Demystifying Knitting Patterns: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding and Reading Knitting Patterns

Lots of letters and lots of numbers. That is what a knitting pattern looks like and if you don't know what those letters and numbers mean then it can be very difficult to read but after reading this post, those letters and numbers will start to make a lot of sense.

At the beginning of every good knitting pattern will be the pattern notes. These notes will give you a background to the pattern, what inspired it and what it will create.

Next will be the different sizes that this pattern creates. If you are knitting a garment like a cardigan or jumper, there will be multiple sizes and the finished measurement of each one will be stated in a table like the one above. If you are knitting a product like a soft toy or cushion cover, there might only be one size which will also have the finished sizes stated so you know exactly what you are aiming for. As well as this table or chart of sizes, you may also be given a diagram of the finished garment/product and all the sizes will be labelled. This is extremely helpful as it can help you to better understand what you are aiming for when you are knitting and when it comes to the sewing part.

Now we've covered some of the numbers, let's get to the letters (There will be more numbers to cover later). In knitting patterns, abbreviations are used to reduce the amount of written instructions (Abbreviations = where words are shortened to simplified letters).

At the beginning of every pattern there will be a list of the knitting abbreviations that will be used in the pattern.

TOP TIP: You may have to refer to this a lot as you go, I would suggest copying them out onto a post it note so you can easily move them from page to page as well as use it as a bookmark or a row tracker for your pattern.

Reading through this before you purchase a pattern is also a quick and easy way to check what the skill level is and whether the pattern is suitable for you.

Ok, we have have covered the essentials of a knitting pattern and this is what it going to help you with the next bit; how to actually read a knitting pattern.

I have taken this extraction from one of my beginner knitting patterns. Here, it is giving instructions for the sleeve.

Let's look at the numbers; 60 (64, 69, 74, 79) These numbers tell you how many stitches you are working with. The reason there are so many is because is because they relate to the sizes that the pattern comes in, starting with the smallest size and moving up the biggest.

TOP TIP: Say you are working on size 3 for your pattern, the best way to avoid confusion is to go through the pattern and highlight every 3rd stitch amount for each instruction, it takes time but it is worth it!

When you work through the pattern, you will be given instructions for each row. These will often be numbered e.g. Row 1, Row 2

Each row will give you a set of instructions for each stitch. Let's look at an example;

K3, P1, K4, P1

The example is asking us to; knit (K) 3 stitches, then purl (P) one stitch, then knit 4 stitches and purl the final stitch. Each instruction is broken up using a comma and all the numbers will add up to the total amount of stitches on that row, in this example there are 9 stitches. The only time this will be wrong is if there is an instruction to add or decrease stitches but I will save that for another time.

The final concept of reading a knitting pattern that I feel every beginner should know is the use of brackets [ ] or Asterix *.

Sometimes the same knitting instruction is used repeatedly, brackets and Asterix are used to represent this.

Let's look at an example;

[K1, P1, K2, P1] repeat for the remainder of the row

This instruction is asking us to knit one stitch, purl the next, knit the next 2 stitches, purl the next.

The brackets represent that this needs to be repeated and we are given the instruction to do so for the remainder of the row.

Now you should be able to read beginner knitting pattern like a pro! Is there something I have missed that you want to know? Please let me know in the comments