Picture This: Studying the Garment Photo
When you sit down with a new sweater pattern — or better yet, when you’re choosing one — begin by paying close attention to the picture of the sweater you want to knit. This step may seem obvious, but studying the photograph or drawing and noting the details will clarify parts of the instructions that may otherwise be confusing. Study the picture of your sweater and answer these questions:- Is it a pullover or a cardigan?
- How is it constructed? Can you tell from the picture whether the sweater is designed with a drop shoulder or a set-in sleeve, two common sleeve styles?
- Does the shoulder slope, or is it worked straight across? (If you can’t tell from the photo, check the schematic. The shoulder design will be clear in the line drawing that often comes with the instructions.)
- Is the body of the sweater shaped in any way, or is it a simple rectangle?
- Is the sweater worked primarily in stockinette stitch? If other pattern stitches are used, can you identify them? Are they knit-and-purl patterns, cables, or something else?
- Is there a color pattern? If so, is it an allover pattern, or is it placed along the hem or across the yoke?
- Is there ribbing at the bottom edges, or does the sweater begin some other way?
- Does it have a round neckline or a V-neck? Is it finished with a ribbed neckband? A collar? A crocheted edge?
- If the sweater is pictured on a model, how’s the fit? Does the collar lie properly around the neck? Does the sleeve cap pull? If the sweater doesn’t fit the model well, chances are that it won’t look good on you. (Then again, it just might.)
Assess the Pattern at a Glance
Looking at a picture of the knitted garment can tell you only so much about how the sweater is constructed. For the nitty-gritty details, you need to read the pattern — preferably before you begin.Knowing as much as you can about your sweater upfront helps you anticipate the steps in the instructions and forestall many a mistake. If you find that something in the instructions is confusing in the first read-through, don’t be alarmed; it may make sense by the time you get to that point in the instructions with needles and yarn in hand.
The following sections walk you through the various bits of info a typical sweater pattern contains.It’s a good idea to photocopy the pattern so you have a working copy that you can highlight, take notes on, or make changes to without messing up the original pattern.
How hard is “easy”? Level of difficulty
Many patterns tell you right away the level of difficulty the pattern writer has assigned to it. Here are the categories:- A beginner sweater uses basic stitches (knits and purls) and involves minimal shaping and simple finishing.
- An intermediate project uses more-challenging stitch patterns and/or shaping and finishing.
- An experienced or expert pattern may require all your powers of concentration. It frequently features tricky pattern or color work, and it may involve complicated shaping or construction details. Work on it only when you can give it all your attention.
Having more than one project going at a time is always a good idea. Make one of those projects something portable and rather brainless to give you a feeling of accomplishment and to keep your hands going while you watch TV or wait for a website to load. And have another more challenging project to work on when you have the time and quiet to concentrate on it.
How big is “big”? Knitted measurements
Most patterns begin by listing the sizes given in the instructions. Older patterns may list them in numbered chest sizes — for example, 38 (40, 42, 44, 46). Most current patterns give sizes in the designations small (medium, large) or in some combination of the two systems. Be sure you know your measurements before choosing the size to knit!The size section is the first place you see parentheses in a knitting pattern, and it pays to notice where the size you want to make is located in the pattern: before or inside the parentheses. Every time a number or measurement is given in the pattern, the one for your size will be in the same place in relation to the parentheses. For example, if the pattern is written for small, medium, and large sizes — presented “small (medium, large)” — and you’re making a small, the numbers for your size will always be written first outside the parentheses. If you’re making a large, your numbers will always be last in the parentheses.
Before you start knitting, take the time to circle all the instructions in your size throughout the entire pattern (this is when your photocopy comes in handy). If you use a pencil, you can then erase the circles when finished so you can knit the pattern again later in a different size without confusion.
Sweater patterns generally tell you what the finished garment should measure when laid out on a flat surface. Sometimes only the chest/bust width is given. Other times, you find measurements for overall length, sleeve length, and/or upper arm circumference. Use this info to help you determine which size to knit.Materials
The pattern tells you what materials and equipment you need to make your sweater. In the “Materials” section of the pattern, you can find the following:- The brand and specific name of the yarn used: It gives the fiber content of the yarn, the weight and often the number of yards per skein, the color number and name of the yarn, and the number of skeins or balls required for the sweater. If the sweater hasn’t been designed for a specific yarn company and isn’t a vehicle for selling a particular brand, the pattern may simply call for yarn in a specific weight — for example, worsted-weight.
- The size and type of needles you need: Often, needles in two sizes are listed — the smaller for cuffs and bottom borders and the larger for the body of the sweater. If the pattern uses double-pointed needles or a circular needle (say for a neckband or collar), or if the entire sweater is worked in the round, the pattern tells you which size needle(s) to use and in what length.
Following the particular needles specified, you always see the phrase “or size to obtain gauge.” This phrase often appears in full capitalization or in italics. Why? Because gauge matters.
- Any special equipment or gadgets required: Constructing some sweaters requires special tools — for example, a cable needle, stitch markers, stitch holders, and so on. These tools are listed after the needles.
- Buttons or other finishing materials: If the sweater is a cardigan, the number and size of the buttons called for are listed. If pompoms, embroidery, or other embellishments are in order, the materials needed to make them are listed here.
Check the materials list and make sure that you have what you need when you’re purchasing yarn and needles for a project. You don’t want to find yourself unable to continue working on your project after the stores have closed because you don’t have a particular tool in your supply box.
Gauge
In the “Gauge” section of the pattern, you find a formula that reads something like this:14 sts and 21 rows to 4" (10 cm) over St st, using larger needles.This notation is the gauge formula. It tells you how many stitches and rows are in a 4-inch square of the sweater fabric (in this case, stockinette stitch). If you want to make a sweater that corresponds to the measurements given, you must duplicate this gauge. You can’t underestimate the importance of gauge!
Gauge isn’t a standard, and you should make a gauge swatch for everything you plan to knit — especially if you want the finished project to fit when you’re done.
Special pattern stitches
If your sweater has any special pattern stitches or instructions, they may be listed and explained separately and not given again in the body of the instructions. For example, you may see the following:Seed StitchThen, in the instructions proper, when you read “work seed stitch for 8 rows,” come back to this section to find out how to work seed stitch.Row 1 (RS): * K1, p1; rep from * to end of row.
Row 2: K the purl sts and p the knit sts.
Rep Row 2 for pattern.
You also may find that a special abbreviation is explained. For example, you may see the following:
C3R (cross 3 right): Sl 1 st to cn and hold to back, k2, p1 from cn.When you come across C3R in your instructions, you don’t have to scratch your head and wonder, “What the heck?” You can look in the opening information for an explanation. (And if the instruction used in this example is making you wonder, “What the heck?” refer to the abbreviations in Book 1, Chapter 4.)
Schematics and charts
The schematic is a small outline drawing of each sweater piece in the pattern. The pattern usually includes one schematic showing the body front and back with the neckline sketched in and another schematic of one sleeve. Cardigans usually show a single front, a back, and a sleeve.Listed along the edges of the drawing are the dimensions of the piece in each size — for example, the width and length of the sweater, the distance from the bottom of the sweater to the armhole, the depth of the armhole, and the depth and width of the neck. This figure shows a schematic for a toggle jacket.
A sample schematic showing shape and measurements.Schematics are a big help because they show you the structure of the sweater at a glance: whether the armhole is straight or shaped and whether the sleeve cap is tall and narrow or short and wide. As you become more familiar with the way actual measurements fit you, you’ll be able to tell quickly from the schematic whether you want to knit the pattern as-is or make changes.
Depending on the design of the sweater and the way the pattern’s written, a sweater pattern may include a chart to show a stitch, cable, or color pattern. Or it may include a chart to show an unusual feature of the garment, such as a shawl collar. This figure shows a chart for a repeating color motif and indicates how you should use it.
Sample chart for a repeating color motif.On right-side rows, work the chart from right to left. On wrong-side rows, work the chart from left to right.
If you collect vintage knitting patterns, you’ll seldom see a chart or schematic. Instead, all the moves are painstakingly written out. Some people who learned to knit under the row-by-written-row system regret its demise. Others welcome the picture over the written instructions. The good news is that if you understand better when things are described with words, you can write charts in word form — and vice versa. If you have a pattern with interminable and obscure directions, read them carefully with graph paper and pencil in hand and make yourself a chart to better understand the text.
Knitting instructions
After all the introductory information, the instructions for knitting your sweater begin. In general, most patterns for cardigans and pullovers begin with the back piece. Here the pattern tells you how many stitches to cast on and what to do with them.The instructions are usually sequenced like this:
- Instructions for the back
- Instructions for the front (or fronts if you’re knitting a cardigan); generally, the instructions for the front mirror those of the back until it’s time to shape the front neckline
- Instructions for the sleeves
The instructions describe each step as you work from the bottom border to the shoulder. They tell you what pattern stitches or colors to work, and they tell you how to shape (increase or decrease) your piece. If, for example, your sweater has a set-in sleeve and shaped armhole, the pattern will alert you that it’s time to begin the shaping by interrupting the text with a boldface heading such as “Shape armhole” or “Armhole shaping.”