making - how to read a knitting chart
as a knitter, i love to knit complex cables and lace panels. i’m extremely visual in terms of how my brain works too, so working off of charts is my favourite way to go! as a designer, i always include both written and charted instructions whenever they’re needed for my patterns because knitters are typically pretty evenly split when it comes to preference between the two. it also gives my tech editor and me (and my knitters!) a reference point to check for any discrepancies in case we missed an error or are confused with a certain stitch.
if you’ve never read a knitting chart before and are curious about how to get started, here are some of my top tips:
knitting symbols are standardized across the industry within different countries/language bases. if you’re using pinterest to find your charts or have found a stitch dictionary or pattern book, check to see what the original language is/was because that will help you know how to read the chart symbols. japanese charts are similar enough to english charts that they can quite easily be read, but russian charts can be very different and it helps to know that before you try deciphering some stitches!
charts in any book and/or professional pattern should come with a clearly defined key and glossary/special technique section so that you can work your stitches properly.
right side rows and in-the-round charts are read from right to left.
wrong side rows are read left to right.
professional designers typically use charting software like stitchmastery for their charts (or pay a tech editor to do it for them), but you can make your own charts using any sort of graphing software like google sheets or excel, or even plain old graph paper and a pencil!
if you’re interested in actually writing knitting charts for your own uses, you can join me at vogue knitting live on july 18th, or anytime in the creative coven online design course. it’s maybe a little more on the #bosswitch side of things than #knitwitch, but i actually think all knitters benefit from understanding the bones of their patterns! if you’re not sure what kind of fibre witch you are, you can take the quiz to find out.