knitnuggets

Things we’ve seen so far: knit, purl, slipped stitches, single increases and single decreases. It’s time to talk lace!

Charts… either you love them or you hate them. I love them, so it’s good news to me that KnitML can trivially convert text to charts. Even if you hate them it’s still good news because we can each look at the *same* pattern in *different* ways – if I write a pattern, you’re not stuck reading my charts.

First write up something a bit lacy:

// A simple feather-and-fan scarf with no border
co 18+18 // Feather and Fan is worked over a multiple of 18, let's do two repeats
row: k to end
row: k to end
Instruction 'feather-and-fan' flat {
  row rightSide: k to end
  row: p to end
  row {
     repeat to end {
       k2tog, k2tog, k2tog,
       yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1,
       k2tog, k2tog, k2tog
    }
  }
  row: k to end
}
repeat 'feather-and-fan' until desiredLength
row: k to end
row: k to end
row: bo all sts

This should all be fairly recognizable to you by now; everything here has been covered in a previous chapter (except for the addition in the cast-on, where KnitML will add 18+18 to get 36. We could have said “co 36.”)

But how do we view this as a chart?

Pull down the Render menu in your KnitML Pattern Editor. Click on Preferences. You will see a preference called Rendering. Click on the little triangle next to it to expand the list of rendering-related preferences. One of the preferences you will see in this list is “Charts” – click on Charts.

Here you see a checkbox (unchecked) for “Enable chart creation for instructions.” Check the box. You also have a choice of several options for “Chart Symbol Set” which you can play with in a minute. For now click on Apply and OK to close the preferences window.

Back in the regular KnitML Pattern Editor window, click on the Pattern View tab and you will see your pattern rendered with charts.

Go back to Preferences and try each of the chart symbol sets. You will have to click on your “filename.kel” tab and then on your Pattern View tab to re-draw the pattern each time after changing your chart preferences.

EXERCISES
1. Add a border to the scarf, such as 4 stitches of garter stitch along each edge. Remember to increase the number of cast-on stitches. Render your pattern with a chart (any symbol set you like) and make sure the border looks the way you expected it to. Go back to your “filename.kel” tab and change the border to stockinette. Look at the chart again.

ANSWERS

1.
// Scarf with border
Directions {
  co 36+4+4 // a multiple of 18, plus 4 sts garter border
  row: k to end
  row: k to end
  Instruction 'feather-and-fan' flat {
    row rightSide: k to end
    row: k 4, p to 4 before end, k 4 // Updated for garter border
      row {
       k4,
       repeat to 4 before end {
       k2tog, k2tog, k2tog,
       yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1,
       k2tog, k2tog, k2tog
      },
      k4
    }
    row: k to end // Change this row when you do stockinette border
  }
  repeat 'feather-and-fan' until desiredLength
  row: k to end
  row: k to end
  row: bo all sts
}

TERMS

Each chapter will contain a (rather hasty at present) list of the terms in Appendix B. Knitting Expression Language Reference that have been introduced in that chapter.

hm, I think we didn’t introduce any terms in this chapter.