Okay, this question is not for me…I know how to rib
My daughter (remember I said I was teaching her to knit) is having trouble with ribbing. She came to me with her knitting and her grasp of the seed stitch is amazing, but she just can’t seem to get the hang of ribbing. She says she keeps forgetting what stitch she’s supposed to be doing and doesn’t really know how to tell.
I’ve shown her what a knit stitch looks like next to the needle as well as a purl. She knits continental, and has no trouble moving the yarn from front to back. Her technique is excellent and she’s got the stitches down.
But…I need to know how to explain to a 12 year old how to properly do a rib. If anyone answers this, could advice be tailored for a pre-teen brand new knitter?
How about having her do a very small swatch? Such as casting on 8 stitches and doing a 2 X 2 rib. I would say to her: Knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2. Now turn the work over and do the exact same thing. Repeat these 2 rows several times.
When she’s done this, she should be able to see the ribs, especially if you stretch it out a little.
Now-- are you going to tell me you’ve already tried this with her?
When I first taught her a few weeks ago, we did casting on, knit, purl, and a basic rib. I don’t remember if it was 1X1 or 2X2. I just sat through the ribbing video with her, and she said it helped.
I think one of her major issues is that she doesn’t want to ask for help when she’s not sure if she’s doing something wrong, because she doesn’t want to be told she’s doing it wrong. So, she continues with what she’s doing, then gets frustrated when told it needs to be frogged.
I personally think it’s a great learning experience and she’ll thank me one day
Actually I have problems with this too. Get to talking and can’t remember where I am. The stitches on the right hand needle I touch them and say k, p, k, p etc until I get to where I am if the last stitch was knit then I know to purl and vice versa. Maybe this will help her.
Mary, we’ve done this, but she couldn’t recognize which was knit and which was purl, so she was going back to the beginning of the row and still not being able to tell, so she started guessing.
9 years after I learned how to knit did I even attempt a seed stitch, and the child picks it up on accident 2 weeks out of the gate.
I agree with doing a swatch. Just a small square will help her learn which is which…knit or purl. She can cast on 10 stitches, then start going.
After she does a knit stitch, she should look at her knitting very closely to see what it looks like from both sides.
Then, after she does a purl stitch, she should do the same. Examine it very closely.
She’ll soon see that they are exact opposites of each other on the different sides.
So, the front of a knit stitch looks like the back of a purl stitch.
The front of a purl stitch looks like the back of a knit stitch.
Then, she should do some ribbing, to see if she gets it right. If it turns out to be seed stitch, she’ll know that it was wrong. If it looks like ribbing, then it’s right. Experience is the best way to learn it.
I am sorry if I offended you. When I do a rib stitch I always start with a knit, then purl. Each and every row therefore I only have to know that I started with knit and then I “count” off each stitch to find out where I am. You do not have to know the difference in the stitches as I still can’t always tell.
I think it’s wonderful that your daughter is taking to knitting the seed stitch so easily. She probably has a natural born talent for it and a good teacher in a mother. Good luck to her always.
I do the same, always starting on a knit so I know where I am. I must look like I have amnesia, because I often do have to go back and count stitches, sometimes more than once.
No no, you didn’t offend, I hope my tone wasn’t coming across that I was upset. She gets frustrated easily and I’m not the best one to teach her. I was hoping that others would be able to give information that I hadn’t thought of.
She frogged the inch she’d done over the past week or so and started over. She almost gave up on this try on the second row because she thought she purled twice. I went back and showed her how to look closely and she was good to go. However, she put it down shortly afterwards. She’s got a cold, so maybe this isn’t the best time for her to be knitting.
if i have to put down my ribbing in the middle of a row, i always stop after i finish a (k_,p_) sequence. the next stitch i knit when i pick it back up is always the first knit in the sequence.
if i’m knitting a 2x2 rib, i’ll say to myself “knit” (with the first knit st), “two” (with the second knit st), “purl” (with the first purl st), “two” (with the second purl st). it helps me get into a rhythm, and i hardly ever have a real problem with knowing where i am. it also helps me knit faster. maybe she could try something similar once she gets comfortable with ribbing.
Thank you Alleusion. I don’t think it was you I’m sure it was me. It is hard with typing. I’m usually not so sensitive. But anyway I do think it is great that your daughter is learning to knit. I also learned to knit at a very young age and one day she will be able to tell her knits and purls but I also think it comes from doing it for awhile. Thank you again and hope your daughter’s cold is almost over by now. I hate it when the kids are not feeling well.
She lovingly gave her cold to me, and the cold plus some sort of infection landed me in the hospital for the past day and a half. I missed my knitting, but was so drugged up I really couldn’t care less. Good news is, I’m home now surrounded by my stash.
On a side note, the baby is perfectly fine, there’s only one, and it’s a girl.
