Broken Rib Knitting Patterns

Broken rib is a fun and easy knitting stitch that can be worked on any number of stitches. One row is knit and the second row is worked like ribbing. Repeating those two rows gets you a knit fabric with a more interesting look but still some of the stretchiness of ribbing. It’s great for all kinds of projects, as we shall see.

Why not start learning to use this stitch with a scarf? Jacque McClure’s Broken Rib Reversible Scarf is a free download on Ravelry and uses worsted weight yarn.

Jessie at Home on Etsy has another variation on the broken rib scarf, this time with three strands of yarn held together for a more colorful look and a warmer scarf.

Or you can try a hat, like the Easy Beanie from Nix O Clock on Etsy, which has a folded brim and uses a heavier worsted weight yarn. Or there’s the Cocoon pattern from La Maison Rililie, which has the option of being worked with a rounded crown or a more pointed, slouchier crown, and in a single color or multicolored version.

Ellen M. Silva has a super cute pair of broken rib fingerless gloves available as a free pattern on Ravelry. They use worsted weight yarn and are sized for adult women, and they have an interesting asymmetric thumb gusset that is said to improve the fit. There are also broken rib mittens for the whole family, worked in bulky weight yarn, designed by Knifty Knittings for Yarnspirations.

Once you’ve got the technique down, which takes no time at all, you can move on to other projects, like sweaters. The sammensat 3 sweater by Elsebeth Judith uses an allover broken rib pattern and is worked with fingering and DK weight yarns held together (or use a single strand of worsted weight). This top-down raglan has options for a regular crewneck or a mock turtleneck, and it comes in seven sizes. The pattern is available in English and Danish.

Gabriella Calderin’s broken rib vest, called Timbo, is a free Ravelry download and it looks so cozy stitched up in bulky weight yarn. It’s worked from the top down and comes in five sizes.

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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