How to Quaker Stitch

You'll easily produce beautiful scarves and afghans with this simple but versatile stitch.

The Quaker rib stitch (sometimes called Quaker ridging) is a traditional American knit stitch. It's an easy and popular stitch, because it has almost infinite variations. The simplest is three or four rows of stockinette stitch (knit on front, purl on back) alternated with three or four rows of reverse stockinette stitch (purl on front, knit on back) to produce horizontal raised ridges. Even a beginning knitter can produce lovely items using the Quaker stitch.

Things You'll Need

• Knitting needles
• Yarn

Instructions

Simple Quaker Rib

1. Knit row one, purl row two, and knit row three. This produces three rows of stockinette stitch, which is smooth on the front side.

2. Purl row four, knit row five, and purl row six. This produces three rows of reverse stockinette stitch, which is nubby on the front side and smooth on the reverse.

3. Alternate these two sequences until your project is of the desired length. You'll have sections of equal length of smooth and nubby rows, and the item will look the same on both sides.

More Complex Quaker Ridging

1. Knit rows one, three and five. Purl rows two and four. This sets up the first repeat of the smooth section on the front side of the project.

2. Knit row six (reverse). This creates the first narrow rib or ridge on the front.

3. Knit rows seven, nine and 11. Purl rows eight and 10. This is the second repeat of smooth section on the front.

4. Knit rows 12 and 14. Purl row 13. This creates a slightly wider rib on the front than the first one.

5. Repeat the 14-row sequence for a nice variation in the rib pattern. Continue until your project reaches the desired length. This pattern will not be the same on both sides.

Tips & Warnings

• Design your own unique Quaker rib patterns by varying the distance between ribs and the width of the ribs.

• Try using a variegated yarn for extra fun in your project. Practice with different project widths to find how wide to make your scarf or afghan to get the best use out of the stripes produced by the variegated yarn.

• For another updated look to the traditional stitch, use a different color of yarn when knitting the ridges. Light blue with darker blue ridges is one popular combination. There is no limit to the ways you can personalize this stitch.

References

• Knitting Fool: Quaker Ridging
• "Little Badger Knitwear"; Ros Badger and Elaine Scott; 2000

Resources

• Quaker Ribbed Bottom Hat Pattern