reinforcement color with your sock yarn color. Or you can try to match colors to hide the fact that you've used reinforcement.
Reinforcement does add bulk. This can be nice for extra heel cushioning, but may make toes feel cramped inside tight shoes.
Alternate Ribbing On Cuff
An easy, attractive way to jazz up your Basic Ribbed Socks is to alter the ribbing pattern on the cuff (the upper part of the leg). Many sock patterns begin with small ribbing for 2"-4" before beginning a textured or colorwork pattern on the leg; this looks nice on ribbed socks, too.
You don't need to be too scientific about your selection of cuff ribbing, but I find related multiples to be the most appealing. One of my favorites is k1p1 ribbing above k3p1 ribbing, aligned so that one of the purl columns in the k1p1 is above the purl column in the k3p1. This long vertical channel of purl stitches ties the two ribbing patterns together.