How to Knit & How to Fix Fisherman’s Rib

Okay, almost everyone knows what ribbing is, even if they’re not a knitter. You alternate knit and purl stitches to knit a stretchy fabric that adorns the hem, collar and cuffs of hand and machine knit sweaters all over the world. Duh. But sometimes as a knitter, you’re looking for a ribbing that’s got even more texture to it than a standard k1, p1 rib. Faced with this, there are two popular options to try: Brioche Rib, which is challenging with its relatively steep learning curve, and Fisherman’s Rib, which is much easier to learn. If you can knit and purl, you can easily master Fisherman’s Rib in about 5 minutes. Today, we’re going to tackle how to knit Fisherman’s Rib, and how to go back and fix mistakes when you work this fun, fluffy stitch.

PS: If you’re looking for a project to practice the Fisherman’s Rib, check out the Fisherman’s Rib Baby Blanket. 

PPS: If you’d also like to try the brioche stitch, I’ve got tutorials for how to knit basic brioche and how to fix it too. Because of course I do. ;) 

How to Knit Fisherman’s Rib Stitch

Your basic Fisherman’s Rib Stitch is a simple 1 over 1 rib stitch (a.k.a. k1, p1), with one critical difference: the k1s are worked in the row below. The abbreviation for a knit 1 below is k1b. This video walks you through how to knit Fisherman’s Rib, based on the instructions in Barbara Walker’s legendary stitch dictionary, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (p. 44 to be exact!).

How to Fix Fisherman’s Rib Stitch

To “tink” is to unknit or knit backwards (“tink” is the word “knit” spelled backwards, get it?). When you tink Fisherman’s Rib, you can’t just knit backwards like with regular knit stitches since the knit stitches are knit in the row below. There’s an extra stitch involved that’s both crossed over and pulled up onto your needle when you tink it. Check out this video for how to successfully tink Fisherman’s Rib to go back and fix mistakes, and there are also a couple tips about laddering down and using lifelines to make tearing back a breeze.

Yarn pictured was provided by Lion Brand Yarn, and it’s LB Collection Superwash Merino yarn in Dijon.