Rib Fabric Factories Directory

What Rib Knit Is

A rib knit is built from alternating columns, called wales, of face stitches and reverse stitches. The face columns stand forward and the reverse columns retreat, so the cloth shows the vertical ridges that give rib its name and look. The geometry is also the function: pulled across its width, the ridges open like a concertina and the fabric stretches far beyond what a plain knit allows, then the same geometry pulls it back to its resting width when released. No elastane is required for that behaviour, though adding a little makes the recovery crisper and longer lived.

Ribs are named by their repeat. In a 1x1 rib, one wale of face stitches alternates with one wale of reverse stitches, giving a fine, even rib that lies the same on both sides and suits most cuffs and neckbands. In a 2x2 rib, pairs of wales alternate, giving a bolder ridge, more contraction and a chunkier hand that suits sweater cuffs, waistbands and whole ribbed garments. Wider and irregular repeats exist for fashion effects. Because the reverse stitches hide between the ridges, a relaxed rib fabric is much narrower than the same yarn count knitted flat, a fact that drives both its price per garment and its specification.

Where Rib Fabric Is Used

The classic jobs are the edges of garments. A cuff, collar, neckband or waistband has to stretch over a hand, head or hips and then grip gently for the life of the garment, and rib is the knit that does it without elastic tape or drawcords. T-shirt neckbands, sweatshirt cuffs and hems, sweater welts, sock tops and beanie hats are ribbed for the same reason. Rib also works as a body fabric in its own right, in fitted tops, dresses and thermal underwear, where its contraction gives a close fit that moves with the wearer and its ridges give a plain garment its texture.

The twenty listings below are this directory's rib fabric factories, each linked to its Fabric Mills by Name profile. India supplies seven of them, the USA four and China two, with Turkey, Canada, Pakistan, Indonesia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom also represented, a spread that reflects how widely circular knitting for rib is established wherever knitwear and jersey garments are made. Several names here also appear elsewhere in this fabric section, knitting or dyeing related cloths, which is normal for mills whose machines run more than one structure. No listing has been removed: none was verified dead, and the standing rule here is to keep a listing when in doubt.

Specifying and Sewing Rib Fabric

A rib specification should state the repeat (1x1, 2x2 or another), the fibre and any elastane content, the finished width and weight, and above all the recovery the buyer expects, because two ribs that look alike can behave very differently after a season of stretching. Ask how the width was measured: rib is traded in a relaxed state, and a supplier stretching the roll to make width will leave the garment maker short. Colour matching between a rib trim and the body fabric it must sit against deserves its own approval step, since the ridged surface reads colour differently from a flat jersey in the same dyebath.

In the sewing room, rib trim is usually applied slightly stretched, eased onto the longer garment edge so the finished band lies flat and keeps its grip, and panels cut from rib body fabric need resting time after cutting so they return to their true dimensions before measuring. Stitching should stretch with the cloth, and bands should never be stretched to force a fit during sewing, because a band sewn in over-stretched relaxes into puckers afterward. Care follows the fibre: cotton ribs soften and can lose a little recovery over time, ribs with elastane keep their snap longer, and gentle washing and flat drying protect both.

Rib Fabric Factories Listed Here