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.

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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