Rib Stitch for Beginners: 1x1 and 2x2 Rib

Today, I'll show you how to do two of the most popular rib stitches, the one-by-one and the two-by-two rib. So let's get into it. So here's the one-by-one rib. You can see it almost looks like stockinette stitch, right? That's because the knit stitches float up a little bit, and the purl stitches recede into the background. They're like little valleys. The one-by-one rib is really stretchy. Look at it go. So that's what makes it great for a ribbing. Let's look at the two-by-two rib. So you've got two stitches of knits and two stitches of purls, and they just alternate. And this is also super stretchy. Look at that. So the two-by-two rib is stretchier than the one-by-one rib, so it's used more often. But together, the two ribs make up the majority of rib stitches, and I'll teach you how to do both of them next. So with one-by-one rib, when you're knitting on two flat needles, you can cast on any number of stitches. So let's get started. I'm going to knit the first stitch, and then I'm going to bring my yarn around and purl the second stitch. So I'm just doing a regular old purl. And then I'm going to knit this third stitch and purl the fourth stitch. And you might be able to see a pattern emerging here, right? I've done a knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, and now I'm going to do a knit one. So if you're a smart cookie, you'll be able to tell that the pattern is basically knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, and on and on we go. Knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one. So that is the pattern that I'm following for the one-by-one rib, also called the knit one, purl one rib, which makes it really easy to remember. So just knit one and purl one all the way to the end of the row. And here's my last stitch, and I'll just purl one. Cool! Alright, so now let's move on to row two. So row two is really easy. What you're going to do is knit the knits and purl the purls. Okay, so what does that mean? So you can see here that this is a knit stitch, and I can tell because of the little v-shape. So I'm going to knit into it. So here we go, I'm going to knit into that. This next stitch here is a purl stitch, I can tell because of the little purl bump, so I'm going to purl into it. So pretty easy, right? Here's a knit stitch, I'm going to knit into it. Here's a purl stitch, and I'm going to purl into it. So just remember that when you're knitting any rib, knit the knits and purl the purls. And you might notice that we also have a pattern going on on row two, right? Knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl, and on and on we go. So yes, that is the pattern, knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, but you don't have to keep telling yourself that as you're knitting. Just remember to knit the knits and purl the purls, and then you don't have to remember any kind of stitch pattern at all. So after a couple rows, my work looks like this. You can see that nice column of knits, and then a little valley of purls, knits, purls, knits, purls. That's what your one-by-one rib will look like. So now let's go over the knit two, purl two, or the two-by-two rib. So I'm knitting on flat needles here, and I'm going to cast on an even number of stitches. So with the two-by-two rib, the number of cast-on stitches matters. So you're going to cast on a multiple of two. That's like two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve. I think I've got twenty stitches here, so a multiple of two. So the two-by-two rib is quite similar to the one-by-one rib. What we're going to do is knit two. So here's one, and then I'm going to knit two. So next, I'm going to purl two. I'll bring my yarn up front, and then I'm going to purl one, and purl two. So we've just completed our first repeat. Let's keep on going down the rest of these cast-on stitches. So here we go. Knit two, and then I'm going to purl two. Really simple. And I'll do that across my whole row. So here, I've just completed my first row. I'm going to turn my needle around, and the second row and all subsequent rows for the knit two, purl two, or two-by-two rib is very similar. I'm going to knit the knits and purl the purls. So here, I've got a knit stitch. I'm just going to knit that knit stitch. And here, I've got two purl stitches, so I'm going to purl the two purl stitches. And two knit stitches here, so let's knit them up. So that's really all there is to the two-by-two rib and the one-by-one rib. Just follow the mantra of knit the knits and purl the purls. After a couple rows, my knitting looks like this. I've got two stitches of knits and two stitches of purls. Knits, purls, knits, purls. So there you go. That is how you knit the two-by-two rib on flat needles. So let's talk about knitting rib in the round. The only difference is that, well, of course, you have to join in the round first. And the main difference is the number of cast-on stitches you need. So to knit two-by-two rib in the round, you need to cast on a multiple of four in order for those two-by-two ribs to match up perfectly in the round. Other than that, you do the exact same thing as knitting flat. Knit the knit stitches, as I'm doing here, and you purl the purl stitches. So here's two purl stitches. I'm going to purl into them. So when you're knitting one-by-one rib in the round, you need to cast on a multiple of two stitches. Everything else is exactly the same. That's all there is to it. So here's a quick and dirty summary. Knit flat. For one-by-one rib, you'll cast on any number of stitches. Row one, you'll knit one and purl one and repeat that across the whole row. Row two and all other rows, just knit the knits and purl the purls. For two-by-two rib knit flat, you'll cast on an even number of stitches. Row one, you'll knit two, purl two across the whole row. Row two and all other rows, knit the knits and purl the purls. Knitting in the round. For one-by-one rib, you'll cast on an even number of stitches, and you'll follow the same instructions as flat knitting above. For two-by-two rib in the round, you'll cast on a multiple of four stitches, and you'll follow the same instructions as flat knitting. Thanks so much for watching. Like this video if you liked it and subscribe for more knitting videos. And hey, if you want to learn how to cast on for ribbing, then check out this video. It's slightly more advanced, but it makes the cast on look really sleek, almost like the ribbing is melding with the cast on. Okay, I'm Davina from sheepandstitch.com. Happy knitting and I'll see you next time. Bye!