Fisherman's Rib

The Fisherman's rib jumper originated around the 1800's in the coastal areas of Ireland and Scotland. The pattern made warm jumpers for the fisher people who braved the treacherous seas to provide food for their families.

The wives and mothers of the fishermen would knit the jumpers in a variation of the 1 x 1 rib, the Fisherman's rib was created much thicker than this to ensure their men were warm at sea. The pattern also meant it would keep the men dry.

The stitch goes like this:

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: k1, P1, *K1B, P1* repeat from to * to end of row

K1B means to knit stitch below current stitch i.e. there is a hole just beneath the top stitch, knit this as normal.

The Fisherman's rib provides a lovely warm texture

Fisherman's rib

Look out for my next pattern using Fisherman's rib. It will be a jumper for children in a lovely denim colour yarn