Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible. Hitomi Shida

it’s done. Each symbol describes what the stitch will look like on the right side, not necessarily what you execute. For example, to create a knit stitch on the right side, you purl on the reverse side.

If you’re knitting back and forth:

      • On the right side, read the chart from right to left, in the same sequence that you work the stitches.

      • On the reverse (or “wrong”) side, read the chart from left to right, and reverse the stitches, so that your stitches will show up correctly on the right side.

      • Aside from knits and purls, not many stitches have to be worked on the wrong side. The guide to symbols describes how to work symbols on reverse side rows. If only one definition is given, that particular symbol is only done on right side rows.

If you’re knitting in the round:

      Read every row from right to left. There’s no need to reverse stitches.

      In most charts, you’ll see a lot of blank boxes. If so, the chart provides a key to tell you how to read the blank. You’ll usually find this key at the bottom. For instance:

       tells you that a blank box is worked as a knit stitch.

       tells you that a blank box is worked as a purl.

      This convention keeps the chart cleaner and easier to read—your eye can focus on what you have to do, without a lot of visual “noise” from the background stitches. Compare stitch patterns 1 and 2, for instance. Pattern 1 has a reverse stockinette stitch background, while pattern 2 is stockinette-based.

Symbol definitions

      In most cases, the guide to symbols explains one way to accomplish a stitch.

      Experienced knitters may find that they know another way to achieve the same result.

      One-over-one crossing stitches, for instance, can be done in several ways: with a cable needle, by switching the positions of the stitches, or by knitting the second stitch first. As long as you achieve the correct result (the top stitch slants in the correct direction), any method is fine.

      For consistency, I’ve used the symbol definitions from Nihon Vogue, the original publisher, as found in Knitting Symbol Book (ISBN 978-4-529-05559-8).

      The Guide to the Symbols is organized by type of stitch (such as cables) and number of stitches involved. Each symbol is cross-referenced to the stitch patterns in which it is used. The explanations that include photos or line drawings appeared in the original Japanese version of this book; the other explanations have been added.

About these charts in particular

      • Notice that row numbers are shown on the right hand side, and stitch numbers at the bottom. The rightmost column and the bottommost row are not stitches, but holders for the numbers.

      • Each chart provides the pattern repeat at the bottom. For instance, the repeat for pattern #1 is 30 stitches and 20 rows.

      • The repeat doesn’t always begin in the lower right-hand corner. Row 1 of the pattern repeat isn’t necessarily the first row, and stitch 1 may not be the first stitch. In pattern #1, for instance, there are two setup rows before the stitch pattern begins.

      • To use a stitch pattern in an overall fabric, repeat the numbered rows and stitches. The rows and stitches are numbered only as far as the pattern repeat, so it’s not hard to spot. Some charts show more than a single repeat, to make the charts similar in size and to fit on the page.

      • An important clarification! Some stitch patterns, such as #40, don’t show balanced increases and decreases after the first repeat. This is not an error, but a feature of this chart format. Pay particular attention to the stitch and row repeat. In #40, the repeat is 12 stitches and 40 rows. At the right edge, you see a half-pattern (with a single decrease), but the chart continues as established, to maintain the uniformity of charts on a given page. You wouldn’t repeat the chart exactly as shown, because it includes an extra partial repeat. To make a design symmetrical, you’d do X repeats, then mirror-image the first half-pattern.

      • In the charts for round yokes (patterns 174 to 187), you’ll see some stitch symbols in bold type. Bold symbols show “uncompensated” increases or decreases—meaning that a decrease, for instance, doesn’t have an increase next to it, and the stitch count changes. Bold symbols may also be elongated. In the chart for pattern 182, for instance, the symbols for k2tog and ssk have long “legs” to extend over the gaps created by decreases.

“Knot” stitches

      Shida uses many “knot” stitches, as she terms them. A “knot” stitch creates something that looks like a wrap around a couple of stitches. The book includes two types:

      • Lifted-over knot stitches like this one:

       in which you lift stitch 3 over stitches 1 and 2 and off the needle, then k, yo, k the next 2 stitches. You can tell it’s a lifted-over knot because there’s a yo to make up for the lifted-over stitch.

      • Wrapped knot stitches like this one:

       in which you knit the stitches (4 in this case), place them on a DPN or cable needle, and wrap the working yarn counterclockwise around them, as many times as the small number indicates (2 in this case). You can tell it’s a wrapped knot because there’s a number to tell you how many wraps to make. Look carefully, because a few also have yarnovers, but they’re wrapped rather than lifted-over.

Other notations

      Some symbols are explained in footnotes, line drawings or photo tutorials. Footnoted explanations appear below the charts. Line drawings and photo tutorials are referenced with a page number, which is also shown in the Guide to the Symbols. These may also include “abbreviated” symbols—simplified in the main chart, illustrated in more detail below (see pattern 119, for instance).

      A heavy black dot usually indicates a bobble of some kind, so look for a footnote to tell you which type of bobble. Shida’s bobbles are mostly done with a crochet hook. Crocheted bobbles tend to be smoother and rounder than knitted bobbles, so you may want to give them a try.

      A GUIDE to the SYMBOLS

       Abbreviations used in this section

      RN = Right needle

      LN = Left needle

      St = Stitch

      K = Knit

      P = Purl

      YO = Yarn over

      St = Stitch

      Ktbl = Knit through the back loop

      Ptbl = Purl through the back loop

      SI = slip

      Wyib = with yarn in back of work

      Wyif = with yarn in front of work

      K2tog = Knit 2 together

      K2togtbl = Knit 2 together through the back loops

      P2tog = Purl 2 together

      P2togtbl = Purl 2 together through the back loops

      Psso = pass slipped stitch over

      P2sso = pass 2 slipped stitches over

      P3sso = pass 3 slipped stitches over

      SKP