Neat DOUBLE INCREASE for RIB 1x1. Symmetrical on both sides, no holes or baggy stitches.

How to knit a symmetrical double increase for rib 1x1. Maintains a neat rib 1x1 pattern without the holes, baggy stitches or jog. Looks identical on both sides of the knitted fabric. "Invisible" increase for rib 1x1. Can be used for knitting a scarf, hood, sweater, cardigan. Particularly great when both sides of the ribbed knitted fabric are visible. Continental knitting.

[@KaterinaDobesSimonoff]

This is great. Thank you Irina!

[@irinarevo]

Thank you, Katerina!

[@bobandsandyfrye3902]

finally! this one is it!

[@nickiethesaint316]

This is perfect!

[@irinarevo]

Thank you!

[@ClaudiaArnold]

Excellent, thank you! Though I do machine knitting where you increase by lifting the loop of the lower row unto an empty needle it never occured to me to do this when hand knitting! ❤

[@irinarevo]

Different and similar at the same time - love machine knitting too!

[@nauci]

This is amazing, thank you so much! Is it possible to do this increase after a purl stitch?

[@irinarevo]

Thank you, and I think yes! Please check below in the comments, I believe I explained this in a reply to a comment.

[@nauci]

@@irinarevo I'm a total beginner to knitting and I am so, so grateful for your and Nimble Needle's KZbin channels!

[@lyndon6948]

Hi Irina, this is great and very clear thank you. Is it possible to do this double increase with knit then purl instead?

[@irinarevo]

Thank you! This method is for rib 1x1 to maintain a knit/purl stitch sequence. Are you thinking of a 2x2 rib or something else? Could you please specify - it will help me to understand the "why", and will be easier to answer.

[@lyndon6948]

@@irinarevo Hi Irina and thank you for your reply. I am making a men's sweater sleeve in 1x1 ribbing. I would like to do this double increase around a marker. Your example the next stitch is a purl so you do m1r purl wise then lift purl bump onto needle and knit it. It works very well and there is no hole. If next stitch is a knit instead I tried m1r knitwise then lift left leg of knit V onto left needle and purl it normally. It seems to work without making a hole. Do you think it's a good way?

[@irinarevo]

I just tried this - purl a stitch, m1r knit wise, then in the row below lift the right leg of the knit stitch from back to front and place knit wise onto the left needle and purl into it (it’s like KRL but purl wise), knit the knit stitch. I think it’s the same as you wrote (except "lift left leg of knit V" - did you mean the right leg?) If it’s the right leg, then I just have tried it - looks great! However, it’s not double sided, which is fine for sleeves/sweaters, because we only see the right side. If you wish to make double sided - like in a hood where we can see both sides - then I would twist the loop of KRL before I purl into it. Please let me know if it made sense :) Forgot to ask - do you make one double increase every few rows near the marker, or you need to make two double increases around the marker at the same time? (Increase by 4 stitches) If two - I would make them symmetrical - one increase m1r, the other one m1L, so they "look" in the opposite directions, so to speak. Just a thought :)

[@lyndon6948]

@@irinarevo Thank you Irina! I am making one double increase every 6th rounds for the sleeve. I want to keep the marker in the same place so I put the marker between the two new stitches each time. I was using wrong leg as you pointed out it should be KRL purl wise. I am very happy with the result so thank you very much!

[@irinarevo]

Wonderful! I am so glad it worked! Thank you for your very good question!

[@amylin4819]

if i'm doing what's shown in this video and what's described in the other comment in the round, do i have to worry about any sort of directional leaning?

[@irinarevo]

If you increase in the same spot (after a marker, for example) - yes. Are you making only one round with the increases? Or you plan to increase repeatedly after every several rounds? Do you need to maintain an alignment? Please let me know what you are knitting and where you are increasing so I can try to help.

[@amylin4819]

@@irinarevo thanks for the help irina! i'm making a top in the round from the bottom up and am increasing for the chest area. i'm kind of new to this and am also somewhat freewheeling, but am using two stitch markers in a round to divide the stitches evenly. my plan of attack right now is to alternate increasing after before the stitch markers, with 2 rows of no increasing between, maybe 2 or 3 times each until the desired width. would love to know your thoughts!

[@irinarevo]

Hi Amy! If I understood correctly you are increasing in the chest area and have two markers that divide the chest into three sections. If so I would probably make symmetrical increases before the 1st and after the 2nd marker so that the central area is unchanged and the sides expand. I would also make the central section slightly bigger than the sides. Alternatively, I might use 2 markers for the 1st increase round. Then use 3 markers to increase "in between", then again 2 markers, then 3 and so on. Sort of shifting the increase spots so that my increases are spread out and do not create any pattern (I would still try to make them symmetrical though - one to the right, another one to the left, and the central one to the right in one round and to the left in another round). However, it might be a better idea altogether to use the short rows instead - to allow more room for the chest, and use the rib double increases along the sides for something like a dropped shoulder - to widen the fabric. The short rows would not be noticeable in the ribbed pattern. Let me know if that works :)

[@amylin4819]

@@irinarevo hi irina, thanks for the tips! it's actually just split into two sections, and i think that alternating worked to keep it symmetrical. it seems to be working as intended so far :) i had never heard of short rows before but will definitely try that instead in a future project! thanks for all the help, i appreciate it a ton !!!

[@irinarevo]

It’s German short rows - I don’t have a video yet but there are plenty on KZbin. Glad your project is a success! :)