How to make reversible vertical post stitch crochet ribbing

Technique Tuesday – Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing Tutorial

10/7/2014

How to make Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing

Technique Tuesday - Step-by-step crochet and knitting photo tutorials by Shibaguyz Designz

Technique
Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing

Technique Tuesday - How to make Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing - a step-by-step photo tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

What is it?

First, let's give a quick definition of ribbing. Simply put, Ribbing is a series of raised ridges – called wales – and contrasting low troughs.

That said, there are a number of ways to create combinations of wales and troughs using crochet stitches. In fact, we have:
Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing
One-Sided Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing
Horizontal Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing
Horizontal tbl Crochet Ribbing

We will be covering ALL of these in future Technique Tuesday articles but, for today's Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing tutorial, we are creating a reversible vertical post stitch ribbing with wales on both sides of the fabric through the use alternating Front Post Double Crochet Stitches and Back Post Double Crochet Stitches.

Remember: Post stitches are worked around the post of a crochet stitch creating a stitch that is raised to the front or the back of our working row depending on whether we work a Front Post Crochet Stitch or a Back Post Crochet Stitch.

Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing creates a series of wales and troughs that are made vertically in relation to the working direction of our crochet fabric. That is, we start at the top or bottom of the fabric and create wales and troughs by working rows of alternating Front and Back Post Stitches. These alternating Front Post Crochet Stitches and Back Post Crochet Stitches build off of one another in successive rows creating the vertical wales and troughs – Ribbing!

For a quick review of crochet post stitches check out these tutorials:
Front Post Double Crochet Stitch Tutorial
Back Post Double Crochet Stitch Tutorial
then come right back! We'll wait…

Okay… back now? Good… let's carry on…

Click "Read More" link below for the full post.

Why Use It?
Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing is FAB for the brim of beanie style hats, around the cuffs of gloves and wrist warmers, around the hems and cuffs of garments and for neckline or armhole detailing.

For example, we featured Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing here on the brim of the Boyfriend Beanie from our book Heady Affairs. The hat is worked from the top down then we worked Vertical Post Stitch Ribbing around the bottom of the hat. This created a slightly thicker brim and elasticity for a better fit around the head.

Yes, crochet ribbing does have varying degrees of elasticity depending on which kind of crochet ribbing you make, the yarn used, the hook size and tension, and whether you block it vertically or horizontally.

To Make Today's Swatch
Folks have requested a list of materials we use in our swatches so here ya go!

Yarn Used
CYCA 4
Worsted Weight, 100% Pure Wool

Hook Used
H-8/5.00mm Crochet Hook

Skillz Used (with link to tutorials)
Foundation Single Crochet – How to make the Foundation Single Crochet Stitch
First Double Crochet – How to make the First Double Crochet Stitch
Double Crochet
Front Post Double Crochet – How to make the Front Post Double Crochet Stitch
Back Post Double Crochet – How to make the Back Post Double Crochet Stitch

Break It Down

1. The Set Up

Foundation Row: 17 Foundation Single Crochet, turn.
Row 1: First-dc, dc in each st to end of row, turn.
Row 2: First-dc, (FPdc, BPdc) 3 times…

Here we have worked a row of 17 Foundation Single Crochet Stitches then a row of 17 Double Crochet Stitches. Those two rows are worked in the darker yarn.

Next, we started working our row of Alternating Front Post Double Crochet and Back Post Double Crochet stitches. This row is worked in lighter yarn so you can see the post stitches better.

In the photo, we have just finished a Back Post Double Crochet stitch and are ready to make a Front Post Double Crochet stitch.

NOTE: We always work these swatches with a regular Double Crochet stitch in the first and last stitches of the row. This is true for any ribbed fabric you are working flat as opposed to in-the-round. The Double Crochet stitches on either side of the fabric create a flatter surface area for blocking and seaming.

2. Front Post Double Crochet

From our more detailed tutorial on the Front Post Double Crochet stitch, you know we are working the hook the front to the back to the front again around the post of the worked stitch. In this case, the worked stitch is the Double Crochet stitch one row below our working row.

3. Yarn over and draw up a loop…

4. And a finished Front Post Double Crochet stitch.

Again, for a more detailed breakdown of the Front Post Double Crochet stitch, hop on over to our tutorial: How to make the Front Post Double Crochet stitch tutorial.

5. Back Post Double Crochet

Now comes the twisty bendy part where we insert our hook from the back to the front and then to the back again around the post of the indicated stitch.

6. And the finished Back Post Double Crochet stitch.

Note how the Back Post Double Crochet stitch is behind the working side of your fabric.

Again, for a more detailed breakdown of the Back Post Double Crochet stitch, hop on over to our tutorial: How to make the Back Post Double Crochet stitch tutorial.

7. Continue to work alternating Front Post Double Crochet and Back Post Double Crochet stitches until you get to the last stitch where you will work a Double Crochet in that last stitch.

DESIGN NOTE: Since we worked an odd number of Foundation Single Crochet stitches to start our practice swatch, we have a balanced row that starts and ends with Front Post Double Crochet stitches. We did this number of stitches because this is a flat piece of fabric. If we were working in-the-round such as for the brim of a hat, we would have worked an even number of stitches so that our round began with a Front Post Double Crochet and ended with a Back Post Double Crochet. Don't worry if that cramped your brain… we'll come back to it in an upcoming project related post and uncramp it…

8. The next row of post stitches.

We worked this next row in darker yarn so y'all could clearly see where we were working this row of post stitches.

This is where the patterning becomes pretty much automatic:
• If you see a post stitch that stands out to the front side of the fabric you are looking at, work a Front Post Double Crochet stitch around it.

• If you see a post stitch that stands out to the back side of the fabric you are looking at, work a Back Post Double Crochet stitch around it.

Here, we are wrapping our hook from the front to the back and to the front again around the post stitch of the previous row to work a Front Post Double Crochet just like we did before.

The only difference is, now we are working post stitches around post stitches!

9. The next stitch in the row is on the back side of the fabric as is faces me so I insert my hook from the back to the front and then to the back again around the post of that stitch to work a Back Post Double Crochet stitch.

10. Work Front Post Double Crochet stitches around the stitches raised toward you and work Back Post Double Crochet stitches around the stitches raised away from you… and you've got it! Another row of crochet post stitch ribbing!

11. OOOOOOOO… pretty columns of post stitches!

Here are several completed rows of luscious Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing… unblocked, of course. As always, we like to show you how the stitches look right off the hook with no blocking so you know what you can expect with your own swatches.

Go ahead… flip it over… Reversible! You have just made Reversible Vertical Post Stitch Crochet Ribbing… say that three times fast!

NOTE: Even though our swatch is unblocked, you are going to want to block your ribbing on your project. We recommend blocking your ribbing vertically ONLY most of the time. This maintains some of the elasticity of the fabric allowing a more snug fit when needed (brims of hats, wrist warmers and gloves, and the hems of those garments you want to stay put).

If you want the look of ribbing without the snuggingness (snugging-ness?? snuggyness?? Yeah… we're making up words again…), block your ribbing both vertically AND horizontally and you will have the same ridges and troughs with a less lively fabric that won't bind in places where you don't want binding (like the hems of garments or armholes and necklines or if you prefer your hats more loose fitting).

TAADAA!!

Yes, we happen to LOVE this texture stitch.

I have always thought this type of ribbing looked very graphic since you see the prominent wales of the post stitches as well as the underlying heads of the alternate rows peeking through (remember from our previous tutorials how making post stitches bends the heads of the previous row's stitches).

In addition, it's downright cozy and even squishy depending on the yarn you use and how loosely or tightly you work the stitches.

Play with yarn and hook sizes to create different fabrics. You will love how the elasticity of the fabric changes and you will see how a fabric from these stitches can become downright squishy and cozy. I made an entire afghan from this stitch once just because of how decadent it felt.

Give it a try!

The first few times you practice this technique, we suggest using two colors of yarn so you can see which stitches go where more easily AND you can compare your work to our tutorial photos more easily. After that, of course, you'll probably want to work in all one color… or not… it depends on how you are going to use them. Right?

As with any new skill, all it takes is practice for new techniques to feel natural and easy for you.

As always, we recommend stitching up a few quick swatches like ours and, using our photo walk through to compare your stitches, to make sure your stitches are lining up correctly. If you aren't happy, rip 'em back out and go again!

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Stitch On!
S&J

Oh hey… before you go… Here are a few more pages we thought you might be interested in. Click on any of the photos below… enjoy!