Similar, but not identical
You there, in the back. Yes, you, in the black tee. What's your guess?
Ah, yes. Very astute student you are. Kudos.
The sock on the left is the one from yesterday's post. The sock on the right is a newly begun sock in the same yarn, started at the exact same spot in the pattern repeat of said yarn but with more stitches and all ribbed.
Have you ever done something for so long that you kind of forgot exactly why you did it that way? Uh-huh. I've been knitting Neatnik's socks with ribbing all the way down the leg and instep for so long, I sort of lost track of why I was doing all of her socks that way.
I knit her socks with all that ribbing because a young child's foot tends to have a higher instep (proportionally) than an adult's. Or at least my child's foot does. Knitting her yarn socks with ribbing allows that extra bit of stretch over the instep while at the same time ensuring that the sock does not puddle around her slender, shapely ankle.
That's what is happening here.