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| Simple stranded motif with 5 colors |
Reading charts for stranded knitting is a bit different than
reading chart for other types of knitting. For one thing, most are set up for
knitting in the round. Secondly, while one square still represents one stitch,
that stitch will most always be a knit stitch….as opposed to purl stitch,
twisted stitch, knit into the back loop, yarn over, or any of myriad of other
types of stitches.
Ok, you will see indications for some of the shaping
stitches…k2tog, SSK, or central double decrease…in some stranded charts...like
hats, mittens or waist shaping of a sweater…but on the whole, most stranded
charts exist to let the knitter know what stitch is worked in what color.
This can be accomplished in a couple of ways. Let’s take a
look at some of them and talk about the upside and downside of each.
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| Simple stranded motif with colored squares |
Upside: No need to have a key to tell you what color
yarn to use. Chart square is purple, then stitch is knit with purple yarn.
Downside: Works fine for simple patterns, but
printing and computer monitors can sometimes be imperfect and colors can be
hard to distinguish, especially if some of the colors are similar. Also, if you
decide to change the colors called for…say from green to blue…it can be kinda
hard to knit blue every time you see a green square. Another thing is that you
will need a color printer to get a hard copy of the pattern.
Use symbols for each
color needed. Take that same motif, in this type of
chart, the purple is represented by a small star, green is presented by a
dot. Then there is a key to tell you what the star and dot represent.
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| Simple stranded motif with symbols |
Upside: Color substitutions are easy…just change the
key. Also, no need for a color printer.
Downside: Sometimes with complicated, multi-colored
motifs there are so many symbols that you can lose sight of the overall
pattern…making it hard to get a big picture of what you are working on. Also
with a large number of symbols, it can be difficult to distinguish similar
symbols from each other. “Is that the large dot or the small dot?” “Is that the
open square or the closed square?” You get the idea.
Use one symbol for
the whole chart…with the indications for colors found to the side of each
chart row. So, in our motif of purple and green, the chart would only have one
symbol. (In the case above, a filled in square.) The two indication columns (to
the right) would have either an abbreviation for purple or green (P or G),
a symbol (number or letter) for purple or green, or the yarn company
shade number.
Upside: Again, color substitutions are easy…and there
is no need for a color printer. With only one symbols used, the overall pattern
is easily seen and understood.
Downside: You will need a key if symbols or letters are used…and
you will have to be vigilant at the beginning of each round to see if there are
any color changes. With only one symbol, every round looks the same and it is
easy to keep knitting with the same colors without realizing it.
These are just three of the various types of stranded
charts. Which one do I prefer? If I am submitting a pattern to a magazine or book, then, of course, I will use whatever chart configuration called for. If I am designing and writing for my own patterns, I use the last one most often. It seems to be the most versatile for me. Will I change in the future if a better solution comes along? Sure. Have I prejudiced the "upsides" and "downsides" towards my preferred chart...either consciously or unconsciously? Maybe. But can you blame a girl for having an opinion. :)
But let’s move on to how to work a stranded pattern using one
of these charts.
If you have worked with charts in knitting before, you know
that one square equals one stitch….and instead of reading left to right, top
to bottom, with knitting charts, you start out reading bottom to top, right to
left….just like you knit. Add to that, with patterns that are knitted flat
(knit one row, turn, purl one row), row 1 (right side) starts at the bottom
right and moves to the left…but row 2 (wrong side) starts at the left and moves
to the right…and so forth. In other words, all odd rows are read from right to
left and all even rows are read from left to right. Add to that, the symbol for
“knit” means “knit” on the odd rows, but the same symbol means “purl” on the
even rows. On the wrong side, it can be as easy as “knit the knits and purl the purls” or it can
be a bit confusing at first.
You will remember we discussed that most stranded work is
knitted in the round….with the right side facing you…which means, when it comes
to reading the charts, you will always read from the right to the left…always.
It also means that all of the stitches are knit stitches. All you have to worry
about is using the right colors at the right time.
A chart full of colors or symbols can be pretty intimidating.
Fortunately, there are both digital and low tech solutions that help make
things a bit more accessible and easier to work with. No matter what method you
decide to use, essentially what you are trying to do is highlight the round you
are working on so you can focus on that round only.
Some instructions say to put a straight edge (or digital
line) under the round you are working on…putting the to be worked squares
above the edge. This covers the completed rounds and reveals the rounds you
have yet to work.
Some say to put the straight edge (or digital line) above
the operative round…which puts the to be worked squares just under the bottom edge
of the line….and reveals the completed rounds.
Some say to use clear highlighting tape to cover your
working round…leaving both the rounds worked and the rounds unworked visible.
Digital solutions require loading a digital version (usually
a pdf) of a pattern or chart into app. I’m sure there are more…but the few I
can think of are JKnit and KnitCompanion which can help organize your pattern
instructions as well as charts…and GoodReader which is an easy (and free) pdf reader
app that allows annotation.
A low tech solution is to make a copy of your chart so you
can make notes and still have a clean original. (You can also make it larger if
you need to.) The copied charts are then put on a metal tablet with long
magnets which act as the straightedge mentioned above. Highlighter tape, also mentioned
above, used on the paper copy is a very portable solution and a perfect travel
companion.
What do I use? For years I used the metal tablet and magnet
solution and it worked well. Now, I load a pdf version of my chart into Dropbox
and open it in GoodReader. Since the charts I use are usually in the design
process, being able to make notes on the chart helps.
So that's it. How do you organize your charts? What type of chart do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below....or in the thread in the Stranded group on Ravelry.
Next week: Adding in new colors and Finishing old colors...which means video, people!
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