I don’t understand charts. Where do I start?
Charts are simply another way of providing knitting instructions and if they are well drawn they should to some extent be a diagram of how your knitting should look.
The most straightforward charts to understand are those for colourwork. Each square on the chart represents a stitch and is in the colour of the yarn you’d use. You could think of putting your knitting needle below the chart and matching the stitches on your needle to the stitches on the chart.
Right side rows are worked from right to left, this is why the right hand column is labelled 1. If you think about matching your knitting to the chart, if you are working a right side row the tip of your needle would be at the right hand side of the chart. A wrong side row would be worked from left to right because you are working back along your stitches.
Once you have tried some colourwork charts have a look at ones for lace or cables. They are still read in the same direction and each square is a stitch. Instead of colours you now have symbols which are really little pictures of the stitches you are making. There should always be a key to tell you what each symbol means.
Some charts also have boxed section with a coloured outline. The box shows the stitch repeat in the same way as a section between asterisks or brackets might appear in a written pattern. You work across the stitches in the box, then start at the edge of the box again until you have worked all your repeats.
Try making a few small swatches from charts to get the hang of how they work.
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