How to Read a Knitting Stitch Chart
A knitting chart is a small grid where each cell is one stitch. Charts are read from the bottom up, the same way the fabric grows on your needles. Right-side rows are read right-to-left (the direction your right needle moves across your left needle); wrong-side rows are read left-to-right.
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The grid
Every cell in a knitting chart is one stitch in one row. Width = stitch count. Height = row count. Numbers down the right side mark RS rows; numbers down the left mark WS rows. The bottom-right cell is row 1, stitch 1.
Symbols
Standard Western charts use Craft Yarn Council symbols: a blank or dot for knit on RS, a horizontal dash for purl on RS, an O for yarn-over, / for k2tog, \\ for ssk, and so on. Charts in this site list every symbol used directly under the chart so you never have to memorise the convention.
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Row numbering
RS rows are odd numbers on the right; WS rows are even numbers on the left. Some patterns chart only the RS rows and tell you to purl all WS rows in the written instructions. Many circular patterns chart only the right-side rows because every round in the round is the right side.
Repeats
A vertical box on the chart marks the repeat. Stitches outside the box are worked once at the beginning and end of the row; stitches inside the box are repeated as many times as the pattern says. Mark each repeat with a stitch marker on your needle to keep your place.
No-stitch cells
Some charts include grey "no stitch" cells to keep the grid square when stitch counts change row to row. Skip these cells entirely — they are not worked.
Tips
- Photocopy or print the chart and cross off rows as you go.
- Use a ruler or sticky note to mask the rows you've already worked.
- Highlight the repeat box in colour so it pops on a busy chart.
- If you mis-count, count the chart row, count the rows on your needles below the row in progress, and find the discrepancy before tinking back.
In depth
Charts and written rows are not equivalent. A 24-row lace pattern in written form is a wall of letters; the same pattern as a chart fits on half a page and shows visually where every yarn-over and decrease lies in relation to the row below it. For lace especially, the chart is the better source — the fabric and the chart literally look like each other.