Swatch It Up Block 4: Fisherman's Ribbing

I'm not gonna lie to you guys, this week will be a little more challenging than the first few. We are going to switch things up just a teensy bit. Trust me though, it is all to make things work easier and look better when it comes time to seem this beast together.

This stitch is fluffy and VERY stretchy bother vertically and horizontally and you will work into the stitches below your current row, so the stockinette edges were getting pulled in an unflattering way the first few times that I worked (and frogged T_T) the swatches for this. The beauty of this stitch is that you can sort of customize the block to your preference. What is written below is my take on how it plays best with the surrounding blocks. However, if you would like to wait and use this for an arm block, I think it might work well there too.

Despite all that, I really do like the feel and drape of the stitch. I'm even toying with the idea of making a sweater pattern using it later. We will see.

Let's do this.

As always, the materials are:

Materials Worsted Weight Yarn US size 8 knitting needles Tapestry Needle Measuring Tape

FISHERMAN'S RIBBING

Notes

Fisherman’s Rib is another stitch pattern that can be worked multiple ways. We’ve selected one way for the knit along, Detailed in the swatch instructions below, but have linked some video tutorials that show a variety of ways to create this squishy stitch!

P.S. This block will be a little different than the ones before. There will still be 2 stitches along the side borders, but in order to keep those edges straight (because each row of the ribbing is kind of 2 for 1) we will be working a selvedge stitch at the beginning of each row.

Gauge

15st x 36r =4 x 4" (10cm)

- When counting rows for gauge in fisherman’s rib, each visible “V” stitch is composed of two knitted rows, rather than one. If this is difficult to understand, you can use the inner border stitch to keep track as well.

- The st count is measured with the ribbing slightly stretched. Unstretched is closer to 17st

Tip: pay attention to this, especially if you are modifying the pattern.

Abbreviations

K - Knit

P - Purl

RS - Right side

WS - Wrong Side

SL1K WYIB - Slip 1 knitwise with yarn in back

SL1P WYIF - Slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front

Finished Size

Do NOT measure the stockinette border. This will be used for seaming and shouldn't contribute to the finished size of the sweater.

Sizes are width x length

XS: 9 x 11.25 in (23 x 28.5 cm)

S: 10 x 11.5 in (25.5 x 29.5 cm)

M: 11 x 11.75 in (28 x 29.5 cm)

L: 12 x 11.75 in (30.5 x 30 cm)

XL: 13 x 12 in (33 x 30.5 cm)

2X: 14 x 12 in (36 x 30.5 cm)

3X: 15 x 12 in (38.5 x 30.5 cm)

4X: 16 x 12.25 in (41 x 31 cm)

5X: 17 x 12.25 in (43.5 x 31 cm)

Instructions

Loosely cast on 37 (41, 45, 49, 53) (57, 61, 64, 67) sts. I used the long tail cast on method.

Row 1: Knit across (rs)

Row 2: Purl across (ws)

Row 3: Purl across

Row 4: SL1P WYIF, P1 (for border), *P1, K1 through loop below and let loop on left needle drop* repeat * to * until 2 stitches remain, P2

Row 5: SL1K WYIB, K1 (for border), * K1 through loop below and let loop on left needle drop, P1* repeat * to * until 2 stitches remain, K2

Repeat rows 4 and 5 for a total of 100 (104, 104, 106, 106) (108, 108, 110, 110) rows OR until indicated length, ending with a ws row (again, do not measure or count the first 2 stockinette rows).

Note: the stitch does stretch vertically, so I opted to go with the row count used for the last block. See what you think works best.

Row 7: Knit across (rs)

Row 8: Purl across

Bind off

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If you are going to alter the pattern, the gauge for this is:

15st x 36r =4 x 4" (10cm)

Plug this into the final equations for the Bust Blocks:

Gauge st x gauge row = 4 x 4 inches

_____ (bust block width) x ( _____Gauge st / 4”) = # sts _____

_____ (bust block length) x ( _____Gauge rows / 4”) = # rows _____

Once you have your stitch and row count, use those numbers in the pattern instructions above.

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Hopefully you were able to get this to work and you like it. I was undecided until I worked a few rows and felt all that wondrous fluff.

Still having some trouble?

Check out All Free Knitting for a close-up video tutorial

OR

Check out this detailed tutorial by Marly Bird for a written description with photos