Which Ribbing is Stretchiest or Most Elastic? // Technique Tuesday

[@ThePursuitofperfect]

I was not expecting such a complete analysis of this question. Well done. Definitely subscribing to your channel. Thank you. 🎉

[@kristinaswetz6481]

This video was incredibly helpful. All these years of knitting, and I had no idea! Thank you!

[@dvorak920289]

Thank you very much for this wonderful lesson, dear Roxanne! You are my favourite knitting teacher! 😊 I intend to make a neck warmer with handspun catgora and I'm looking for something that can stretch enough to pass over my face, but can then sit snugly around my neck. I learnt the properties of the different ribbings, now I'll have to swatch a small sample to see which one I like the most and I'll give it a go!

[@DiVaIve]

I love these technique tuesdays. I always learn so much!

[@g.l.enchiladas]

thank you for this video. i always wondered if there was a non aesthetic difference between types of ribbing

[@nipnip2656]

Thank you for this video. Perhaps another factor that is equally important is fibre content. Different mixes behave in rib according to their intrinsic elasticity determined by their origin.

[@jurametall1228]

Amazingly good and clear explanation. Thanks so much!

[@missree1995]

Thank you for this. I'm a novice knitter. Learning so much from your videos.

[@carlajewett1091]

Thanks, Rox... very informative.

[@captainswing4487]

Wow...I am a learner ready to go passed scarves and cat blankets. Your knowledge and format is the best. Thank you.🇬🇧

[@ravensnow2931]

This was so incredibly helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this so clearly.

[@DonnaBMacK]

This was very helpful and informative! I love the way you explain things so clearly. Thank you.

[@katibere1966]

Thank you...I’m learning so much!! Knit my first hat last week!👍🏻😊 Stay healthy 🙏🏻😊

[@MsZemb]

Great video! do you always use needle 1 size smaller for ribbing?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I personally either use the same size, or two sizes smaller. It depends on the type of project, the stitch pattern, and what I want from the ribbing.

[@malabanerjee8424]

Thank you madam for an elaborate video. It is v. much clear to understand, it v. much helping to us. Will you please let me know for a adult hat which one will be appropriate all over brioche after ribbing or fisherman stitches after rubbing or cable stitches after ribbing. I like to be perfectly fitting not tight nor loose one. I will wait to start after your answer.

[@BlessedBaubles]

Fantastic!! Brilliant! I enjoyed so much! I’ll be checking out that Ravelry group! You know, I’m a crochet person and hated knitting when I went back to it to knit socks. But now that I have some successes under my belt (lol, more like under my foot) and several knitted socks that are heaven on the feet, I am enjoy my knitting more & more. But this was not without many many projects yankee out & redone! Ugh. That is where crochet is so much easier. But one can get that nice stockinette from crochet. :( With this video my creative mind ran to all kinds of awesome thoughts such as sweater sleeves that make go out like a bell! So, you have really contributed to my knitting future! I can’t wait to learn more from you. You are an excellent teacher! God bless! Truly, Cheri

[@maryalgar8779]

THANK YOU. This is the very question I had today when working on a sock cuff (top down). I noticed that my K2 P2 cuff was more drawn in (in its relaxed state) than a previous sock I had done in K1 P1. I was wondering if the sock cuff would be too tight, but it seemed to have sufficient stretch. Do you have a favourite for your socks, or does it depend on overall sock pattern? Hope your "boo-boo" gets better soon :)

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I typically use k2p2 whenever I can, because I like the smaller stitch size, and I like not having to switch between knit/purl and purl/knit as often. If I'm working a stitch pattern after the transition from ribbing, I try to pick a ribbing that will flow well into the new stitch pattern.

[@heather7862]

Roxanne Richardson I also think k1 p1 looks kind of messy too. I have tried different things like tightening the slack right after my purl (which I do on 2x2 as well) but the knit legs are still spread too much.

[@bendiehintz1175]

This was a great video I had never thought about doing a 3 x 3 Ripping I had done 3 x 2 and three by one before but I am doing a bulky sweater for my son with a big shawl collar and I think It may look nice with a 3 x 3

[@bendiehintz1175]

Ribbing

[@vapinggaming]

There is one more here I wish you would have tried... The twisted rib (1x1). It has better elasticity than a regular 1x1 rib, retains it's shape well, and is very beautiful. I'd be curious to actually see how changing that knit stitch would effect a 2x2 or other variations as well.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Ktbl reduces the ability of the sts to stretch as much as untwisted sts. Whether it stretches enough to work well with the same stitch count is a separate question. It's an easy enough experiment for you to try yourself: knit a swatch with twisted rib and one with untwisted rib and compare the ability to stretch. You could also compare with the version that only twists RS knits when working flat, so only every other stitch in the RS knit columns are twisted.

[@magacuellarmonraz1956]

Great explanation!!!

[@sherrikent6628]

This was so very informative. Thank you

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You are so welcome!

[@JazzyScat]

Hi What I'd like to know is, and if I understand correctly that they all stretch the same but do not contract as well so that 2x2 rib contracts less than 4x4 rib, does one of them lose its contracting properties when wearing them more than the other? More specifically if I make a thigh high legwarmer which one between 2x2 and 4x4 will become more slack and fall. Looking for the best hold on the whole thigh. Thank you!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You'd have to calculate the number of stitches you'd need around your thigh if you were working in stockinette and then subtract maybe 20% for negative ease, and then use that stitch count for your ribbing. Until the ribbing stretches to the circumference that the fabric would have been if knit in stockinette, it's in a very relaxed state. It's not resisting the stretch like a rubber band, which is smooth, not ribbed. You might also consider knitting to a firmer gauge than what you see on the ball band. I imagine you'll have the same issue trying to keep a leg warmer up around your thigh that people have keeping knee socks from sliding down. You have to rely on negative ease and gauge firmness to resist gravity.

[@JazzyScat]

@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you!

[@sebombastic]

could you recommend a source where I can get the info without the know how, I just need which one, not why

[@misselanys1219]

1x1 looks neater and way nicer looking than 2x2 especially when using #3 or #2 weight yarn however the 2x2 or 3x3 will always give you more stretch. It depends on what you are making and what you like. I would stick with 2x2 for hats and mitten cuffs and 1x1 for anything using thinner yarns such as baby items. In other words its your preference. She used a lot of technical sentences to say this very thing. Hope my shortened version helped.

[@ShadowoftheDude]

Question! Does horizontal ribbing / welt stitch work the same way in terms of elasticity? I've never knit before, but I'd like to try and knit a sort of elastic for sewing.

[@MrsYasha1984]

The horizontal ribbing stretches vertically, not horizontally. But it's quite stretchy and elastic! I just finished some knitted ribbons to use as garters for stockings. The english name 'garter stitch' fascinated me, so I wanted to know if it indeed works as garters. I had very few stitches on the needle and just went back and forth in knit stitches until my ribbon was long enough

[@ShadowoftheDude]

Manuela Glavas Awesome! Thanks.

[@raelynarnold2319]

What cardigan pattern are you wearing? It’s beautiful!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There's a link in the video description to my Ravelry project page for the sweater, which contains links to the pattern page and the yarn.

[@katiew9652]

If you are making a pattern in all ribbing (like a ribbed hat) would you recommend doing the gauge in the ribbed pattern or stockinette to determine sizing for the hat?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I calculate based on stockinette gauge with the assumption that my purl gauge is the same as my knit gauge. If you have loose purls, you may want to compensate in some way, either with fewer sts or a smaller needle.

[@katiew9652]

@@RoxanneRichardson thank you!

[@enacrt]

Why some patterns ask for smaller needles in ribbing? Can I do something else, like using only one size and rib 2x2 instead of 1x1?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Patterns will call for smaller needles for several reasons. Typically, it's to reduce the size of the sts so that they more closely match the size of the stockinette sts. Knitters are free to substitute and modify patterns as they wish. If you want to use 2x2 ribbing instead of 1x1, that's your choice. You just need to make sure you have a stitch count that will work with a multiple of 4, rather than a multiple of 2.

[@kristaatkeson6692]

I had a question about ribbing that has perplexed me for over 30 years! When I knit a sweater from the top down, I find that my ribbing flips up. This happens on both a 2x2 and a 1x1 ribbing. Should I change my needle size? What is the best way to handle the flipping of the ribbing? Thank you for such detailed and informative videos.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Are you saying you don't have this problem when you knit bottom up?

[@kristaatkeson6692]

Roxanne Richardson That’s a great question, because I was wondering about that as I was writing to you. I realize I have been knitting from the top down now for many years so I really don’t know. Thanks Krista

[@thebutchersbill1]

I’ve recently gotten curious about combination knitting for sock cuff ribbing. I haven’t had a chance to swatch yet (must finish current socks!) but admit a small obsession with the neater look of this type of ribbing. An interesting addendum to this would be to compare ribbing done that way.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Thanks for the suggestion! :-)

[@marylumetz2782]

Thanks!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You're very welcome! :-)

[@pattymiller6696]

Thank you!

[@NYKnitter]

thank you

[@darlenefarmer5921]

Thank you.

[@kjrussell8831]

I enjoyed using Twisted Rib for the brim of my last FO: Knit Cable Hat by Casey Hendrickson of #Premknits

[@BeautifulOaks]

Have you ever seen the need to have a knit 2, purl 1 ribbing, odd count repeat?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Sure. The type of repeat is typically a combination of what you like aesthetically, what flows nicely into the main stitch pattern, and what the stitch count needs to be for the main pattern. If my main stitch pattern will be a total of 99 sts, I could either do a ribbing that contains a multiple of 3 (like k2p1), or I could do a ribbing that was a multiple of 4 (k2p2 or k3p1), and then decrease a st at the transition to the main st patt, or I could do k1p1 and either dec 1 or inc 1 at the transition. Sometimes, the ribbing varies within the round, depending on what combination of sts will be continued in the main pattern. I have a free pattern that demonstrates this sort of transition: www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/adaptation-3

[@narminallaweardi2384]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@paulagrnsy]

Thanks for this information. I've been knitting some doll clothes, and I just wasn't sure why the knit one purl one ribbing was so fat. Now I know, and I won't use it!

[@rachelprichard1809]

Thanks!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

You bet!