I have just added Fisherman’s Rib to my Stitch Library. This is an interesting rib pattern that uses “knit 1 below (k1b). K1b is also used in the Bee Stitch and if you want more information on it, here are links to that information.
Post on Bee Stitch and Knit 1 Below
This ribbing pattern results in a fluffy, soft and warm ribbing that is similar to the brioche rib stitch. In fact, while researching Fisherman’s Rib, I found several places where it is described as a variation in the brioche technique. Nancy Marchand, author of Knitting Brioche, states:
“In the Netherlands, both brioche stitch and Fisherman’s Rib are called patentsteek. The method of working the stitch is different but the end result is the same.”
The main difference between the brioche stitch and fisherman’s rib is that you use yarnovers combined with slipped stitches to form the fabric in brioche and you use k1b to create fisherman’s rib. There are several different ways to make the Fisherman’s Rib stitch and I have included these in my Fisherman’s Rib Stitch instructions.
I have used fisherman’s rib to make several lovely warm hats. It would work well for a warm scarf or a cowl as well. This stitch pattern will use approximately 30% more yarn than regular 1 X 1 ribbing and should be done on needles that are one to two sizes smaller than what you would normally use for the yarn you select.
There isn’t a lot of information on how to decrease or increase when doing fisherman’s rib, and it took me awhile to find ones that worked well for my hats. I will share that information in my upcoming posts.