<blockquote>
  <p>how will I know when I have found a good ribbing to be
  both elastic enough to stretch when I change position </p>
</blockquote>

<p>The waistband ribbing and the elastic both have to stretch enough to go over your hips. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>and sturdy enough to hold the whole skirt up 
  when I don't know yet how much the rest of the skirt will weigh 
  compared to the ribbing</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The waistband Ribbing isn't what holds the skirt up. 
The elastic In the casing hugs the waist and holds up the skirt. Use wide non-roll elastic to hold up a heavy skirt.</p>

<p>The elastic should be a bit shorter than the waist measurement, so it is  both snug and comfy around the waist. Test it in the fabric store.</p>

<p>The waistband ribbing measurement should be long enough that it can stretch around the hips, and short enough that the ribbing doesn’t add an unflattering amount of bulk to the waist.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-20T12:19:13.887Z
2017-12-20T22:21:17.400Z
2017-12-20T22:21:17.400Z
Robin L.
<p>I am knitting a gauge swatch in stockinette stitch right now with a garter stitch border to prevent curling and hopefully get a more accurate gauge. I have already measured myself for making the skirt.</p>

<p>Now once I get the gauge, I am thinking of multiplying that stitches per inch by a measurement a bit smaller than what I measured myself to be so that I know how many stitches to use for the ribbing. I haven't decided on yarn yet but I want to use a soft acrylic that is worsted weight. I have decided on using size US 8 circular needles. As long as I use the same yarn weight and needle size, gauge doesn't change from brand to brand.</p>

<p>I have restricted myself to using 4x4 ribbing or smaller. So the number of stitches I calculate will restrict that further based on factorization. Anyway, since I have a lot of yarn that I wouldn't use for other projects(mostly variegated is what I wouldn't use) should I knit about an inch of every ribbing that factorization will allow in the round as separate waistbands, bind off, and try them on?</p>

<p>And how will I know when I have found a good ribbing to be both elastic enough to stretch when I change position and sturdy enough to hold the whole skirt up when I don't know yet how much the rest of the skirt will weigh compared to the ribbing?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-19T15:25:08.673Z
Will your waistband have a casing to hold elastic or a Drawstring? Using elastic or a drawstring would make your ribbing choice easier.
Robin L.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-19T19:54:19.437Z
My waistband will have a casing to hold elastic in it. So that means that if I want to make the casing out of ribbing, I will have to knit to twice the wanted length and fold it in half(or as close to in half as I can get).
Caters
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-20T11:36:25.610Z
Will the waist have a zipper, or velcro, or any kind of closure?
Robin L.
<knitting><sketching>
How to tell when I have the right ribbing?
Caters
# How to tell when I have the right ribbing?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-18)

I am knitting a gauge swatch in stockinette stitch right now with a garter stitch border to prevent curling and hopefully get a more accurate gauge. I have already measured myself for making the skirt.

Now once I get the gauge, I am thinking of multiplying that stitches per inch by a measurement a bit smaller than what I measured myself to be so that I know how many stitches to use for the ribbing. I haven't decided on yarn yet but I want to use a soft acrylic that is worsted weight. I have decided on using size US 8 circular needles. As long as I use the same yarn weight and needle size, gauge doesn't change from brand to brand.

I have restricted myself to using 4x4 ribbing or smaller. So the number of stitches I calculate will restrict that further based on factorization. Anyway, since I have a lot of yarn that I wouldn't use for other projects(mostly variegated is what I wouldn't use) should I knit about an inch of every ribbing that factorization will allow in the round as separate waistbands, bind off, and try them on?

And how will I know when I have found a good ribbing to be both elastic enough to stretch when I change position and sturdy enough to hold the whole skirt up when I don't know yet how much the rest of the skirt will weigh compared to the ribbing?

**Tags:** knitting, sketching

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Will your waistband have a casing to hold elastic or a Drawstring? Using elastic or a drawstring would make your ribbing choice easier.  
> **username_0**: My waistband will have a casing to hold elastic in it. So that means that if I want to make the casing out of ribbing, I will have to knit to twice the wanted length and fold it in half(or as close to in half as I can get).  
> **username_1**: Will the waist have a zipper, or velcro, or any kind of closure?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-20. Score: 3

> how will I know when I have found a good ribbing to be
> both elastic enough to stretch when I change position

The waistband ribbing and the elastic both have to stretch enough to go over your hips.

> and sturdy enough to hold the whole skirt up
> when I don't know yet how much the rest of the skirt will weigh
> compared to the ribbing

The waistband Ribbing isn't what holds the skirt up.
The elastic In the casing hugs the waist and holds up the skirt. Use wide non-roll elastic to hold up a heavy skirt.

The elastic should be a bit shorter than the waist measurement, so it is both snug and comfy around the waist. Test it in the fabric store.

The waistband ribbing measurement should be long enough that it can stretch around the hips, and short enough that the ribbing doesn’t add an unflattering amount of bulk to the waist.


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