How to read knitting shorthand and decode knitting charts

Does knitting shorthand alienate you? Do charts confuse you? Perhaps after you read this post, that will no longer be the case.

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Knitting, like every other human endeavor, has its own language, its own jargon. Some parts of the knitter's language are funny: UnFinished Objects become UFO's. A frog in a pond says "rip-it, rip-it" and so "fogging" has come to mean ripping back -- unraveling -- knitting. You can put a UFO into the frog pond, and most US knitters will know that you have unraveled a partially knitted project, although a non-knitter will imagine something else altogether by this sentence.

Not all of the knitter's language is a joke--some it it seems serious and terse, incomprehensible, almost. This is because, in "Knitter-ese," like most languages, the repeated parts get turned into a kind of shorthand. Although you may find this shorthand confusing at first, you may well come to prefer it, or at least, to read it well enough to follow a pattern. "Use makes master" as the old folks used to say.

Suppose you saw knitting directions written like this:
knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1, then purl 1, then knit 1.

You COULD plow through all that. It is, after all, written in plain English, and what you are to do is very clear--the directions allow of no confusion. Or do they? In fact, having to count up the exact number of knits and purl IS confusing. Perhaps we should write these instructions like this:

• Knit 1, then purl 1, then repeat these two stitches 28 times more. End up by knitting 1 stitch, and then you are at the end of the row.

That's better, but there are still extra words in there. Shorter and less wordy is:

• *k1,p1* 29 times, end with k1.

In this version, stars ** are used as the signal to enclose the action to be repeated. In other words, the stars surround the action to be performed (k1, p1) and you do that action 29 times altogether. One stitch will be left, and you knit that last stitch. The amazing number of repetitions in the first version has been tamed down into one little sentence fragment. So far, so good.

Now, suppose that you see this:

• p1 # *k1, p1* 2 times, *p2, k2* 2 times , p2, *p1, k1* 2 times# 2 times, p1
  

What in the world does THAT mean? Well, the same principles apply. The first thing to do is to p1. Next comes a set of instructions encased in two matching symbols, ##. The notation "2 times" after the final # indicates that you are to do everything within the matching ## symbols 2 times altogether. In other words, the entire row written out above is divided into 2 identical sections. Within the ## marks delimiting each section are THREE sets of instructions: the first is k1,p1, which you are to do 2 times; the second is p2, k2, which you are to do 2 times, then you are to do a single p2. Finally, you are to end each section with two repetitions of p1, k1. The point of the ## symbols is that you are to repeat all three sets 2 times altogether.

Knitters accustomed to these sorts of instruction can see this row clearly laid out in their mind's eye. This is a row of ribbing knit flat (back and forth). The row starts and ends with a p1. The rest of the row is divided into 2 sections. Within each section there is a center section of 2x2 ribbing (the middle set of stars), and this center section is flanked by 2 outer sections of 1x1 ribbing (the 2 outer sets of stars).

The problem with these sorts of instructions is that, as clear as they are to knitters experienced in reading this sort of shorthand, they are not very user-friendly to knitters who have not gained that sort of experience. To add to the confusion, knitting is created from right to left, and from bottom to top, whereas English is written from left to right, and top to bottom. So, in seeing this sentence fragment as a knitted row in the mind's eye, a knitter experienced in reading shorthand is not only decoding the abbreviations and symbols, but is also transposing left with right and up with down. What a trick, hey?

If you plug away at this, you will certainly get it--knitters have understood this shorthand for over a hundred years now, and YOU are certainly as smart as all these hordes of knitters. But in the meantime, if you'd like a more graphic representation, perhaps you will consider charts.

Below is the same stitch pattern which we have already examined, laid out in both writing and in chart form.
If this is a bit too small for you to see, a click on the picture will enlarge it.

As you can see by the arrows, knitting charts are meant to be read in the same direction as knitting is created: from right to left. As you can also see, the pattern of the fabric is now not only obvious to the experienced knitter's mind's eye, but to any knitter at all--the pattern is laid out graphically on paper for all to see. The alternating sets of ribs is now plainly displayed.

If you would like more information on reading charts and on reading knitting shorthand, there is another post which goes into further detail here. Also, the next post in this series will offer 4 fabric patterns, each illustrated in detail, and each accompanied by written shorthand AND charts, laid out for flat knitting AND circular.

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on "reading knitting shorthand and decoding knitting charts")