Tips on corrugated ribbing
Faye Perriam-Reed explains how to achieve neat and pretty results with this traditional Shetland design feature
CORRUGATED RIBBING and similar edgings are regularly used in traditional Shetland designs, and we often see them in projects featured in The Knitter. Designer Mary Henderson is a fan, and the examples we’ve used here are from her patterns.
WHAT IS CORRUGATED RIBBING?
Corrugated ribbing is often seen as a border around the hem on Fair Isle garments and accessories. The fabric is somewhat different from that of normal ribbing, in that it doesn’t provide any stretch or an elasticated edge, so it doesn’t really serve a practical purpose - such as helping your cuffs or hems to stay in place. However, it does make a pretty edging or ‘frame’ to a piece of Fair Isle or colourwork knitting. Because the yarn not in use is floated at the back, this makes a very dense edge which will be a similar tension to that of the main fabric. This is what prevents the ribbing from stretching as an ordinary rib would.
HOW IS IT WORKED?
Corrugated ribbing is usually worked as a two-colour K1, P1 rib, worked in the same way as ordinary ribbing but alternating colours - so each knit might be in yarn A, and each purl in yarn B. As we often see in Mary’s patterns, there might be a ribbing chart, in which colour changes happen over a few rows. So, although there will still be two colours per row, these gradually will take in other colours from the main pattern over several rib rows.
There are many variations of corrugated ribbing: 1x2, 2x2, 2x3 rib, and even garter rib - the possibilities are endless. This all depends on the designer’s preference, the item it is being used for, and the number of stitches used in the main pattern.
TIPS FOR NEAT CORRUGATED RIB Experiment
When planning corrugated rib, first experiment with which colour is going to be used to work the knit stitches and the purl stitches - both produce different results. You might prefer the knit stitches to be in the main colour and then seamlessly merge into the main pattern once the ribbing is complete. Or maybe you prefer the coloured stitches to take centre stage and to knit these, hiding the main colour in the purl stitches so it can hog the limelight later on in the pattern. Try different methods of holding the yarns. We’ve previously run masterclasses on two-colour knitting which you might find useful (such as in Issue 94), or you may prefer to work each row twice as follows: Work the first row on a circular needle, knitting the knit stitches and slipping the purl stitches with the yarn at the back. Turn the work and repeat with the second colour, slipping the stitches already worked on the last row and knitting the stitches that were slipped.
Personally I like to hold one yarn in each
hand to work two-colour ribbing; this takes a little practice to get the tension the same for both hands, however. You’ll want to make sure that the same yarn is always on top when floating at the back (usually the main colour) no matter which method you choose.
Neaten the first round of purls
If you want to prevent a visible colour change on the first round of purl stitches, then first knit one round in the main colour, beginning the corrugated ribbing in the following round.
Prevent a curled edge
Sometimes corrugated ribbing has a tendency to curl up in the same way that stocking stitch likes to. The way to get around this is usually to either work a few rows in stocking stitch, so the roll appears within this section and the coloured corrugated border is then not affected, or to work a few rows first in ordinary one-colour rib, to prevent the roll. If you prefer, you could work a few rows in each stocking stitch and ordinary rib to prevent the colours from the corrugated ribbing from showing at the bottom of the curled edge. It really depends on yarn and tension, so I would recommend first making a swatch so you can see which method works best for you.
CHANGING A PATTERN
If you’d like to use corrugated ribbing in place of ordinary ribbing, there are a couple of things to consider. First, you need to be certain you can get away with losing a stretchy rib hem. On a garment, for example, this is less necessary than on a slouchy hat which might require the rib to keep the hat from slipping off the head.
Second, normal one-colour rib is usually worked over fewer stitches than the main garment or accessory, to allow for stretch. If you are going to replace ordinary ribbing with two-colour rib then you’ll want to use the stitch count that the pattern increases to after the ribbing is worked.