Ribbing in hand-knitting: its structure + links to "after-knitting" tricks for improvement

Why is ribbing three dimensional?  Why is it often distorted, with deformity in the last knit column before a purl column? How can ribbing be tightened into a smooth and even regularity? How to remove from ribbing, the extra slack which causes it to flare and s-p-r-e-a-d at garment edges? Our old friend, the structure of the knitted stitch, is the key to answering all these questions.

Here ▼ is a generic knitted stitch with its little tail highlighted red. 

Figure 1: Parts of a knit stitch,
the tail has been colored  red 
(view from the front
fabric face in a stockinette fabric)

In the previous post about gauge, this little red strand got the name of 'tweener strand because, as shown in the below ▼ photo of the back of a stockinette fabric, this little tail runs between stitches. Specifically, 'tweener strands run between stitches of like kind.  Knit-to-knit or purl-to-purl: these combinations are connected by 'tweener strands.

Figure 2: Stockinette fabric, top view, purl fabric face showing.
" 'Tweener strands" of current row colorized red

In this post, we are to meet another type of tail--the kind which connects stitches of unlike kind, such as a knit to a purl, or a purl to a knit.  Such unalike stitches connected together are very commonly found in ribbing.  However, basketweave, seed stitch, cables, indeed all texture stitches also have K-P and P-K connections.  So ribbing in this post stands in for texture stitches in general: everything said here about ribbing applies equally there. 

Direction of yarn travel

In getting from stitch to stitch, yarn travels in a different direction in stockinette vs. in ribbing.  To simplify: in stockinette, yarn travels along the row, but in ribbing, the yarn travels back and forth from one fabric face to another.

Specifically, in stockinette, all the stitches in any one row or round are always facing the same direction, so the yarn always enters the stitch by being drawn though the same way.  As you know, from the knitter's point of view, yarn enters a knit stitch from the back (you hold the yarn behind the fabric, drawing it towards you, all the way down the knit row) while it enters a purl stitch from the front (you hold the yarn in front of the fabric, drawing it away from you, all the way down a purl row).

In ribbing, however, you work different stitches next to one another as you work your way down any one row.  So, if you work a knit stitch (facing you) next to a purl stitch (facing away from you), you must switch the yarn from one fabric face to another.  This is how the yarn enters the stitch from the correct direction, as required. Switching the yarn back and forth from one fabric face to another means that the yarn has to pass back and forth through the thickness of the fabric as it travels between the stitches from one fabric face to another. The act of passing through the thickness of the fabric suggests we call this kind of tail yarn a "passing strand."

Passing strands illustrated

Below ▼ is illustrated a k2, p2 ribbing (also called 2/2 ribbing) in a little scrap sample.  This ribbing has been popped off the needles. The stitches appear in pairs, each pair forming two evident columns of stockinette-on-a-purl-background, and these columns appear alternately on opposite fabric faces. Stated otherwise, the hill-and-valley structure of 2/2 ribbing occurs because two columns of knit (the hills) always appear on a 2-column purl background (the valleys).  The opposite of a knit is purl, so the hills of one fabric face become the valleys of the opposite face when the fabric is flipped, and, of course, the valleys become hills.

Figure 3: Scrap of 2/2 ribbing popped off the needles

The arrangement of these alternating pairs is a bit surprising, perhaps, so here's a head-on shot, a close-up, below. ▼ As you see, pairs A, C, E and G appear on the lower fabric face in this diagram, while pairs B, D and F appear on the upper.  Pairs on any one fabric face are closer together than are those of sequential pairs on opposite fabric faces.  For one example, the heads of pair A are close to those of pair C. By contrast, the heads of pairs A and B are not nearly so close as A and C, despite pair B being originally created directly next to pair A.  There is something about the structure of the ribbing which is pushing neighboring pairs of stitches--originally made right next to one another--apart onto the different fabric faces.  Something pushes these pairs into hills and valleys. What is it?

Figure 4: These pairs were knit in sequence A-B-C-D-E-F-G,
yet once off the needles, they appear on opposite fabric faces
in sequenceA-C-E-G (lower) and B-D-F (upper).  So...why?

Below ▼ is a further closeup (figure 5) which gets to the heart of the matter. 

Figure 5: closeup of figure 4

In the above diagram, the pairs have now been individually labeled.  This closeup now starts with the second of the "A" stitches, A2, and ends with the first of the "G" pair of stitches, G1. 

--The    gray  line traces the line of the yarn as it travels along the current row.  

--Where the line becomes .... dotted ... the yarn of the current row is diving below the heads of the stitches of the previous row. 

--Where the line becomes   red,  this is the yarn between stitches of the same pair (which are also stitches of the same kind, whether knit or purl). We've already named this type of stitch tail a 'tweener strand. As you see, 'tweener strands travel through the fabric parallel to the plane of the fabric.  We could say that they travel horizontally along an east-west axis. 

--Where the line becomes  green,  this is the passing strand we've been talking about: it is the tail yarn as it passes through the thickness of the fabric, connecting a pair on one fabric face to a pair on the other fabric face.  As you see, the passing strand travels forward and back, at right angles to the plane of the overall fabric: we could say that the passing strand travels vertically along a north-south axis. 

Just let me drive this into the ground one more time: 'tweener strands (red) and passing strands (green) are both tail yarns as a generic category. Both 'tweener and passing strands are stitch tails which connect sequential stitches. Yet 'tweener strands and passing strands differ in what kind of stitches they connect, (same kind vs. different kinds) and which direction they travel with respect to the fabric: parallel, along the plane ('tweener) vs. right angles, back and forth through the plane (passing strands). 

Where a purl stitch and a knit stitch lie adjacent, it is the fact that the yarn travels in and out of these stitches in different directions which forces the stitches into three-dimensionality.  

Forces loaded into knitted fabric: a science-ish explanation

I've been sleuthing around in textile science textbooks and academic journal articles. It turns out there is a whole textile science universe, with such tools as "Shirley stiffness testers," serious research on the exact nature of the forces loaded into yarn at spinning, and such terms as "flexual rigidity, areal density and compressional energy."  I do not claim to understand the more abstruse terms, but what I have gathered from reading and my own little experiments is this...

Yarn is composed of individual fibers, and these fibers are often quite springy in and of themselves. Have a look at this diagram of wool's structure: it is essentially built out of springs at the most fundamental level. Other fibers may not be quite so springy, but generally speaking, fibers suitable for spinning into handknitting yarns require to have at least some bounce and body. 

In the spinning process which transforms fibers into yarn,  these fibers, generally springy in themselves, are overlaid on one another in a continuous strand, then twisted and bundled. Twisting and bundling imparts more energy to the yarn. 

figure 6:
energetic 
yarn

◄ A familiar example of the kind of energy which is stored in yarn during the spinning process (an example annoying to hand knitters) are the sorts of yarn called "energetic singles," or "overspun," or "overtwisted." These are the sorts of yarns which want to loop back on themselves as they come off the skein into the knitting. 

Not all yarns store this much energy (thank goodness!) Yet, despite such balancing processes as plying, such taming processes as steaming, heating; and even chemical treatments such as vinegar, fabric softener (or their harsher industrial equivalents) all yarns store some energy--it is inherent in the spinning process. Another familiar example of the energy stored in yarn, even plied yarn (an example again annoying to hand knitters) is fabric biasing.

So far in our account, we have springy fibers, spun into yarn which stores energy inside of itself--an energy which it retains even when knit.  Now we add more energy by knitting the yarn. You see, the loop of a stitch is a bend in this yarn. Bending adds energy by compressing the yarn and stiffening it: it is now more rigid. The thicker the yarn, or less fluffy (compressible) it is, or the tighter the twist (or all three) then the more the fibers are bunched together. Bunching stiffens the yarn, and the stiffer the fibers in the yarn are, the longer are their "bending lengths." 

In other words, the bend of the stitch-loop loads energy into the yarn and stiffens it, as well as the fabric of which it is part. An example of energy stored in knitted fabric is familiar to hand knitters: stockinette curl.  It is the stored energy in knit fabrics that makes stockinette curl a real force of nature: that curl can barely be tamed, no, not even with an iron, sometimes. 

So now in our tale, we have come to inherently springy fibers, spun into yarn which retains energy from the spinning process, knitted into bendy fabric which has more energy loaded into it from the bend of the knitted stitches.  There's a lot of energy looking for a way out in knitted fabric: a lot of pushing and jostling going on. (And here's an academic paper showing the modeling of the helixes of force within the fabric--"repulsive potential!" Oh boy!)

Looking at the closeup in figure 5 shows the pushing force in action two ways. First, the 'tweener yarns (red) are pushing the members of each pair in this K2, P2 ribbing apart. For example, although the "C" stitches along the lower fabric face are both stockinette (knit) stitches, side by side, and although both are on the same fabric face, and although both point south, yet C1 is pointing southeast, while C2 is pointing southwest: It is the force stored in the bend of the little red yarn between them that is doing the east-west pushing. 

Similarly, the passing strands (green) are also stiffened by the bend of the stitch-loop. In ribbing, we helpfully arrange the back of one stitch right next to the back of another stitch--this is the knit-purl alternation which fundamentally characterizes ribbing. When the newly stiffened yarn "sticks straight out" of the back of its stitch, the back-to-back nature of ribbing means this is the same thing as "shoving straight into" the backs of the stitches facing the other way. This straight path of stiffened yarn between the opposite-facing stitches, connecting the back of one stitch to another, means the passing strands are aligned north-south (at right angles to the plane of the knitted fabric). The force of the stiffened fibers being offered a straight-line path is what's pushing the back-to-back stitches of alternating pairs onto the opposite fabric faces, perpendicular to the plane of the fabric.

To bring this down to your own tabletop, the fact that bending (loading) this springy stuff makes it want to push back is a test you can do yourself. Lay a length of thicker yarn on the table and pinch it up into a loop. When you let go, the yarn pops into a straighter form. Anthropomorphizing, we can say it "wants to" go straight. Similarly, as this springy stuff is pinched up into a loop by knitting it, it is stiffened, and pushes back by "wanting" to go straight. When you line up the back of a knit with the back of a purl, the yarn can and does do what it wants to do: it goes straight--straight out the back of one stitch into the back of another, passing straight through the thickness of the fabric. This straight line of travel continues until it meets the next bend, and it is the force stored in these sequential bends of the unalike stitches which push the stitch heads onto different fabric faces.  

Differential length of the passing strand

A further problem with all this tail yarn entering and exiting the different stitches is, the yarn takes a different length path through the fabric on its north-south passes, depending what kind of stitch it's leaving, and what kind of stitch it's entering. Yes, the yarn between two stitch-backs is sticking straight out, * but * because of the way the stitches are mounted on the needle (usually, right arm forward), then in traveling from K to P, a passing strand has to "go around the arm." But, when traveling from the P to K, there is no arm to travel around. This means that the length of the passing strand is longer from knit to purl than from purl to knit. (At some point, TECHknitting will do an illustrated post on stitch mount explaining all  this "path around the arm" stuff  further, and when that post goes live, there will be a link here--this post is long enough already!) 

Here ▼ is figure 5, again, but this time, with blue asterisks added.  

Figure 7: same as figure 5, with asterisks added showing that, with "standard western mount," the K-P passing strands (asterisk'd) are longer than the P-K passing strands--the added length comes when the yarn travels around the protruding arm of the stitch below when that stitch is mounted right-arm-forward. 

This fabric ▲ was knit with standard western mount--right arm forward.  As you see, the passing strand in the K-P direction marked with a blue asterisk (coming out of A2, C2, and E2) is longer then the P-K un-asterisk'd strands coming out from B2, D2 and F2. This systematic difference in length unbalances the fabric in favor of the shorter strand, being the tighter.  This means that the longer strand occurs between a knit and a purl column, as in the diagram, and that's the cause for the much-lamented "loose knit column" bordering a purl column.  However! Depending on factors such as stitch mount, yarn twist and whether the right ("regular") or left ("mirror image") needle is the working needle, the problem can also occur between a purl column and a knit column.

Knitting ribbing directly vs. "after-knitting" ribbing

So how do you tighten ribbing? How can you create ribbing without distorted columns, without uneven-length of passing strands?  How do you knit an even-looking ribbing: thick, pleasant and cushy? 

Giving a good yank on the running yarn is a popular remedy often suggested.  Similarly, working as close as possible to the needle tips is another popular remedy.  Because both these tricks pull slack out of the fabric, both these hints work, yes, but only in a limited way.  You see, both these tricks suffer a physical lower limit. No matter how tight the yank, no matter how close to the tips, no stitch worked directly can ever be made less than the diameter of the needle on which it was created, plus whatever tail is needed, physically, to travel from one stitch to another.  In other words, the size of the loop of yarn around the barrel of the needle creates is a lower limit to just how much slack can be pulled out of the fabric. You can make a stitch as small as the tightest path of the yarn over the needle, but not smaller. 

Another popular remedy often suggested is to vary the stitch mount, so called "combination knitting." This involves mounting knit and purl stitches different arms forward on the knitting needle--R arm vs. L arm. The path of the yarn traveling around the arm protruding on the stitch below is changed as the location of the arm itself changes.  Combination knitting creates a more balanced fabric as the length of the K-P passing strand is more equal to the P-K passing strand.  However, while combination knitting does undoubtedly make a more balanced fabric, it does not so much change the overall length of the tail yarn, as redistribute that length between the passing strands and the 'tweener strands. Stated otherwise, if looking back at figure 7 (the closeup of the path of the yarn) combination knitting would make the asterisk'd green (passing) strands shorter, yes, but tends to make the (red) 'tweener strands longer. Yet this is a minor issue in the overall scheme: changing the direction in which the stitch travels around the needles does not change the fact that the stitch is still being formed around the barrel of the needle. Once again, the lower bound of stitch-diameter continues to be dictated by the diameter of the needle. 

A third remedy is to simply knit ribbing tightly, on very small needles.  As noted in the previous post about gauge, tighter-knit fabric has less slack all around, and less slack means the fabric gets up to fewer objectionable tricks. Regardless of how well it works, however, your hands and arms may not thank you for this solution--it is perfectly exhausting after just a few rows.  Furthermore, a fabric stiff and tight all over may not get up to foolish tricks, but it might not be too popular to wear, either.  

So, if different methods for knitting the fabric directly are not such good solutions for improving ribbing, what is to be done?  I can offer two kinds of solutions, and, as hinted in the title of this post, each of these has already been the subject of an entire TECHknitting article, posted previously. 

Both solutions linked below share a common trait: they are species of "after-knitting," by which I mean manipulating the yarn AFTER it has been knit into the fabric.  This manipulation is done either with a knitting needle or a crochet hook. As is evident, messing with a stitch in the fabric after that stitch is off the needle eliminates the lower bound of tightness set by the needle diameter.  In other words, a stitch formed (or re-formed) from yarn which is off the needle--well! That stitch can be smaller and therefore tighter than any stitch formed over a needle, whether by yank, by working close to the tips, by mounting the stitch differently.  It can be as tight as a stitch knit on a much smaller needle, but--because you are only operating on a specific stitch--tightening the one stitch need not make the overall fabric stiff, as would happen with the "knit with a smaller needle "solution. (Note, however, that of the two types of after-knitting, one type does make a stiffer fabric than the other, more on this below.)

Another way of thinking about "after-knitting" is that you can force the yarn to bend more off the needle than on--or at least, this is so if you do not care to work tightly on small needles.  As we have seen, bending yarn tighter puts more energy into the fabric.  It is for this reason, in a mechanical sense, that after-knitted fabrics are cushy-er, springier, denser than you can get by knitting on any but the smallest needles: they are being pushed apart harder.

Have a look at the below ▼ photo, figure 8.  This is the overview of a K2, P2 ribbing created by after-knitting--it is a top down view of a ribbed hat, popped off the needles. (The hat itself is featured in figure 16, below.) The stitch pairs are labeled in the same manner as in figures 4, 5 and 7. Although the structure is the same as the ribbing shown in those figures, this fabric is significantly tighter, the ribbing significantly cushy-er and thicker. 

Figure 8: "After-formed" K2, P2 ribbing in a hat popped off the needles. This particular type of after-knitting is called "ribbing by transformation, and is discussed more, below.

Below ▼ is a closeup. The very tight passing strands (the short green ones) could not be knit directly: compare the length of these passing strands to those in figures 5 and 7: in those figures, the fabric was created in the ordinary manner: knitting the knits and purling the purls. 

In this after-knit fabric, the passing strands are much shorter than in the directly-knit fabric. Being short, they draw the stitches on opposite fabric closely together, making for a remarkably thick, energetic, and bouncy ribbing. There's very little slack between the stitch pairs, making it unlikely this ribbing will stretch out in the future. In short (har!) after-knitting tightens the fabric and specifically, shortens the passing strands. These shorter, more regular passing strands help improve ribbing by balancing it (passing strands essentially same length from K-P as from P-K).  These tricks also thicken and densify the fabric.

Figure 9: close up of figure 8.  Note the very short passing strands (green), compared to the length of the passing strands in figures 4, 5, and 7

So, how is this magic of after-knitting performed? Per above, TECHknitting has already shown the how-to in two different posts for improving textured fabrics such as the ribbing we've been examining here. 

Avoid adding excess yarn in the first place 

It is possible to avoid adding yarn at the site of the passing strand via the several tricks shown in this linked post about fixing the loose knit column in ribbing, textures and cables. At the heart of these tricks is the idea of after-forming the leftmost knit stitch bordering a purl.  

Of the four tricks laid out in that post, I here summarize only the last, although the other tricks in that post also work. In this particular trick, a strand made in the current round forms a sort of "reserve yarn" parked on the fabric surface. (The act of parking the strand on the surface is similar to working linen stitch.) In the next row, this reserved strand is picked up and drawn through to form a loop. At the same time, a new reserve strand is left parked on the fabric surface to be pulled up in the next row, and so on. Here ▼ are the illustrations of that method shown in a k2, p2 ribbing: again, the complete instructions for this trick and others like it are in the post at this link.

Figure 10

--A: Instead of purling the (darker blue) stitch adjoining the last (darker purple) knit stitch, slip that stitch instead: this parks a (red) strand on the fabric surface.   --B: Purl the next (lighter blue) purl stitch   --C: on the following round, when you come to the red strand, purl the first (darker blue) purl stitch using the red strand, NOT the running yarn. Then, purl the next (lighter blue) purl stitch.   --D: Because you did not use the running yarn to knit the (darker blue) purl stitch in step C, that running yarn has formed a new (red) strand parked on the fabric surface.   --Repeat steps C and D every round, wherever there is purl (blue) next to a knit column (purple).  

Geek note, science-ish.

 "After-forming" a new stitch out of a parked strand is an example of pi (π) in action.  A knit stitch approximates a circle. The path around the outside of a circle is called its "circumference." The parked strand, the  red  dotted line in figure 11, below ▼ is a schematic representation of the solid red strand in figure 10, above ▲.  As you see, this red strand is approximately equal to the stitch width: this width of our circle-analog (the knit stitch) is also called its "diameter."   The theory of pi says the path around the outside of a circle (circumference) is approximately three times as long as the path across its middle (diameter.) The exact relationship of circumference to diameter is that famous never-repeating irrational number "3.14159....."

Figire 11: The formula for the newly formed multi-colored stitch (bottom) is strand (red) + left partial arm  (green)+ right partial arm (green) = new stitch.  In other words, a new stitch transformed out of a strand tightens the fabric because only 1/3 of the new stitch is formed out of the strand (dotted red line).  Another 1/3 is transformed out of the partial right (green) arm and the last 1/3 out of the partial left (green) arm. Pulling these green thirds out of the neighboring stitches is what tightens the fabric with the "slipped-stitch after-knitting" trick.

Applying pi to our after-formed stitch, when you make a circle (knit stitch) out of the parked strand, the parked strand only forms about 1/3 of the new stitch. The other two-thirds come from the ( green ) arms of the adjoining stitches.  It is this act of pulling  the green yarn into the newly-formed stitch which tightens up the after-knitted ribbed fabric so very well.  Further, that green yarn could never have been pulled into the new stitch if the two neighbor stitches were still looped over a knitting needle.  Only because the neighbor stitches are off the needles and laying loose  in the fabric of the row below, can that this green yarn be pulled out of them.    

Even geekier note: This relationship of the circumference of the loop to the length of a strand is also why, when playing yarn-chicken, you can tell if you're going to win by measuring your remaining yarn against the width of the fabric.  If the strand is about four times as long as the row, you'll have enough to eke out one more row and a tiny tail left over.  I say 4-times and not 3-odd-times as wide because the circles of yarn (knitted loops) don't sit exactly next to one another--you also have to account for the connecting tail. (And, of course, as you know, to further improve the odds of winning at yarn-chicken, it helps to hold your breath, tense up all over, and knit as fast as possible all the way across that last chicken-row!)

Below ▼ is a real-world example of slipped-strand after-knitting. The ribbing on the bottom portion was knit directly in the ordinary manner, right arm forward (standard western mount).  The top portion was worked via slipped-stitch after-knitting.  I've stretched out this overview sample so the purl columns aren't hiding on the fabric back. You can really see how much tighter overall is the after-knit ribbing.

 

Figure 12--slipped-stitch after-knitting, overview, stretched out to show purl columns

Here ▼ is a further closeup, unstretched this time. Compare the columns of numbers on the side--these are the identical labels from the fabric, just copied-and-pasted onto a plain background. This illustrates that forming the leftmost stitch of each knit column out of the parked strand has the effect of tightening down the entire fabric.  Just that much slack is pulled out of the fabric! (Note that, of the two tricks shown in this post, this one--slipped-stitch after-knitting--tightens down the fabric the most.)

Figure 13: slipped-stitch after-knitting, closeup

Ribbing by Transformation

The second solution is "ribbing by transformation." This amounts to dropping a column into a ladder, then latching the ladder rungs up again as a knit column on a purl background.  If you prefer video, here are links to two tiny you-tubes about that process.

 Releasing a ladder: https://youtu.be/qpLCBX3MZmA 

Latching up a ladder:  https://youtu.be/LDIy4VIfi_Q

This transformation forces 'tweener strand which originally connected a K-K or P-P pair of stitches to become a passing strand connecting a K-P or P-K pair.  Because 'tweener strands are shorter than passing strands in directly knitted fabric, this trick of transforming a 'tweener strand into a passing strand tightens a transformed fabric. Note that this trick tightens the fabric less than does the slipping trick discussed above: re-orienting a 'tweener strand into a passing strand does indeed tighten and thicken the ribbed fabric but not as much as forming a loop out of a strand. There's less pulling yarn out of the arms of the neighboring stitches with transformation, and, as shown in figures 8 and 9, above, the overall row gauge does not change much with this transformation trick (although it does with slipped-stitch after-knitting).

Transforming stockinette into ribbing is a trick which has also been previously shown in a TECHknitting post.  Although the original post appeared in the context of fixing a curling scarf, the idea of transforming a stockinette fabric into a ribbed one is identical, so have a look at that post for the full details. Note that the very tight fabric in figures 8 and 9 above (showing the super-short passing strands) was created by transforming knit fabric from stockinette to 2/2 ribbing.

Here's ▼ another example of ribbing by transformation.  The first photo shows a half-and-half fabric clipped onto a magnet board, right half made in 1/1 (K1, P1) ribbing worked directly, left in stockinette.

 

Figure 14

(Side note: Although you can't tell from this photo, the two fabrics are more or less the same length, the apparent difference is due to stockinette curl.  Further, this fabric has not been blocked--more about blocking below.  Further note: the V's of the stitches in this yarn appear unbalanced.  This is because this yarn is a single yarn--Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted-weight.  This single yarn is not overspun, and so does not kink back on itself, nor does it bias in the fabric other than to form uneven V's in each stitch.)

The second photo ▼ shows that same fabric, now with the left-hand stockinette portion transformed into 1/1 ribbing to match the right side.  Because the fabric is unstretched, you can't see the purl columns, but they are between each of the stockinette columns. On each fabric, six knit columns (11 total stitches, if you include the 5 separating purls on the back) have been  marked out with pins--red for the transformed fabric, white for the directly-knit. Even over this short of a run, there is a quarter-of-an-inch difference between the two ribbings. This photo does show the tighter nature of the fabric, what it cannot show is the greater bounce or cushy-ness of the transformed fabric, but that does exist. 

Figure 15: Even over so short a run as this, there is a marked difference between the directly knit (white pins, right) and after-knit (by transformation--red pins, left). Because not as much slack is pulled out of the fabric by transformation (this trick) , the row gauge does not change as much as it does with slipped-stitch after-knitting, figures 12 and 13, above (previous trick).

Which trick where?

For texture knitted fabrics like basketweave, where the pattern changes every few rows,  then in my experience, after-knitting as-you-go is quicker, meaning slipped-stitch after-knitting with its parked strands, figure 10, above. In fact, if you practice at it, this method of knitting becomes second nature. The downside is, this works best in circular knitting (↻) because when worked back-and-forth (↔) the strand parked on the fabric surface on the way there (← ) turns out to be parked on the reverse fabric face on the way back (→ ) making it harder to get at.

For 1/1 (K1, P1) ribbing, then in my experience ribbing by transformation is somewhat easier, and the sort of work you can do mindlessly while watching Netflix. However, transformation takes longer. 1/1 ribbing is shown in figures 14 and 15.

NOTE that if planning to transform stockinette, the transformation will go easier if you do NOT block the stockinette before transforming.  The reason is, blocking sets yarn into distinct and directional waves--it "kinks" or "sets" the yarn.  Transforming a wave that has been set to curl one way (a knit stitch) into a wave curling the other way (purl stitch) is like trying to brush your hair to curl under when you absentmindedly used your curling wand to curl an outward flip.

If dealing with only a few loose column of knits on a purl background, such as with cables or broad ribs, then, in my experience, there's not a lot of difference, efficiency-wise. Mess around and see which trick you prefer.

Real world uses

One practical use in every-day knitting is to densify the outer edges of your ribbing.  Even if you don't need ALL the ribbing in a sweater-bottom or cuff to be stiff and straight and very thick, you may wish to consider either knitting the edge stitches on a smaller needle, or doing one of these after-knitting improving tricks for the rows of ribbing closest to the outside (first few rows if knitting bottom up, last few rows if working top down.) As few as five rows or rounds is plenty enough to make a real difference.  It's the edge which suffers snags, rough surfaces, and teeth used to pull on a mitten, so making this denser is worth the extra work. A further advantage: after-knitting (or knitting on a smaller needle) not only toughens the outermost edge, but has the further advantage of preventing flare and splay-out over time.  

 For cables or wide ribs, working the last of the K-columns-before-a-purl via slipped-stitch after-knitting is a reasonable procedure, especially because that trick becomes faster and faster as you get in rhythm. It's also not a bad trick to try if you have the problem of a large hole developing just past the twist of your cable. As mentioned above, this trick also makes a truly noticeable difference in basket-weaves.

As for ribbing by transformation, well, transforming small areas like a cuff-edge goes quickly, but transforming large areas of stockinette into ribbing takes a long time.  Large-scale transformation is so time-consuming that it is a trick to be trotted out mostly for special occasions--like rescuing the curled up scarf many beginners mistakenly knit in stockinette. 

Figure 16

◄ Another special occasion for ribbing by transformation is if you want a  *serious * thick ribbed hat for winter weather. In a few more posts, TECHknitting will offer a free pattern for a seriously thick and cushy winter hat with ribs made in this manner.  Figure 16 is a little preview of this "out-standing" hat: so thick and heavy, it easily "stands out" there, upright on its own.

Til next time,

--TK

PS: Are you perhaps wondering why there's a whole post here which ends up just sending you to two previous posts?  See, if TECHknitting blog were a book, and if that book had a competent editor, the structure of the knitted stitch, its two types of tails--'tweener and passing would have been edited together with the idea of "after-knitting" from the previously-published posts. However, TECHknitting is not a book, but a serial blog, written higgledy-piggledy over many years. Futher, there is no editor, competent or otherwise. Net result = after-the-fact summations like this one, tying up all those loose ends.

Going forward, I think the passing and 'tweener strand vocabulary is going to make it easier to coherently analyze stitch mount (direction of wrapping over the needle) which is a post coming up at some point. So, this post and the previous form a bit of background prep, as well.

 

PPS: Questions? Comments? I've turned off the comments for the blog--oh so much spam for sex toys, car parts, who-knows-what. For some reason, Facebook has prevented me from posting there for years--something about being anonymous as well as too commercial--so that's not a good way to contact me, either. Instead, DM me at Ravelry where I am TECHknitter, or use the e-mail link on the lower left sidebar of the "more info" profile page.

Down the rabbit hole

(related links on TECHknitting blog)

• .Mysteries of knitting part 1--A tale of heads and arms or: "why does stockinette curl but ribbing doesn't?" (March 1, 2007
  
• .Corrugated ribbing tricks and tips (December 1, 2016)
• .Curling scarf rescue mission: transforming stockinette into ribbing (December 21, 2010)
  
• ."Dry blocking" uneven ribbing: a quick little trick (October 5, 2014) (includes VIDEO)
• .Fabric biasing (January 27, 2011)
  
• .Fixing the loose knit column in ribbing, textures and cables (March 27, 2010)
• .Grafting ribbing without the 1/2 stitch offset, two tricks (December 2, 2012)
• .Jogless 2-color ribbed stripes (March 3, 2008)
  
• .Ribbing stripes, jogless, with a trick to work your ends in as-you-go (March 3, 2008)
• .Ribbing bordering stockinette: improving the transition zone where ribbing gives way to stockinette (March 9, 2007)(Note that this involves placing a strand but NOT working it on the next row--a sort of precursor to "after-knitting.")
• .Tubular cast on for 1/1 ribbing (January 11, 2008)
• Tubular cast off for 1/1 ribbing (January 15, 2008)
  
• Undulation ribbed scarf (February 10, 2016)

Gauge: a mystery of knitting

Why is stitch gauge variable between knitters? It's a mystery of knitting encompassing many factors. Widely understood to have an influence are needle size, needle composition (material), tension in yarn supplied; and this post considers all these.  Yet, a factor equally important--if not more so--lies in the formation of the knit stitch itself. We'll start there. 

We can say there are two properties of a knit stitch: its width, and its height. In the simplest conception, width arises from the "tail" of the stitch ( red,  below) and height is measured from the "head" ( blue ) to the tail. 

The head is formed when your needle pulls through a loop, and the tail of the stitch when you move the formed loop along your knitting needle to get at the next loop. The tail here is shown split in half, but of course, the tail of one stitch butts against the next, making one continuous, shared, width. 

Tail or "'tweener strands" illustrated

Below is a photo-diagram of the edge of stockinette: this is a top view. The heads are not colorized, only the tails. 

Stockinette fabric, top view
"'tweener strands" of current row colorized red

As with the opening illustration, the tail is colorized   red.   Here, the tail is seen top-view with the purl side of the stockinette fabric in view. This little red tail connects one stitch to another along the row--in this case, the current row. Because this tail runs between stitches, we'll call it the 'tweener yarn. 

Why does tail yarn need a special name?  As it turns out, all 'tweener yarn is tail yarn, but not all tail yarn is 'tweener yarn.  As we go along in future posts, we'll need specific names for the different kinds.  So, to be specific, 'tweener yarn is that particular subset of tail yarn which connects stitches aligned in the same direction. Stated otherwise, 'tweener yarn connects adjacent stitches of the same kind (knit to knit, or purl to purl) along a row, as in stockinette.  (In a future post, we'll look at a different subset of tail-yarn which we'll give a different name, and that is the kind which connects different kinds of stitches: knit to purl or purl to knit.  When that post goes live, there will be a link placed here.) 

Here is a split-screen view of stockinette fabric, as seen from the front (knit) and back (purl) fabric faces, respectively.  Again, the 'tweener yarn of the current row is colorized   red. 

The most obvious difference between the two fabric faces is that the 'tweener yarn is unevenly distributed: far more appears on the back fabric face than the front. One consequence of this unbalanced distribution is behind the reason why stockinette curls so badly (discussed here).  But 'tweener yarn is also an important factor in gauge--our topic today.

Stitch gauge:  Differing lengths of 'tweener yarn supplied between individual stitches lead to differences in number of st/in.  In other words, it is the length of this little red strand laid down between stitches, which helps account for the difference in stitch gauge between two different knitters using the same yarn and the same needles. This makes intuitive sense because more distance between the stitches = fewer stitches per inch of fabric. 

Row gauge: The length of the 'tweener yarn is an important factor in STITCH gauge, but not the only factor in overall gauge-- there is also ROW gauge. 

In my analysis, it is the height of the stitches which adds a factor for difference in row gauge, and by height, I mean how tightly each loop of yarn conforms to the size of the barrel of the needle.  Once the stitch is off the needle, a stitch which lays looser around the needle barrel will lay taller in the fabric than a relatively tighter-wrapped stitch, so looser loops = taller fabric

Stitch + row gauge, theory: 

Putting together the two factors--length of 'tweener yarn + height of stitches--theory suggests...

4 samples, 4 different styles, 
same yarn, same number of rows & stitches,
same needles, same knitter

• WIDE: If you pull your yarn tight over the barrel (smaller, tighter stitches) but leave plenty of room between stitches (longer 'tweener strand) you'll have--relatively speaking--a wide-ish stitch gauge (more st/in) and a short-ish row gauge (fewer rows/in). I could get this to occur consistently by operating on the upcoming stitch very near the holding needle tip (left needle), but drawing the new stitch well back  onto the working needle tip (right needle).  This near-the-left-tip, far-from-right-tip method produced the "wide" swatch illustration.
• TALL: If your loop is loose over the barrel of the needle, but each loop is right up against the next loop (shorter 'tweener strand), then your row gauge appears relatively long (fewer rows/in) and your stitch gauge relatively narrow (more sts/in).  In my experiments, this style can result from stitch formation via drawing the two needle tips apart from one another like the arms of a scissors, with significant up and down motion between the needles, but the yarn held near both needle tips. I heavily "scissored" in knitting the tall sample. An alternative way of getting the same effect is by wrapping the stitch loosely, holding it somewhat open by tensioning the working (right) needle upwards, then giving a pretty good jerk to the running yarn.
• TIGHT: If your 'tweener strand is short and the height of the stitch short, you're a tight knitter (more st/in and more rows/in).  In my experiments this was accomplished by knitting at the tippy-toppy-tips of both needles, drawing the running yarn so tight to the barrel of the needle they would hardly slide, and, of course, by heavily tensioning the yarn at all times. 
• LOOSE: If your 'tweener yarn is long and the height of the stitch tall, you're a loose knitter (fewer sts/in, fewer rows/in).  This is how I usually knit.  Therefore, to get gauge, I have learned to drop needle size, usually two US sizes smaller than what is considered "standard."  For the below sample, I knit as loosely as possible, tensioned the yarn lightly, held each loop well away from the left and and right tips, drew a lot of yarn into each stitch and scissored each stitch wide open.

Another view. Wide (top L) and loose swatches (bottom L) are same width, but loose swatch is longer.  Tall (bottom R) and loose swatches are same height, but loose swatch is wider. 

 All these samples were knit using the same needles (Boye aluminum US size 5 dpn's) on the same day, by the same person (me), all 16 stitches and 20 rows, using yarn from the same ball of Patton's Roving.  I chose this yarn because it has very little twist and is airy.  Airy yarn like this which compresses but also fluffs up can be worked at many different gauges. Further, it is pure wool of a not-very-soft kind, and so, ultra-grabby. The only thing which varied between the samples was the height of the stitch, and the length of the tail yarn between the stitches--the 'tweener yarn. 

Now, theory is a very fine thing, but unless you're using an ultra-grabby yarn like mine, stitch height and 'tweener length aren't really in a fixed relationship.  Looking back at the structure of the stitch, you see that a stitch is a very fluid little creature. As yarn comes off the needles it is freed to wiggle around in the continuous and interconnected web which is knitted fabric. So, yarn can get pulled from the loop of the stitch into the tweener strand, or vice versa.

Via blocking, a taller stitch can simply become a wider stitch, just depending how the fabric is handled (when you block a fabric wide, it becomes shorter). Similarly, blocking can turn a wider fabric with more 'tweener yarn to become a taller fabric (blocking a fabric long makes it narrower). The more overall slack--whether in stitch height or 'tweener strand--then the more possible it is that in the blocking process, or even in just wearing the garment, the fabric can trade width for length and vice versa.  In other words, whether you made the stitches tall with a short length of tweener yarn, or you left a lot of 'tweener yarn stranded between the stitches but made the stitches tight, these variables don't matter as much as the overall amount of slack increases.  This factor is especially true if you are knitting in a slick yarn. 

In trading length for width, yarn slickness is huge.  Different yarns have different amounts of friction vs. slide.  The slicker the yarn, the easier the interchange between stitch height and tweener yarn length (And this is why it is so notoriously difficult to "get gauge" in  alpaca, acrylic, linen or silk, those slick and frictionless yarns.)  For my original cream colored samples, I chose high friction yarn which made it easy to show the relationship between stitch height and 'tweener yarn length.  But if you're knitting with a slick yarn, the story is completely different.  

The gold samples below are worked in some kind of acrylic yarn--the ball band went missing years ago. All I know is it is super slick (so slick, in fact, I usually use this yarn for COWYAK provisional cast-on: it slides out of the work perfectly). Both samples below were made within a few minutes of one another, with the same needles (those aluminum Boye size 5's again) same yarn, same hands. I knit both samples as I usually knit, which is loosely--long 'tweener yarn as well as tall stitches. The only construction difference is a few purl bumps on one so the two samples can be told apart. 

After the samples were knit, I didn't wet-block because blocking has no lasting effect on acrylic.  Instead, I simply tugged each sample repeatedly and strongly, in order to work the slack yarn either into the loop (tall) or into the 'tweener yarn (wide). The slick yarn simply slid around in the fabric, and here's the result stuck on a magnet board. Although both samples started off at the same size, tugging made the plain sample longer, and the bumped sample wider. 

Plain sample (L) tugged long, bumped sample (R) tugged wide

In this next photo, I left the plain sample alone, and tugged the bumped sample tall and long.  Now, both samples have the same length and width. 

Plain sample and bumped samples both pulled long

In the last iteration, I left the bumped sample long, but tugged the plain sample wide. This final experiment shows that tugging into a wide shape is not permanent in slick yarn

Plain sample (L) tugged wide, bumped sample (R) tugged long

These samples demo the influence of yarn friction (or in this case, lack of friction).  Given that gravity never sleeps, if I wanted to knit a sweater out of a slick yarn like this, I'd pull the swatch as long as possible, and measure gauge that way. That would better match the eventual lengthening of garment as it is worn over time. So, for alpaca, linen, cotton, acrylic, silk, and other similar fibers, consider tugging or blocking your swatches long to get the truer gauge. 

(And speaking of gravity, I might also add here that gravity affects ALL knitted garments to some extent, of whatever fiber they are worked.  So, if you're happy with a garment's current fit, do not store it hanging, no, not even on a wide-shouldered suit hanger.) 

Adding hardware to the analysis, adds more complications.  Needles play a role with needle size the most obvious influence. Bigger needles yield bigger loops and looser fabric, all other things held equal.  However, even among knitters using the same size needles and yarn, there is significant variation in fabric produced.  So, each knitter must learn by experience, her own correction from "standard."  As mentioned earlier, I generally start out swatching with two or even three sizes smaller needles than are recommended as standard on the yarn ball-band.

Needle material also plays a role. Grabby needles like wood or bamboo deliver more yarn per stitch; smoother needles, fewer, and this is true even when all these needles are the exact same size.  Yet, it's even more complicated than that, because while needle composition does strongly affect stitch height (amount of yarn grabbed into each loop) it does not strongly affect the length of the 'tweener strand or tail: the loop is made over the grabby needle, but the tail is created mainly in the frictionless air. So if you get stitch gauge, but you feel your row gauge is too long or too short, consider a switch to needles of the same size but a different composition--smoother or grabbier--as required to correct.

Finally yarn size has quite an effect.  In unitary fabric (non-lace), thinner yarn gets up to fewer overall tricks because there is inherently less slack in smaller stitches knit on smaller needles. The bulkier the yarn you work with, the better will be the result if the yarn is grabby and not slick. So, if I wanted to work a garment in alpaca or silk or a synthetic (slick) yarn, I'd choose a pattern calling for a lighter weight yarn, so there would be less yarn to wiggle around in the first place.  For a bulky garment, I'd choose a grabby yarn, giving gravity a bigger challenge to dragging the garment long.  

In lace fabric knit with a lightweight yarn, the situation is exactly reversed because lace has inherently loose gauge due to its open nature. The yarn-overs in lace would tend to slide into the fabric and disappear if knit in a slick yarn. A grabby yarn holds the lace pattern much better. For that reason, yarn with a mohair content is a dream for lace--the "halo" of mohair fibers are like tentacles holding open the yo's. Shetland-type wools are a popular choice for lace for the same reason: they aren't at all slick and hold the lace pattern with little slide. 

Changing your gauge

I think that changing your gauge by changing the motion of your hands is one of the hardest things to do in all of knitting.  The way that your hands form the loops--whether tall or tight to the needle--becomes an automatic process after just a short time knitting.  Similarly, the amount of yarn your hands play out between stitches--the length of the 'tweener yarn--also becomes automatic. 

I don't say it can't be done--it can, and I have known knitters who did.  So, if you want to try, it helps that you know what factors to look for: the height of the stitches, the length of the 'tweener yarn, and how you got to those factors. As per  above, these include how far the loop is from the tips of each needle at the time of stitch formation, the tension on the running yarn, whether your needles "scissor" the stitches wide open at the time of formation, and (especially for English-style knitters, perhaps) whether you give the running yarn a jerk after each stitch is seated on the right (holding) needle. 

If you absolutely want to have a whole fresh start which corrects the "automatic" tendencies of your hands, consider experimenting with a different style of knitting.  If you knit English, try continental.  If you knit continental, try English-style.  I expect that even with this fairly nuclear-type option, though, your hands will soon develop habits in this alternate style--new and different habits, but equally automatic after a short time. 

An easier and more accessible way to change your gauge is to mess around with the interplay between the other factors identified in this post.  

• If your swatches always lie, consider swatching and working your next project in a grabbier yarn--rustic wool, for one example, stays put once knit. Among synthetics, something with bumps, slubs, or other heavy texture would also have a better chance of staying truer to swatch gauge.

• If determined to work in a slick fiber, then, as stated above, a swatch tugged or blocked long is a more accurate approximation of the final result (and the longer the garment is, the more true this is). 

• If your final garment doesn't fit the way you would like, consider extreme blocking--remember than blocking can usually get fabric to trade height for width, at least somewhat. BTW? A high-end dry-cleaner can help with this too: they have commercial fabric-processing machines you simply don't have at home, especially steaming equipment. 

• Match yarn to project: in non-lace projects, save slick fibers for thinner yarns knit on smaller needles to reduce overall slack; prefer grabby yarns for heavier yarns to increase friction and decrease sliding around. In lace, the situation is reversed: although lace is typically knit with thin yarn, grabby yarns give the best result in holding the holes of lace patterns open. 

As far as stitch and row gauge go...

• If you get stitch gauge but your row gauge is too short (not enough rows) consider swatching with the same size needle, but a grabbier material like wood or bamboo, to drag more yarn into the height of each loop. 

• If you get stitch gauge, but your row gauge is too long (too many rows) consider swatching with a slicker needle--non-coated metal of some kind, perhaps anodized aluminum.

• If you get row gauge but not stitch gauge, consider changing needle size until your stitch gauge is correct, and then switching up your row gauge by changing needle material as above

• Or maybe, just don't worry too much about row gauge in the first place.  See, for top-down or bottom-up garments (which is most of them) row gauge is less important than stitch gauge, because you can always alter the pattern by adding or subtracting a few rows.  You can usually even fudge sleeve caps this way, too, after a few runs at it.  For side-to-side sweaters, though, row gauge is important!

'til next time

--TK

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Thanks to everyone who posted in an old 2008 Ravelry thread which really got my gears turning in thinking about gauge so many years ago, with a special thank you to Beanmama who started that thread, eightoclock who really ran with it and yarnspinner who dropped a crucial hint. 

The essential swatches

Many thanks also to the various knitters, who, over the years, contributed research swatches, labeled as to yarn & needle size and composition.  

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE (related links):

•  .Circular gauge swatches knit flat (back and forth on two needles)(February 4, 2011)
• .Gauge--a cautionary tale (August 3, 2007)
• .Gauge, ease and fashion--or "why doesn't my sweater fit?" (January 23, 2007)
• .Gauge swatches, keeping track with knots (May 28, 2007)
  
• .Gauge-less gauge swatches or "dating tips for knitters" (February 6, 2007)
• .Knitting needles, different points (December 12, 2006)
• .Knitting needles and loop size: the stitch and the needle it rode in on(February 2, 2007)
• .Tightening garments after they are made: inisible afterthought smocking: a useful (and mysterious!) trick (September 6, 2014)
• .My hat is too loose... (May 12, 2011)
• .My sweater is too wide... (May 6, 2011)
• .My sweater is too tight under the arms, or at the chest/bust--the magic of gussets (May 9, 2011)
• .Uneven knitting part 1:how to tame knit and purl at different tensions (February 22, 2007)
• .Uneven knitting part 2: bunching, big stitches and lumpy fabric--the problem of too-long runs (January 12, 2010)
• .Why block hand knits? Here's why--and how! (March 13, 2008)

Fake I cord bind off (FICBO)--Quick and easy, sturdy and handsome

featuring a video and lots of illustrations

Why another bind-off?

How about a Fake I-Cord Bind Off (FICBO for short) which looks a lot like the real thing?   Here it is on the sleeve of a doggie sweater. What do you think?

This bind off is a fake copy, yes, but more than that, it is a thing which is good in itself. It is quick, easy to do, and handsome. Its resemblance to I-cord is a plus, but not the only plus. 

Easier to finish off: Unlike real I-cord, a single duplicate stitch at the end is all the finishing required. 

Faster: FICBO involves no slipping back and forth.

Extremely sturdy: Unlike real I-cord bind off which can potentially unravel back to the fabric, FICBO  pretty much can't. Each "row" essentially adds an additional bind off.  For kids pulling on that second mitten with their teeth, for the new puppy chewing its little coat, this is the bind-off to choose.  

Corrects the wavy edge in ribbing:  Here's the ordinary chain bind off on the ribbed edge of a green hat.  In the following photo, there's the edging in process: the scraggly original bind off (lower left) is instantly corrected from wavy to straight and smooth. 

The wavy original edge...

...being corrected with FICBO

* * *

Let's start with a little video.  After the video, a post with illustrations and descriptions goes into deeper detail, if you want.  The method for ending FICBO is not shown in the video, so you'll have to go to the text below for that (Step 7). 

Video https://youtu.be/7j2w5l0KPT4

* * *

What IS this bind off and how does it work?

As shown in the video, fake I-cord bind off isn't actually knitting at all: it's crocheting.  However, (and despite the fact that you use knitting needles to do it) an ordinary chain bind off in knitting is ALSO crocheting! Specifically, chain bind off in knitting is nothing more than a chain of crocheted slip stitch. Yes, one is done with a knitting needle and the other with a crochet hook, so it might not seem that way.  Yet in structure, they are identical.

If not familiar with the crocheted slip stitch, the how-to details are in this TECHknitting post (crocheting for knitters).

The fact is, by working an ordinary chain bind-off, you've already worked the first row of today's trick! All this trick does is add one or two additional rounds of slip stitch.

The heart of the trick is this: each slip stitch looks * exactly * like a stockinette stitch, from the front, at any rate.  So, by lining up three rounds--with each stitch exactly below the one above--you get the same look as a three-row I-cord.  You can make 2-round analog I-cords, also.

Note the use of the words "rounds" and "from the front."  If you want this trick to look like an I-cord, that really only works to bind off circular knitting, and this is true regardless of whether the item is 3-D, such as the brim of a top-down hat, or flat, such as around the continuous edge of a flat piece like a circular shawl.  This is because, again, only the front of the slip stitch looks like stockinette stitch--the back of a slip crochet stitch looks like a sewn running stitch, rather than the nice plump round dot made by a purl head.  Therefore, if you have to "turn the work" as, for example, to go back and forth along the bottom of a flat knit piece, the illusion does not hold.  It's still a pretty good bind off when used back-and-forth, but it's not I-cord adjacent in that use.

(Hat)

In the video, and in below examples, I am binding off hats.  Further along in this series, TECHknitting blog will have a free bonus pattern for these hats: a link will be placed here when that post goes live.  For this post, we are only concentrating on the finishing, featuring the FICBO. 

How-to do the Fake I-cord bind off in 7 steps

Step 1: Work an ordinary chain bind off, all the way around the piece. If the fabric you're binding off was worked with both knit and purl stitches, then work in pattern as you bind off.  In the photo below, I am binding off a hat which ends with a dark green stripe, and I am using lighter green yarn as the bind-off yarn. 

Ordinary chain bind off in progress
at the edge of a green ribbed hat

"Bind off in pattern" means, for example, if you were working a ribbing, then, as you bind off, you'd knit the knits and purl the purls, as you work the bind off round.  In other words, you work each stitch in the pattern required, just before you bound that stitch off by dropping the loop of the preceding stitch over it, chain-wise, in the bind-off process.  If this is confusing have a look again at the TECHknitting post on ordinary chain bind off in knitting.

HOWEVER... a little trick! If your fabric is a 2/2 ribbing (k2, p2) then you may wish to consider binding off not QUITE "in pattern," by which I mean: 

    K1, bind off, K1, bind off, P2tog, bind off (two purl stitches bound off as 1).  

The sample hat was bound off as above: 3 bind off chains for every 4 stitches. Like all simple chain binding off of a ribbing, the edge will continue ruffled after binding off, however eliminating 25% of the stitches (1 in 4) helps prevent excessive ruffling at the edge. All bind offs should be fairly loose, but when using this stitch-elimination trick, even a bit looser. 

Step 2: When only the last loop remains from the bind-off process, our trick begins.  Place that loop onto a crochet hook as shown below.  Do not break off the running yarn. Note that the next "stitch" at the top of the hat has already been bound off--it was the first stitch worked at the beginning of the bind-off process. 

Insert crochet hook into the
last loop of the chain bind off

Step 3: (below) Tension the running yarn as for crocheting.  Insert the crochet needle under BOTH arms of the chain bind off stitch.  Once the hook is through, catch the running yarn under the hook of the needle. 

The hook is inserted under both arms of the
chain bind off, that being the first
stitch worked at the beginning of the 
bind off process

Step 4: After catching the running yarn under the hook of the crochet needle, drag the resulting loop towards you, and out from under the two arms of the chain bind off, bringing it onto the surface of the knitted fabric.  Per illustration below, there will now be TWO loops around the barrel of the crochet hook.

Yarn drawn through, new and old loop
around the barrel of the crochet hook

Step 5: working LOOSELY, draw the new loop (closest to the hook) through the old loop laying further down (further way from the hook) on your crochet needle. There will again be only one loop on your crochet hook. 

After drawing the new loop through the old loop,
only the new loop remains

Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 all the way around the garment. 

Step 6:  When you come back to where you started (and if you want the look of a three-stitch I-cord) then for the next round, insert your hook under the two arms of the corresponding slip stitch in the round you just made. If a two-round I-cord analog is enough for you, skip this step and go to step 7.  The sample was worked with three rounds. 

Step 7: ending the fake I-cord via duplicate stitch, as follows:

A. Draw the last loop up big, then cut the loop in the middle

Almost done...draw up the last loop big and cut in the middle

B. Remove the running yarn, leaving the cut end protruding from the last stitch of the last round.  The stitch FROM which the yarn protrudes, and the stitch AHEAD of it on the previous round are the two stitches on which we'll now operate. 

C. Thread the cut end onto a BLUNT ended sewing needle.  As shown in the illustration below, run the needle tip under BOTH arms of the chain ahead, being the chain which began the previous round.  Next, pull the needle through.  Finally, insert the needle along the path of the white arrow, into the last stitch of this round, being the highlighted stitch in the illustration below, FROM which the cut yarn protrudes.  Note that in this last maneuver, the needle comes "up from under," not "down from the top."  

The path of the final duplicate stitch

D. Work the end into the fabric.  Wear garment. (The pattern for this hat will be posted eventually...stay tuned.)

FICBO in the wild

BTW? If the duplicate stitch photos aren't doing it for you, have a look at this post with tricks for the last stitch in chain bind off (remembering that both the chain bind-off and the FICBO slip stitch share identical structure). Scroll to the "OK method."

Work looser!

Once more time! LOOSE!! If you put this edging on tight you're going to say bad things about this trick. Draw up a generous loop each.and.every.time and you will say good things, instead. 

When to use, when to avoid

As mentioned above, this edge can take it for utility items: a child's mitten, a birdwatching cap, or ... the cuffs on that doggie sweater which opened this post!  

Another FICBO in the wild.
More info on this project at Ravelry

Yet there is a downside. FICBO's stiff edge could be uncomfortable to sit or lay on.  Use a softer edge at the bottom edge of a long office-type sweater: a hard little cord under the backs of your legs all day might raise a welt. For an infant who lies all day, or for anyone wheelchair-bound, or with poor circulation, also use a softer bind off.  Save FICBO for the outdoor gear or kids' knitwear.

Til next time, TK

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: RELATED POSTS

• .Basic crocheting for knitters: chain stitch (ch. st.) Slip stitch (sl. st.) and single crochet (sc) (September 20, 2014)
• .Pinstriping: vertical columns of color, added after the knitting is finished (January 14, 2016)(includes VIDEO)
• .A neat little chain stitched edging for garter stitch selvedges (January 14, 2011)
• .(Real) I-cord bind-off, I-cord selvedge border (November 24, 2105)
• .Part 1 of better bands and cuffs: the overview--"Opera and Soap Opera" (November 1, 2007)
• .Chain bind off, part 1--along a straight edge (December 24, 2008)
• .Chain bind off, part 3: binding off circular knits (March 3, 2009)(Another explanation about how to do the final duplicate stitch: scroll to the "OK method.")
• .Easy fake tubular bind off: casting off 1/1 ribbing a new way (April 1, 2007)
• .Fake Latvian Braid, deco bind-off version, perfect for scrap projects (October 30, 2014)
• .Picking up stitches along a bound-off edge (December 1, 2015)

TECHknitting blog returns

In protest at what Donald Trump represents, this blog went mostly dark for 4 long years.  "All-me, I-got-mine."  What (un)reality twists such selfishness into "greatness?" It was too depressing for words. 

Literally. 

With the installation of our new president, we--the blog and I--are back.  Older and sadder, but back. In the hope that normalcy can return after four truly awful years, this blog is being revived.  

TECHknitting is, indeed, a knitting blog, and with revival, I mean to return to knitting topics.  However, I thought a four year absence required an explanation.  

* * *

In the next posts, there will be knitting tricks and tips, just like the old days...sort of.  It's not going to be daily, or probably even weekly, but the occasional post will be forthcoming, so stay tuned...we're back. 

* * *

In the meanwhile, let us hope for better.  Let us hope and pray that the evil of selfishness--ignorantly paraded as a virtue over these these last four years--will slink off noiselessly, returning to the depths from which it was so.very.wrongly called forth. 

And if you voted for Donald Trump, once, or even twice, well, sister: please! Put behind you the fears by which you allowed yourself to be misled in the long night just past. Resolve to think more generously, to embrace otherness. Then, come out and join the rest of us. As President Biden just said, "light, not darkness." We are waiting for you, out here in the daylight. 

--TK