March 20 ~~ Sweater Day ~~Did You Hear of This?

I've never heard of this day.  You would think that a knitter would know about sweater day.   Wear a Sweater Day is March 20.  It's a day to wear your favorite sweater.

Why am I telling you about this?   Better still where did I find out about it?   What is this day about?

Recently my husband and I were watching a cartoon on PBS, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, while waiting for the show we wanted to watch to come on.  We commented back and forth as married couples do in those little half sentences how this cartoon reminded us of Mr. Rogers and his long running show for kids.

Being the more curious of the two,  I hopped on Google and zoomed in on Wikipedia.   I had known he died of cancer.  But his wiki page had much more information about this amazing man.  My husband was amazed he was a Pennsylvania native.  But we both agreed he did pretty great things for preschool kids and wondered if there was a memorial to him.  There is.  It's in Pittsburgh.

Wikipedia has this to say:  Picture of the Fred Rogers Memorial Statue located near Heinz Field on the North Shore in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 2009. 

Mr. Rogers production company planned and hosted several events to commemorate what would have been his 80th birthday.   Wear a Sweater Day is one.  It is still celebrated.  The date of March 20 is Mr. Rogers birthday.

As you might be able to tell,  I'm a big fan of his.  He offered something special to children, beyond a calm interlude in the fast paved world children are living in these days.  My sister and I watched his show as little girls.   My children watched him when they were little.

At least some of the reasoning behind the day is Mrs. Rogers, Fred Rogers mom.  She knit all the sweaters he wore on the show.  She did an amazing job with the zipper installations, not a wrinkle to be seen if memory serves.   Wearing a sweater knit or crocheted by a loved one is like receiving a hug from that person even if they are far away.

So remember March 20 and wear a sweater.  

Ribbing:: Let's see the various ways to create it

Ribbings::  So easy.  So many ways to create ribbing.  Let's explore.

Once upon a time, when I was younger, the Flintstone's was an after school cartoon.  There was knitting in one episode.  Wilma was expecting a baby.  She sat in a chair knitting away for her new baby on a pair of baby booties while talking to Betty.  I can still hear her to this day, knit one, purl two, knit one, purl two.  Now I realize the cartoons back in the day were not terribly detailed but there was no ribbing to be seen.

Knit one, purl two is a three stitch repeat of ribbing.  It is more decorative than stretchy.  It is also not really balanced.  That's obvious when looking at it.  But I'm talking about working it.  Knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl.... This is a balanced stitch pattern.  It offers maximum stretch.  It offers an easy rhythm to knit to.  This is the same with knit two, purl two.

Ribbing of a sort can also be had from garter stitch.  When knitting every stitch on every row and turning at the end of the row creates a corrugated fabric very similar to knit one, purl one.  Double garter stitch (knit 1 row, purl 2 rows, knit 1 row and repeat these 4 rows) can almost substitute for knit 2, purl 2 ribbing.  I say almost because they aren't quite as stretchy but close.

Ribbing can also be had in a number of ways from crochet.

Ribbing can be done using just single crochet.  Now when you turn work only in the back loop and single crochet across the stitches.  Turn and again work in the back loop while single crocheting across.  Keep doing this and you will see how it has an accordion effect.  This is a very stretchy ribbing.  However, it can lose its stretch and cause over stretched loops.  To a certain extent this can be corrected by giving a vigorous tug from the sides, not the chain edge, evenly spaced across the entire ribbed section.

Ribbing with crochet can also be achieved by using post stitches.  Start with the chain and work double crochet across.  Chain 3 and turn.  Now work a front post double crochet around the second stitch.  Work a back post double crochet around the third stitch.  Repeat the front post and back post stitches across.  Chain 3 and turn.  Now make sure you work a front post double crochet on the stitches that protrude towards you and back post double crochet on the stitches that are trying to get away from you.  As you can see after a few rows, the stitches are very pronounced in their protrusions.  This won't stretch out like the above ribbing can do.

Which variant do you like and why?  I find specific uses for each rather than a favorite.