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How to Rib Stitch

Lesson 7 from: Knit Maker 101

Vickie Howell

How to Rib Stitch

Lesson 7 from: Knit Maker 101

Vickie Howell

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Lesson Info

7. How to Rib Stitch

Next Lesson: How to Seed Stitch

Lesson Info

How to Rib Stitch

All right, now that I've taught you the knit stitch and you know the purl stitch, now we're gonna have some fun with mixing them about to create what are called stitch patterns, which are just variations of mixing stitches together to create different looks. Probably the most common stitch pattern that's more than just your basic just knit stitch, just purl stitch, is rib. Rib stitches are used on cuffs, on necklines, on the bands around beanies, any place that you need a little give and a little stretch. So, rib stitch is created by just mixing knits and purls in different columns. You can have three knit stitches and one purl, three purls and one knit, one and one, two and two, it doesn't matter just as long as there is a sequence of columns of them. So, I have a couple of swatches here and these were done on super bulky. Honestly, you can see how kind of lush and chunky they look. This is a 1 x 1 rib. So, when you look at it straight on, it kind of just looks a little bit like a sto...

ckinette piece, right? But when you pull it, you can really see the ribbing. 1 x 1 rib is probably the most flexible of all the ribbings. This is particularly good for cuffs, especially like kind of baby garment because it's so stretchy. The one that we're gonna be learning today though is a 2 x 2 rib. I love 2 x 2 rib. It's what I usually use when I personally design beanies and some mittens too. It just depends on the style. I love the bold stripes that are created by 2 x 2 rib. It's the stripes this way, their columns. And it is simply created by knitting two stitches together and then purl, I'm sorry, knitting two stitches, then purling two stitches and creating that every row as a sequence. There are actual swatches to practice this stitch and really, all the stitches that I'm showing you is individual little test swatches as bonus materials on our course page as well. So, check that out too if you're not ready to dive into a full on rib stitch pattern project right away. You can knit up a little swatch that will look kind of vaguely similar to this. Also, before we dive in, I wanna show you, I'm gonna pull in our stitch sampler scarf again and show you the rib portion here. This is actually a 1 x 1 rib, which I showed you a swatch for a second ago but I staggered them. And we'll talk a little bit later about how to read the pattern and know when to do that, so don't worry. Don't get anxiety about that, all these things I'm throwing at you. But super fun way that you can see, like, just knowing these two stitches, it opens up the world of possibility of all these cool textures you can create. All right, so I've got my piece here and I've worked a few rows already, so I'm ready to work the next one. We know that why because all of these stitches are on the left-hand needle. It's pointing towards the right, so we're good to go. So, the first two stitches are knit stitches. So, we knit two. Then we have to go to two purling. To purl the yarn needs to be in the front of the work. We did that before, but because we were purling the entire row, our yarn was always in the front. So, when you think about ribbing, you just have to know that you're gonna have to transfer from front to back with your working yarn. But you get into kind of a rhythm and it becomes second nature. So now, we're gonna purl two and this will create kind of the little valleys that are in a rib stitch. Okay, we purl two, so now we need to knit, which means we need to move our yarn back again. We're gonna knit two and then we're gonna purl two. And that is the stitch pattern. Knit two stitches, purl two stitches is the repeat that you will do until the end of the row. I'm gonna go ahead and continue to do that. We're almost to the end. Okay, so these are the last two stitches. We know that we're done with the row 'cause there's no more stitches left on our needle. We're gonna swap. You flip it over. Rib stitch is totally reversible, so it's gonna look exactly the same, or at least this rib stitch is totally reversible. It will look exactly the same both sides. So, you flip it over, it still looks good, and you're ready to start with your knit two again, knit two, purl two all the way to the end. Again, you can work up a swatch using the bonus materials online. And now, you know how to rib. So, let's see what else we can do.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Beanie Pattern
Gauge Swatch Symbol
Knitting Abbreviations
Phone Sleeve Pattern
Practice Swatches
Scarf Pattern

Ratings and Reviews

Claudia Quinonez
 

I have to say that I am a fan of Vickie Howell and I absolutely love the way she teaches this class. The way she teaches this class is so easy to follow and understand. I am a beginner and was having a hard time with adding a new ball and decreases and this course has helped improve my knitting skills.

Ashley Sarikaya
 

Very helpful class! Vickie Howell is engaging and easy to follow. Excited to be taking more of her classes :)

E.L. Bl/Du
 

Vicky, WHERE have you been? You are missed on PBS show. VERY much looking fwd to this class. Vicky is one of the BEST knitting/Crochet instructors I have EVER watched. You are guaranteed to learn how to knit easily with her easy to follow instructions. Her own knitting is the most beautiful Ive seen. She tells you how to choose yarn, needles and how to follow patterns. Your set with this class. Even a seasoned pro will learn something.

Student Work

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