I am working on a cardigan that calls for 1x1 ribbing to be worked on the button bands; however, I’ve read that since ribbing tends to stretch, it’s not the best pattern stitch to use for bands. (as in, over time, the bands will droop and become much longer than the rest of the cardigan).
I’m wondering if some of you long-time knitters can give me some advice about this: In particular, have you made cardigans that has ribbing in the button bands, and if so, did they stretch out over multiple uses/washings? And if the ribbing did not work, what would you recommend using in place of it?
I’ve never had a problem with 1x1 ribbing bands stretching (either the ones knitted horizontally or vertically). I’ve also used 2x2 ribbing and seed st for button bands and those works well too.
Ribbing actually helps. It stretches to go over the button and springs back to hold it in place. And I wouldn’t take everything you read as Gospel. As you gain more experience, you’ll find somebody else’s knitting advice may be wrong or just doesn’t work for you. Eventually you’ll do what’s practical for your situation and leave the rest.
Ribbing stretches out, and then pops back! Snap!
Ribbing is ‘stretchy’, that is…4" of ribbing on a cuff will accommodate a 4.25" wrist nicely. It will stretch over your hand, then fit nice and snug on the wrist.
But I’ve never experienced ribbing stretching out and remaining stretched out, as in baggy. Ever.
One common pitfall for picking up stitches for any buttonband is picking up too many stitches from jumpstreet. This will result in a buttonband that ripples like a roller coast. If you have a buttonband that’s 2" in depth, and it’s also rippling to boot…you’ll have a sad looking buttonband that might hang floppy and might not even support the buttons on the opposing side.
I used two types of ribbing on this cardigan: 1x1 ribbing on the bottom edge ribbing, on the cuffs, and on the neckband. But I used 2x2 ribbing for the buttonbands, at the designer’s instruction.
[B]I personally like the 1x1 ribbing, used for just 3 rows of ribbing. Teeny, understated. [/B]
[B]But I prefer the look of 2x2 ribbing for button bands.
On this project, I worked all of my buttonhole in the P2 ditches as you view them from the RS.[/B]
Salmonmac: Good to know about your experience. Thanks for sharing!
PJs: I know what you mean. I certainly don’t believe everything I read, which is why I was asking for some other people’s advice. And, yup, you’re right about needing more experience, but if I can benefit from the knowledgeable people here rather than doing it wrong and learning the hard way, I’d much rather do that!
ArtLady: Thanks for the additional information and pictures detailing your experience. I will be careful about the number of stitches I pick up since it seems as though that’s where things can start going awry!
