There is a cabled scarf pattern I am interested in trying. At either end of the scarf there is a 2 1/2 inch section of 2x2 ribbing. The scarf starts with 56 stitches but then at the end of the ribbing there is a decrease to 55 stitches for the main cabled pattern. What bothers me about this is the 56 stitches for the ribbing. I usually like to use multiples of 4 plus 2 so that I start each row with the same two stitches. I have OCD so that might have something to do with it. So I am wondering would there be anything wrong with starting 54 stitches for the ribbing and increasing one on the last row of the rib.
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sounds like a reasonable adjustment to me
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Thanks for the reply. I am thinking I might try another cable pattern that has 54 stitches anyways. I will add the ribbing to that scarf. I really like the look of ribbed ends. It seems to work well with the cable scarves because the cabling scrunches the width of the scarf as well so the ribbed ends are just about as wide as the rest of the scarf. This is what I was looking at originally.
I wonder if the number of stitches for the rib and then decrease one is so that the cables start on the knit columns. It’s much nicer than starting with knits over purls for the cables. I am not good at figuring these things out.
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Yes, honestly I am not sure if that is necessary to start with the 56 or not, so I decided to do an Irish hiker scarf pattern with 54 stitches instead, and I have lined up the cables with the ribbing.
Well the pattern actually calls for 42 stitches but with an extra cable it becomes 54.
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I think that the original pattern was probably written the way it was to sort of line up the cables with the ribbing. Sort of make it look like they are growing out of the ribbing or the reverse. Both patterns are lovely and you could certainly add some ribbing to the second easily enough.
The scarf you’ve chosen has a much nicer transition from rib to cable, great choice.
I often don’t like the transition from rib to cable in patterns and go out of my way to change the rib pattern. I generally look at the cable to decide how the rib can be worked which may end up something like 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 for instance, or 2 2 1 1 1 2 4 2 1 1 1 2 2, so that knits flow to knits and purls flow to purls. There’s no rule for the rib being one set repeat all along the row after all.
Hope you’ll post pics if this lovely design.
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The Irish Hiking Scarf definitely makes a nicer transition. The other one has a sort of “hiccup” in the change from rib to cables.
As @Creations mentions, ribbing can be quite varied. My first cardi was Andrea Mowry’s “Winters Beach”, and the ribbing drove me nuts, because I didn’t understand why it was the way it was. And looking at it now, I would probably change it under the pocket.
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