Charting Stitches
| Posted by Megan Goodacre on Nov 19, 2010 |
I have learned a lot in the last couple of months. Yes, I still suck at knitting, but I have a much better appreciation for people who don't.
When I started rock climbing I learned a ton of knots. Well, it seemed like a ton, but actually it was probably closer to a dozen. With really, really heavy rope that's maybe a few pounds of knots, but I digress. I figured I was the knot king. Then this summer I got a look at knitting stitches. Stitch is just code for knot as far as I can see, and knitters leave climbers in the dust. Who knew there were so many ways to tie yarn with chopsticks?
Then I got my first look at the shorthand. As a programmer I've seen my fair share of confusing code, but nothing like the stuff Megan was using to tie intricate patterns in yarn.
Cast on 15
Row 1 (wrong side): p9
Row 2: k5, k2 tog,yo, k1, yo, ssk, k5
Row 3: Repeat Row 1
Row 4: k4, k2 tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k4
Row 5: Repeat Row 1
Row 6: k3, k2 tog, yo, k2, p1, k2, yo, ssk, k3
Row 7: Repeat Row 1
Row 8: k2, k2 tog, yo, k1,k2 tog,yo, k1, yo,ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k2
Row 9: Repeat Row 1
Row 10: k1, k2 tog, yo, k1,k2 tog, yo, k1, p1, k1,yo,ssk,k1, yo, ssk, k1
Row 11: Repeat Row 1
Row 12: k2 tog, yo, k1, k2 tog, yo, k2, p1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, yo, ssk
Row 13: Repeat Row 1
Huh? Okay, this doesn't look like a sweater to me. I know all you knitting wizards can just read the code and it makes sense but not me. Then I saw a pretty chart. It had odd symbols on it but at least it looked like something to me.
Is the world crying out for a program that turns shorthand into charts? I honestly have no idea, but Megan wants it and it's been fun to build. The chart above was generated by the stitch maker which is still being tested. Once it's ready to roll I'll launch it on Tricksy Knitter. Fingers crossed.
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Comments
| By Guest on Apr 12, 2012 at 2:15 AM | |
| I can't speak for the whole world, but I want to try this. Charts are my Waterloo thus far. Some of the stitch shorthand you show is completely unknown to me. I hop you have glossary too. | |
| By Guest on Mar 9, 2012 at 9:19 PM | |
| Can't wait to see it in action! I'll keep checking back. Thanks so much! : ) | |
| Testing | By Guest on Sep 9, 2011 at 10:48 PM |
| I also have to make some charts - so if you are looking for another tester I'd love to join. | |
| Charter Release | By Charles Jaimet on Jun 2, 2011 at 10:50 PM |
| Thanks. We are still working out some of the bugs. If you are interested in being a beta tester please send me your email address at dm@tricksyknitter.com. | |
| Looking forward to the charting software | By Guest on Jun 2, 2011 at 10:37 PM |
| Just saw the article in Vogue about your software. I've got some foreign lace patterns I need to translate into charts, and the commercial software out there won't do, since I'm a Mac user. So I'm very much looking forward to your forthcoming release. The timing couldn't be better for me. Many thanks to you for making this available to us. | |
| Beta Testing Starts Soon | By Charles Jaimet on Feb 16, 2011 at 10:30 PM |
| Absolutely. Beta testing starts very soon. The program runs in a browser and is compatible with Mac, PC, and Unix. Megan is a Mac girl so I certainly can't get away with making PC-only software. :) | |
| The world wants it! | By Guest on Feb 16, 2011 at 9:56 PM |
| Definitely - especially if you can make one for Macs. Most knitting software out there is PC-only. Are you still working on this? Hope so! | |
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