In days gone by it seemed that most
patterns consisted just of row-by-row instructions that you followed
along from top to bottom on the page as your knitting grew below your
needles, usually from the bottom of a project up. Nowadays it is
common for a chart to be included that helps the knitter visualize
how the pattern will look when the work is completed. I normally use
them for reference only, but some people find it easier to follow a
chart when overwhelmed by the complexity of detail given in
row-by-row directions. One the rare occasions that I've designed my
own patterns, I've drawn them out on graph paper, making an
easy-to-follow chart in the process.
When looking for a chart to include
with this post, of course I couldn't find one that used an actual “x”
for any of the stitches! Any symbol works to indicate a kind of
stitch or knitting process; charts are filled with dashes and dots,
circles and filled squares, arrows and other symbols, all of which
are explained in the associated “key” somewhere on the pattern
page.
There are a couple of rules to remember
when following a chart in your knitting progress. One is
that you are working from the bottom of the chart up, rather than
reading from the top down. It's helpful to have the row numbers
marked to the right of each row to help you follow along. In addition
to that I've taken to putting a “<” or “>” symbol in
front of the row, to remind me whether I'm working from right to left
across the pattern (the “right side” of the project) or left to
right (the “wrong side” of the work). I've learned the hard way
that the finished product won't look anything like the design on the
page if you're not careful to remember this important point. And even
though the rows are numbered, it is sometimes easy to lose yourself in
the mass of symbols on the page before you, so I place a ruler under
the line I'm working on to help prevent mistakes, sliding it up a row
at a time as I go along.
It's okay to lose yourself in your
knitting; just don't do so on your chart!
“Your ears shall hear
a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever
you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”
(Isaiah 30:21)
