Wavy edge on Half Fisherman’s Rib Garment

I’m knitting the front of a v-neck sweater in half fisherman’s rib, which is knitted as follows:
Row 1 (RS): P1, (brk, p1) to end.
Row 2 (WS): K1, (sl1yo, k1) to end.

I begin and end each row with either a knit or a purl stitch (iow. never with a slip stitch). But, I’ve ended up with a very wavy edge on the one side (see photo), where the sleeve will be attached.

Can anyone tell me what I might have done wrong that would have resulted in the wavy edge? Is it going to be an issue when I sew my sweater together, or is there a way to do so that will not allow the issue to show up?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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You worked a regular knit or purl at the edge? That may be the problem. Brioche or fisherman’s rib or the half versions of each create thick fabric. In the case of brioche, the slip sts are worked on the next row which makes the knit fabric shorter than plain rib over the same number of rows.
It looks to me like you are seeing this difference between straight knits or purls and brioche sts at the edge. The straight knits or purls are not as compressed and have greater length.
You’ll have to take this into account when you seam, perhaps two of the edge sts seamed to a brioche edge or slip stitch edge.

Your brioche looks beautiful on its own. That’s very nicely done.

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I use mattress stitch when I seam in sleeves and side sweater seams and the edge is totally hidden inside so I think your wobbly edge will be fine so long as you take time to line it up and as salmonmac said, look at how many rows are going into each seam stitch.
It’s a very pretty fabric. I have never done half fisherman’s rib but I think I must, it’s so attractive.

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@salmonmac Thanks so much for the compliment and for explaining the issue :blush:. I thought that doing a plain knit or purl stitch at the start of each row would give me a tighter, neater edge, not a looser one. Shows how much I know! :joy: All the other edges are fine, but that particular edge is the only one in which each alternate row should have ended in slip stitches.

@Creations Yes, I also really like the way the Half Fisherman’s rib looks knitted up. I think it would be great for hats and scarves, too. I plan to knit a sweater for my son in it once I finish my sweater. My one is a bit of a practice run; hopefully I’ll have ironed out any glaring issues by the time I knit his! :sweat_smile:

I never knew that mattress stitch could be used for knitting. I thought it was quite visible on both sides, but perhaps I’m thinking of something else. Anyway, I’ll look into it. Do you know whether wetting and blocking the different parts of the sweater before sewing them together would help? I’ve never done so before, but I read something recently that said blocking gives a better result when sewing a garment together.

There are lots of tutorials for mattress stitch for seaming knitting, here’s one


When I first used it I preferred a written tutorial with still images but I’m not sure now where that was. I thought it was like magic when I discovered it!
I often use a faux graft for bound off shoulder seams which I think looks nicer on th shoulder, less tight. I tend to use a faux graft under the arms too despite it being the same yarn for the mattress stitch seam which is pulled tight/snug for the armscye sleeve cap seam, I snug that up then use the yarn for a looser sewn faux graft for a softer flatter underarm.
There are other ways to seam of course. Maybe try the mattress stitch on a swatch first and see if you like it.

I never block before seaming. Some people say you should always block before seaming. For me the important aspect is to correctly align row for row on side seams, and carefully set in the sleeve evenly spaced all around.

In case you want to try it

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What kind of fiber are you using, wool, acrylic, blend? I find that for sweaters knit in pieces, wet blocking or washing and laying out to dry before seaming gives you nice pieces, blocked to measurements for seaming. You may well be able to correct some of the waviness with blocking which will help with seaming.
I agree that mattress stitch, especially for the long straight seams is the neatest way to go.
You’ve done well with brioche stitch which is a lovely technique and one of my favorites.

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Thanks so much, @Creations. That’s very helpful!

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Thanks so much, @salmonmac :slight_smile: The yarn I’m using is 60% acrylic and 40% nylon.

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The acrylic isn’t going to block to measurements as nicely as wool but it’s worth a try. Otherwise I would seam along the raglan line, ignoring the wavy edge. Depending on how soft and pliable the yarn is, this may work just fine.

You’re welcome. And thank you to you too as your lovely half fisherman’s rib has led me to make my own swatch and I just love it! Making my next sweater with this in the design. Cheers!