knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

, ribbing is a pattern in which vertical stripes of

stockinette stitch Basic knitted fabrics include stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side (as seen when making the stitch) than on the wrong side ...

alternate with vertical stripes of

reverse stockinette stitch Basic knitted fabrics include stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side (as seen when making the stitch) than on the wrong side ...

. These two types of stripes may be separated by other stripes in which knit and purl stitches alternate vertically; such plissé stripes add width and depth to ribbing but not more elasticity. The number of knit and purl stripes (wales) are generally equal, although they need not be. When they are equal, the

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

has no tendency to curl, unlike stockinette stitch. Such ribbing looks the same on both sides and is useful for garments such as

scarves A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of diffe ...

. Ribbing is notated by (number of knit stitches) × (number of purl stitches). Thus, 1×1 ribbing has one knit stitch, followed by one purl stitch, followed by one knit stitch, and so on. Ribbing has a strong tendency to contract laterally, forming small

pleat A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleats are cat ...

s in which the purl stitches recede and the knit stitches come forward. Thus, ribbing is often used for

cuff A cuff is a layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment (shirt, coat, jacket, etc.) at the wrist, or at the ankle end of a trouser leg. The function of turned-back cuffs is to protect the cloth of the garment from fraying, an ...

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English), ...

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

s and, more generally, any edge that should be form-fitting. The elasticity depends on the number of knit/purl transitions; 1×1 ribbing is more elastic than 2×2 ribbing, etc. However, some cable patterns may "pull in" more than ribbing (i.e., have a smaller

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

); in such cases, a ribbed border may flare out instead of contracting.

Slip stitch A ladder stitch, or mattress stitch, is a stitch which can be used to invisibly close seams from the outside of the garment or item. It is primarily used to close seams on stuffed items, such as pillows, mattresses, down coats or stuffed toys, ...

es may be added to increase the depth of the ribbing, and to accentuate the stitches of certain wales. For example, the knit stitches can be slipped every other row to double their height and make them come forward. Ribs can be decorated with nearly any motif used for a plain knitted fabric, e.g., bobbles, cables,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

, various

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

s, and so on.

References

* (2002) ''Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book'', updated ed., Sixth and Spring Books. * (1979) ''Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework'', Reader's Digest Association. * Thomas M. (1972) ''Mary Thomas' Book of Knitting Patterns'', Dover. * June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) ''The Principles of Knitting'', Simon and Schuster, pp. 21-22, 214. {{knitting Knitted fabrics Knitting ornaments Textile techniques

See also

References