The Knitting Fiend

This is the second in the series “How to read knitting charts”. In How To Read Charts, Part 1, I described the rules for reading knitting charts, and illustrated the rules as applied to a color pattern. Today and Friday I’ll illustrate them using two knit-purl stitch patterns. If you have any difficulty understanding the rules here, read the article on color patterns. The rules seem more obvious when applied to color patterns, so that may help you!

To show how to use charts to interpret knit purl combinations, I picked 1 x 1 ribbing and seed stitch; both are beginner patterns. The text directions for these two stitch patterns are hauntingly similar. They are so similar that beginners often accidentally knit seed stitch when they are trying to learn 1 x 1 ribbing; in contrast the charts are very different. Also, by discussing both stitches, I’ll also get to discuss three phrases that sow the seeds confusion in the minds of beginning knitters: “knit all stitches as they present themselves”, “knit all knit stitches and purl all purl stitches”, and “purl all knit stitches and knit all purl stitches”.

So, on to today’s article: How to read charts: ribbing!

1 x 1 Ribbing
I took a photograph of 1 x 1 ribbing, and inserted it at the top and to the left in this article. This basic stitch often appears on hems and cuffs, and is usually the third stitch pattern knitters are taught. It is very elastic, looks the same on both sides and doesn’t curl.

The text directions differ depending on whether the number of stitches cast on are even or odd. Here are two possible ways to describe how to work the stitch pattern:

Description 1:
Cast on over an odd number of stitches.

• Row 1: * k1, p1; repeat from *, end k1.
• Row 2: * p1, k1; repeat from *, end p1.
• Repeat rows 1 and 2.

Description 2:
Cast on over an even number of stitches.

• Row 1: * k1, p1; repeat from *.
• Repeat row 1.

Now, let’s see how one might chart out a ribbing pattern; I created the 9 stitch wide chart for 1 x 1 ribbing shown below. (If you are on the main page, click more to see the rest of the article.)

Let’s review the rules and read the chart:

Rules to use when the work is right side facing:

1. Work the chart from right to left.
2. Knit stitches shown as “knit” in the legend.
3. Purl stitches shown as “purl” in the legend.

Rules to use when the work is wrong facing:

1. Work the chart from left to right.
2. Knit stitches shown as “purl” in the legend.
3. Purl stitches shown as “knit” in the legend.

Because both sides of ribbing look similar, you must decide whether even or odd rows are the “right side”. For this article, I will arbitrarily call all odd rows the right side. If you are a beginner, I advise placing a safety pin on this side to remember it’s the right side.

Ok, let’s knit: Row 1, right side is facing. So, read the bottom row from the right to the left: stitch 1 is knit, stitch 2 is purl, and so on end with a k1.

This is just like the text instruction I gave for row 1, when I cast on an odd number of stitches.

Now, if you are working back and forth, you turn the work to start row 2. The wrong side is now facing you; work row 2 of the chart from left to right. That is, work column 9 first. On the chart the stitch in column 9 looks like a knit, so you purl it! Applying all three rules you get: “row 2: *p1, k1* repeat, end p1″. Just like the text instructions!

Over time, you will notice the knit ridges line up vertically on the right side of the fabric (that’s the one we marked with a safety pin, remember?” That’s just the way they link up in the chart! When seen from the right side, the knit ridges and purl bumps line up on 1 x 1 ribbing.

What if you needed 10 stitches of ribbing? Just add a column of purl stitches to the left of stitch 9. In order for this to be ribbing, you need to make sure the knit stitches and purl stitches line up in columns. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be ribbing.

Because this is ribbing, you’ll notice the knit ridges and purl bumps also line up on the “wrong side”. However, if you look very carefully at this particular 9 stitch wide swatch, you’ll notice that, when viewed from the right side, the edges stitches look like knit stitches. When viewed from the wrong side, the edge stitches look like purl stitches. This reversal happens because this is what knitters mean when they say a stitch that looks like a “knit” when viewed from the right side, looks like a “purl” when viewed from the back side, and vice versa.

Now, on to two of the three dreaded phrases I mentioned above: “Knit stitches as they present themselves” and “knit all knit stitches, purl all purl stitches”. When explaining how to knit 1 x 1 ribbing, a designer might provide directions like these:

Cast on over an odd number of stitches.

• Row 1: * k1, p1; repeat from *, end k1.
• Row 2: Work stitches as they present themselves.
• Repeat row 2.

What does this mean? Well, first, “work stitches as the present themselves” means make the row you are knitting look exactly like the previous row when both rows are viewed from the side you are currently working. That is, if a stitch looks like a knit stitch right now, knit into it. If it looks like a purl, purl into it. Do not try to think more deeply! If you interpret the phrase correctly, you’ll conclude that in this instance, this version of row 2 means exactly the same thing as row 2 in the first example instruction I provided for ribbing — the ones for an odd number of stitches.

In fact, the second and later rows of stockinette and any ribbing pattern can always be described using the phrase “knit stitches as they present themselves.” In contrast, garter stitch does not involve “knitting stitches as they present themselves”.

Finally, you will eventually run into a complicated knit-purl pattern stitch and run across an instruction like this: “Row X: Knit all knit stitches, purl all purl stitches”, that’s exactly the same as “knit stitches as they present themselves”. That’s what it means. Don’t let your mind start whirling and thinking about having turned the row, yada, yada.

I think this is enough about how to knit ribbing from a chart. Next in the series, I’ll discuss seed stitch, which like garter stitch has a row 2 that can be described by “Knit all purl stitches, purl all knit stitches.” Then, I’ll take a pause from how to read charts, because I think only the early beginner questions need to be discussed in depth. The beginning stuff involves learning the conventions, and I think learning conventions and applying them to simple problems is actually more difficult than applying conventions you understand to more advanced patterns. This may sound strange, but I think it’s true.