Where the ribbing ends: improving the transition zone

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includes a how-to
The transition zone where the ribbing meets the sweater (hat, mitten) is today's post.

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Where ribbing meets stockinette is often a weak spot because there's distortion where a column of knit stitches in ribbing meets the knit stitches of the stockinette. This is no earth-shattering condition, but it's so easy to improve, you might as well. The cumulative effect of little improvements is how the needle moves from "home-made" to "handmade."

For various arcane reasons, the transition zone between ribbing and the body of the garment is actually more of a problem for top-down ribbing, so improvement is greater there. However, bottom-up ribbing also benefits from an improved transition zone.

FOR RIBBING STARTED BOTTOM UP

Worked at the point of switching FROM ribbing TO stockinette

• On the LAST ribbing row, SLIP every knit stitch (slip them "open," also called purlwise"). Purl every purl stitch.
• After this last row or round of ribbing, switch to the larger needle you'll use for the body size, and begin the body of the garment.

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 In bottom-up ribbing, the improvement is subtle, but still visible. The corrected knit columns bridge more directly from the ribbing to the body of the fabric (right arrow). Although it's hard to tell from this photo, the uncorrected transition zone (left arrow) features a bulkier transition from ribbing to the smoother stockinette fabric of the garment body--it's "wavier" in side view.

FOR RIBBING STARTED TOP DOWN

 Worked at the point of switching FROM stockinette to ribbing. 

• Using the needle size for the ribbing (usually a needle 2-3 sizes smaller than that you used for body) work one last row or round in the body pattern (i.e.: the last row of stockinette, or whatever you were working).
• On the next row or round (the first row of ribbing) SLIP every knit stitch (slip them "open," also called purlwise.") Purl every purl stitch.
• After this first row or round, work the ribbing in the usual way to the desired length.

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(Photo above) The corrected knit columns bridge more directly from the body of the fabric to the ribbing (right arrow). The unimproved transition zone (left arrow) features wandering, zig-zagging knit columns.

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Marjorie, a reader of this blog, asks how to reconcile today's slipping trick with pattern directions to start bottom-up ribbing on fewer stitches, and then increase to the larger body number of stitches "evenly in the last row." 

 Per photo (left) if the fabric above the ribbing is to be stockinette, or a near-stockinette fabric, do all increases on a purl using an increase, such as backwards loop, which leaves a "bump." The bump blends into the purls. By not making increases on the knit columns you preserve the pretty little V's where the knit columns of the ribbing segue into the knit columns of the stockinette fabric above.

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Although 1/1 ribbing is demonstrated bottom-up, and 2/2 ribbing is demonstrated top-down, the directions given for bottom-up ribbing work for both 1/1 AND 2/2 ribbing .

Similarly, the directions given for top-down ribbing work for both 1/1 AND 2/2 ribbing.

For a 3/3 rib or larger, do a swatch to see whether the slip-the-knit-stitches technique creates a noticeable improvement over so wide a rib.

--TK