The Science of Knit Wristbands

I was practicing with some wool I found in my room from the days I made pom-pom frogs (don't ask). After awhile, I got a little bored. I wondered if I could knit with other stuff. So I hunted around my room and found a bag full of ribbons. So I tried knitting with those.

It was a little hard at first because unlike wool, ribbons are stiffer and less elastic. But once I'd gotten used to them, it was much easier than wool. For a beginner like me, I tend to drop my needles and stitches a lot and for wool, the stitches easily unravels. On the contrary, because ribbons are much stiffer, my stitches stay in shape. So that was good.
While practicing, I had an idea to make wristbands. It allowed me to carry out some experiments too. I wanted to know if the size of the finished product would differ between the wool and ribbon. So I knitted 28 rows of 10 stitches. The wool piece was shorter than the ribbon. That wasn't a surprise given that the width of the ribbon is twice that of wool.
I also tried stretching them. They were the same size. So since the wool piece is shorter, wool has more elasticity. That was established earlier when I first started knitting with ribbons, but I wanted to confirm that.

So then I made wristbands out of both materials. As you can see, the ribbon one looks nicer and you can see the pattern of the stitch. However, it was a really tight fit. :( The wool one was looser but also more plain. I think I could jazz it up with beads and sequins. What do you guys suggest?

For instructions on making wristbands, check this out. They have very simple and clear instructions.