Okay, I TOTALLY admit it…I’m very new to knitting. I bought one of those “I taught myself to knit” books and now that I have a couple of the basics down I’m trying a pattern that has a part in it that seems so simple yet, I can’t figure it out. It says ‘Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 2"’. Someone please, oh PLEASE, translate this for me. No matter what I try it doesn’t look like ribbing to me. YAAARRRGH!
Ribbing?
yes, lets say your cast on is 20, you are going to k1 p1 to the end row 1, then you will p1 k1 till the end of next row…you will do this for 2 inches…so if you end in a k1 you will start next row p1 etc…I hope I explain this to your understanding…
Actually, you kinda almost explained seed stitch. If there’s an even number, you would k1, p1 on every row, for 2 inches.
You might not see the pattern for an inch or two…
Also remember to move the yarn up between the needles (yarn in front) for a purl and back between the needles (yarn in back) for a knit.
With ribbing, if there is an even number of stitches on the needle, you will k1, p1 to the end of each row.
But if there is an odd number of stitches on the needle, you will k1, p1 to the end of the first row, then p1, k1, p1… to the end of the next row, then k1, p1… on 3rd row, and p1, k1, p1 … on 4th row, etc. [COLOR=“Magenta”][B]BUT[/B][/COLOR] don’t worry about trying to figure that out!!! Its second nature once you’ve been knitting a while but too confusing when you’re starting.
Just learn what a knit stitch looks like and what a purl stitch looks like. Then on each new row when you rib, you will knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.
http://forum.knittinghelp.com/t/frans-hooded-baby-sweater-help?t=74769
If you go to this thread and scroll down till you see Jan’s photo of some ribbing, take a look at the way the knit and the purl stitches look. Her’s is wider ribbing with 4 knits, 4 purls, whereas your’s should end up as 1 knit, 1 purl, but the appearance of the stitches is what will help you. When you see a V in your stitches, you knit the stitch that’s on the needle above it; when you see one of the rounded shapes, its a purl, so you purl the stitch on the needle above it.
Oh, and as Rosefairy pointed out, when moving the yarn from front to back or from back to front of the needles, move it BETWEEN the needles, not under them or over the top. Just check the number of stitches you have at the end of each row for a while, to make sure you don’t have more than you started with.
[B]The most important thing you can learn is what the stitches look like. It will help you for the rest of your knitting career.
[/B]Each stitch has two sides. One side is a knit stitch the other is a purl. So if you knit two stitches and turn your work you’ll see two purl stitches.
To rib you knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches as they face you. As they face you just means when the work is in your left hand and you are ready to start knitting again. If you ended with two purls when you turn your work you’ll see two knit stitches so you knit them.
If you were to knit the purls and purl the knits you would get seed stitch.
Here’s a sample of what the stitches look like.