Yarn Dominance in Corrugated Ribbing
- Susanna
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
How do you arrange yarns in two-color corrugated ribbing? What is yarn dominance and does it play a role? For this blog post I experimented with four different ways of knitting corrugated ribbing and how changing yarn dominance impacts the way it looks.
What Is Yarn Dominance?
Yarn dominance is term you'll encounter in connection with stranded colorwork knitting. It's a way to hold yarns in colorwork so that one color appears more prominent relative to the other color(s).
The way to arrange yarns in yarn dominance is such that the floats of the color that's more prominent, called the dominant color, travel closer to the right side of the work. The floats of the non-dominant color travel behind it, pushing the dominant-color stitches forward and closer to the surface and making the colorwork motif stand out better.
Yarn dominance is sometimes also called color dominance but the two terms mean the same thing. Personally, I prefer to use the term yarn dominance because it pinpoints that it's the arrangement of the yarns relative to each other that matters, not what color the yarns are. You, the knitter, get to decide which one to highlight.
Which brings me to the next point: yarn dominance is often a matter of preference. Colorwork beginners often look for the "correct" way to hold their yarns, but — as with so many aspects of knitting — there isn't a single right answer. It depends on the situation.
In a simple two-color colorwork pattern it is usually the contrasting color — that one that's used to making up the motif — that's held as the dominant color. This makes the colorwork pop out from the background or main color. If yarn dominance were to be reversed, the colorwork motif would appear weaker and more subtle.
But in more complex patterns this might not always be the case. Yarn dominance doesn't have to be consistent throughout the whole pattern. It doesn't even have to be the same across one round but can be swapped as needed for the colorwork motif to look its best.
Pictured above is my upcoming Luode colorwork yoke sweater pattern. In this pattern I held the contrasting color dominant in the upper part of the yoke motif so that the light gray motifs stand out from the dark teal background. For the middle and lower parts of the yoke motif I swapped the colors: the lighter color is now on the background and the teal that forms the scrollwork pattern is held in the dominant position.
Notice the two-color ribbing on the hem? That's what we'll dive into next.
What Is Corrugated Ribbing?
Corrugated ribbing is two-color ribbing in which knits are made with one color, purls with the other. You can make corrugated ribbing in any combination of knits and purls but 1×1 ribbing and 2×2 ribbing are the most common. Presumably, the name comes from resembling corrugated metal roofing or corrugated cardboard, both of which have wavy ridges that create a rippled pattern.
Corrugated ribbing is essentially a mash-up of ribbing and stranded colorwork, and this makes it differ from regular, one-color ribbing. Unlike regular ribbing, corrugated ribbing is not very stretchy because the floats on the back of the work can only flex so far. The other thing is that corrugated ribbing is quite flat: the purl columns can't recede to the background because, again, the floats prevent that.
Corrugated ribbing can be used to add a decorative edge or detail to colorwork designs, such as mitten cuffs or sweater hems. But it doesn't function like regular ribbing.
Yarn Dominance in Corrugated Ribbing: Four Examples
Given that corrugated ribbing is mostly decorative, how should yarn dominance be arranged so that it looks best?
I experimented with four different combinations of holding yarns in 1×1 corrugated ribbing. In all examples I'm working with the same two yarns — a dark and a light color — and using a colorwork yarn guide. The yarn on the left (closer to the needle tips) is the dominant one; the one further back to the right is non-dominant.
Example 1. Dark knits, light purls – dark color dominant
To start off, the dark color was used for knit stitches and the lighter color for purls. In the first example I'm holding the dark color as the dominant color.
The darker-color knits appear quite prominent, as if they're sitting on the surface of the lighter-colored purls. The purls bumps are very visible, though, on account of having been worked in a light color.
Example 2. Dark knits, light purls – light color dominant
In the second example the arrangement of knits and purls stays the same but I swapped yarn dominance: the lighter color is now held in the dominant position.
Compared to example 1, the knit columns now appear to sink in between the purl bumps. The purl bumps themselves look wider and plumper, as if consuming more space.
What surprised me, though, was that in terms of knitting I found this arrangement of yarns easier to work with. Purling with the yarn held closer to the needle tips felt smoother and faster compared to holding the yarns the other way around.
Example 3. Light knits, dark purls – light color dominant
For the last two examples the knits and purls were reversed: light-colored knits with dark-colored purls. In the third example the light color is still held in the dominant position.
The situation is the same as in the first example: the knit stitches look very prominent, as if they're sitting on the surface of the purls. The purls look narrower and, because they're worked in a dark color, they blur and blend into each other so that each individual purl bump is difficult to make out.
Example 4. Light knits, dark purls – dark color dominant
In the last example only the yarn dominance changes: light knits, dark purls, dark color is dominant.
Appearance-wise what's changed is that now the knits look narrower and purls wider. The knit stitches appear to be sinking into quicksand and the purls are rising to the surface. Compared to example 3, I found this arrangement easier to work with because the yarn to purl with was held closer to the needle tips.
In Conclusion
So which of the arrangements works best? Overall, on the right side the changes in appearance are quite subtle. To see any difference you kind of have to know what to look for.
Your mileage may vary but my conclusions are thus:
In the lower half of the swatch (examples 1 and 2), I find the light-colored purl bumps distracting and the whole corrugated ribbing a bit messy.
The top half of the swatch (examples 3 and 4) looks smoother and visually more appealing. The dark purls blend into a unified mass out of which the light knits can be easily discerned.
Out of the four examples, my personal preference is example 3 in which the dominant-color knits look wider, taller, and generally more prominent. And this is indeed the yarn arrangement I used on the hem and cuffs of the Luode pattern.
Holding the purl color dominant might be easier on the hands... but I just don't like the look it creates.
While the right-side differences in look are quite small, more surprising is what's happening on the wrong side of the work. Not so much in terms of changing yarn dominance — that has little to no effect — but swapping the position of knits and purls dramatically changes the floats. The ribbing looks smoother on both sides of the work. But who's going to look on the inside of your sweater?
What's your preference? Which yarn arrangement do you like best? Let me know in the comments!
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