Part 4 - A Simple Knit Lace Chart

This is essentially the same procedure as the crochet lace chart except the symbols will be different. You can refer back to this blog entry for instructions on getting the worksheet set up.

Some of the symbols that I use for charting knitting stitches can be seen in this screen shot, and can be found in the "Symbols" menu.

Now I'm ready to copy and paste the symbols from the legend in to my 21 stitch x 20 row "digital swatch". I've chosen "Old Shale", a pretty traditional lace pattern that is probably familiar to most readers. I'm using Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns. The first thing the pattern tells me is that I need a number of stitches cast on that is divisible by 11, so I will need to insert a column so that I have 22 stitches to work with. Here is what the finished chart looks like.

Once you have charted the first four rows, you can copy and paste them as a whole (ie select the entire area of 22 stitches by 4 rows) the rest of the way up the chart.

Be sure to read all the previous entries in this series for more detailed instructions on some of the more basic operations in Excel.

So far we've only graphed "digital swatches", but the next and final lesson will be setting up garment shaped templates for use (and re-use) so that you can chart texture or colour patterns over the entire garment. This is very useful in design so that you can ensure that patterns are centred properly and work well in relation to one another.

As always, comments welcome.