How to Read Knitting Charts

---

The instructions for knitted stitch patterns can be presented in either written or charted form. When instructions are written out, the stitch pattern of the fabric on the needles is gradually revealed as the knitting progresses—stitch by stitch and row by row. When the instructions are charted, symbols that represent the stitches are arranged in a grid in such a way that they correspond to the placement of the stitches of the pattern.

Because the entire stitch pattern (or at least a single repeated motif) is presented in its entirety, charted instructions provide immediate context for the pattern, no matter which row you are working at any given time. This context makes it easier to keep your place while knitting and makes it easier to identify mistakes—whether in your knitting or on the chart itself. This is one reason why many knitters prefer charts over written instructions.

If you’re new to charts, it may take a little practice to learn how to read them. In this article, we’ll explore the basics of reading charts. We’ll look at the differences between reading a chart that is worked in rounds and a chart that is worked back and forth in rows (or “flat”). We’ll also talk about the importance of learning how to “read” your knitting—an essential skill that will make using charts even easier.

A knitting chart is a visual representation of the stitch pattern, which can be seen by comparing the swatch and the chart below, where the sailboat image is clearly identifiable in both.

The chart depicts the right side—or “public” side—of the knitted fabric. And because the right side of the work is represented, a chart will look the same regardless of whether it is worked in rounds or worked flat (although there may be stitches outside the pattern repeat when working back and forth).

Anatomy of a Chart

The Chart Symbols

The symbols in a chart represent the action that is required to create a particular type of stitch. Even though there is no universal standard for chart symbols, they should at least bear some resemblance to the actual stitch as it is viewed on the right side of the work. The illustrations below show the difference in appearance between a knit stitch and a purl stitch and the symbols that are often used to represent them.

A knit stitch is smooth and is usually represented by a blank square or a vertical line. The symbol for a purl stitch will usually mimic the “bump” that is created when the top of the stitch in the row below the new stitch on the needle comes to the front of the work.

When you encounter a new chart symbol, take some time to understand why this symbol was chosen to represent this action/result. After you work the technique, look at the result below your right needle and compare that result to the symbol. This will help you remember what the symbol means as you work from the chart, rather than having to constantly refer to the key.

The Chart Grid

A symbol may be confined to one square in the grid or span several squares. For example, a symbol for a knit stitch or purl stitch will fill one square because only one stitch is worked. A symbol for a cable cross (see below) will span two or more squares, depending on the total number of stitches in the cable.

However, the number of squares allotted for the symbol isn’t necessarily an indication of the number of stitches that are worked from the left needle. Rather, it’s an indication of the number of stitches that are added to the right needle once the stitch is complete.

For example, a k2tog symbol will appear in a single square even though two stitches are worked from the left needle, because only one stitch will remain on the right needle after the decrease is worked.

And when a yarnover increase is worked, no stitch will be worked from the left needle, but one stitch will be added to the right needle when the yarn is draped over the needle, so the yarnover symbol (usually a circle) will be shown in a single square.

The Chart Rows

Each horizontal row of a knitting chart corresponds to a row of knitting. The chart is read from bottom to top, just as the knitting progresses from the cast-on to the bind-off. When you work back and forth in rows, the first stitch of every row is worked into the last stitch of the preceding row. Thus, right-side rows of the chart are read from right to left and wrong-side rows are read from left to right (and working the symbols as indicated for wrong-side rows).

Usually, right-side rows will be marked by odd numbers on the right-hand side of the chart, and wrong-side rows will be marked by even numbers on the left-hand side of the chart. When you knit in rounds with the right side of the work always facing, you will read all the chart rows from right to left. When a chart is worked in rounds, the row numbers will usually all be on the right-hand side of the chart. (If you are a left-handed knitter who works stitches from left to right off the right needle, you will read right-side rows of the chart from left to right.)

The Chart Key

Charts should always be accompanied by a key that describes how to work the stitch (or stitches) that each symbol stands for. As we stated earlier, most chart symbols will bear some resemblance to the stitch they are representing, as the stitch will appear on the right side of the work. Thus, after working a few charts, you should be able to read them without referring to the key. Even so, it’s always a good idea to check the key before working a chart for the first time in case the chart has symbols that are unfamiliar to you, or if the designer has not used a standard charting convention.

The symbols for a chart that is worked in rounds will only describe what to do on right-side rows because every row of the chart is worked with the right side facing. The symbols for a chart that is worked flat will describe what to do on both right-side and wrong-side rows. A single symbol in the key may have two definitions if it falls on both right-side and wrong-side rows.

It’s not unusual for a chart to be worked both in rounds and back and forth in rows within the same project. In this case, some rows that were worked as right-side rows in the circular section of the project will have to be worked as wrong-side rows in the section of the project that is worked flat.

The Chart Repeats

In written instructions, the repeated portion on any given row will usually be marked by asterisks, semicolons, or brackets. The rows are independent of one another, meaning that a repeated section on one row may have more or fewer stitches than a repeated section on another row.

With charts, an entire motif that is repeated horizontally will be marked by colored lines, highlighted squares, or brackets below the chart (or some combination of these). Unlike repeats in written instructions, the size and placement of a chart repeat is usually determined by the largest repeat on any given row.

Any stitches outside the marked area of the chart repeat will be worked only once.

If a chart is worked across an entire row, the number of stitches on the needle must be a multiple of the number of stitches in the repeat, plus any stitches outside the repeat.

To work a chart that has stitches before and after the repeat, work the stitches before the repeat once, then repeat the stitches inside the marked area until the number of stitches on your left needle equals the number of stitches on the chart after the repeat (making sure to count the stitches that will be used, not just the number of boxes), then work the last stitches of the chart.

Now that we know some of the basic rules about reading charts, let’s see how these rules can be applied to actual charts. (Note: The following examples assume that the chart is worked as an allover pattern.)

Mechanics of Reading a Chart

Reading a Chart Worked in Rounds

Chart 2 above has a 6-stitch repeat, with no stitches outside the repeat, so it needs to be worked over a multiple of 6 stitches (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, etc.). Row 1 will be worked like this: *K2, p2, k2; repeat from * to end. Because we’re working in rounds, Rows 2, 3, and 4 of the chart will be worked exactly like Row 1. Rows 5, 6, 7, and 8 will be worked like this: *K1, p4, k1; repeat from * to end. Rows 9 and 10 of the chart contain only purl stitches. After Row 10 is complete, go back to Row 1 and work the next 10 rows of the chart as before.

Reading a Chart Worked Flat

When working a chart flat, additional stitches are often added outside the repeat to give the pattern a certain appearance at the beginning and end of the row, and/or to make the pattern symmetrical. As mentioned earlier, the stitches outside the repeat are worked only once.

Chart 3 above will be worked over a multiple of 6 stitches, plus 4 additional stitches (6 + 4, 12 + 4, 18 + 4, 24 + 4, 30 + 4, etc.). With this chart, the 4 extra stitches are divided equally on each side of the repeat (but this won’t always be the case). Row 1 is a right-side row and will be worked as follows: K2, *k2, p2, k2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2. (In written instructions, this row would probably be simplified to read like this: K4, *p2, k4; repeat from * to end.) Because we’re working back and forth, Row 2 is a wrong-side row and will be worked as follows (using the same pattern repeat as shown on the chart): P2, *p2, k2, p2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, p2.

And just as we simplified Row 1 when writing the instructions out, we can do the same with Row 2: P4, *k2, p4; repeat from * to end. Notice that this wrong-side row has purl stitches where Row 1 has knit stitches, and vice versa, even though both rows look the same on the chart.

Tips for Keeping Your Place when Knitting from a Chart

Learn to Read Your Knitting

It seems strange to say, but one of the best ways to learn how to knit from a chart is to learn how to knit without the chart, or at least without having to refer to it on every row. And this requires an understanding of the relationship between the stitches shown on the chart and the stitches you see in the knitted fabric. This is known as being able to “read” your knitting. For example, we saw earlier the difference in appearance between a knit stitch and a purl stitch. But let’s explore this difference in more detail.

A knit stitch is created by drawing a loop from back to front through a loop on the left needle. A purl stitch is created by drawing a loop from front to back through a loop on the left needle. Because the action occurs in the loop below the needle, that’s where we have to look to see the type of stitch that was created. In the photo below, we can see that the first two stitches under the left needle are knit stitches because each stitch resembles a V.

And if we look at the first two stitches under the left needle in the next photo, we can see the telltale bump that indicates that these are purl stitches.

Now let’s look at how this understanding of stitch appearance can help when we’re working from a chart.

Remember that when working Chart 2 circularly, Rows 2–4 of the chart are worked exactly the same as Row 1. This means that once Row 1 has been worked, all you have to do is maintain the knit-and-purl pattern as it was established on the first row by working the stitches as they appear. Thus, if you see a stitch under the left needle that looks like a knit stitch, you will knit it; and if you see a purl bump under the needle, you will purl the stitch.

This same principle of working stitches as they appear applies when working back and forth in rows. It doesn’t matter how the stitches were worked on the right-side row; it only matters that the stitches match on every row.

When we get to Row 5 of Chart 2, we will no longer be working the stitches exactly as they appear under the left needle. However, we know from the chart that the only difference is that one knit stitch on each side of the two-stitch purl column is now a purl stitch. If we look at the four purl stitches on the right needle in the photo below, we can see that the first and last purl stitches have been worked above a knit stitch. These are stitches 2 and 5 of the chart.

And in the next photo, we can see that the four-stitch knit columns are now two-stitch knit columns.

As before, once the new pattern on Row 5 has been established, Rows 6–8 can be worked by looking at the stitches and working them as they appear. Rows 9 and 10 will be worked by either purling two rounds if working circularly, or purling Row 9 on a right-side row and knitting Row 10 on a wrong-side row.

Use Stitch Markers

Another method to make sure you are tracking the pattern correctly is to use stitch markers to signify each repeat. If we get to the end of a repeat and run out of stitches or have stitches left over, we know there has been an error somewhere between the markers, and we can fix it by unknitting to the point where we made the mistake. Using stitch markers to separate pattern repeats is especially helpful when establishing the first row of the pattern or when the repeat includes a large number of stitches.

---

Charts may take a bit of time to get used to, but they are incredibly useful for communicating a lot of information quicker than written instructions. Use the charts in this article to practice, both for flat knitting and knitting in rounds.

---

ROXANNE RICHARDSON is a certified master handknitter who lives, designs, and teaches in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Find her weekly videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/roxmpls.

---

This article originally appeared in Quick + Easy Knits Vol. 2.

---

Learn More about Charts