This could be a part of every knitter's life, or it could be just me.
I experienced a quantum leap in my understanding of the structure of knitting on the day that I learned how to translate a pattern from the written form to a form that I can remember in my head. Which means that, at some stage in almost every project, I don't have to haul around, look at, or worry where I am in the written pattern.
This ability came to me as an epiphany, when I was sitting in a hotel room with my sister, the summer after we both finished college. I was relaxed and happy. I was knitting a long, blue thing, which later became part of the queen-bed-sized afghan I gave my sister for her wedding. I had been working in this particular stitch, called Dew Drops, for, um, a while. I looked down at my work and realized that, if I followed certain rules, I could work the pattern without using the stitch-by-stitch instructions.
So, relaxation, happiness, and repetition helped me learn the trick, but I think anyone could do it, if they wanted to. A certain ability to read the stitches from the row before does help. It might take some counting, however. Many people may find this more trouble than it is worth, and stick to their instructions and charts. I say to them, "Happy knitting! Better not lose that post-it note".
The patterns I have had the most trouble recreating this way are ones that involve eyelets. For some reason, the way eyelets sit in the fabric structure throws me off. I have a hard time telling exactly where in the row before the yo was made. While working the edging for my circle sweater (38 times total) I, at first, despaired of finding a rulebook for this pattern. The yarn-overs might throw me off. The stitch count also changed with every row, which sometimes makes me nervous.
But, after about 20 repeats, and becoming annoyed with looking at my written pattern so much (those little rows make for a lot of post-it-note moving), I cracked the code.
Rules for Cockleshell Edging
1) Start with 16 stitches.
2) This is a garter-stitch-based pattern, so every-other-row is mostly knit stitches (except purl the last stitch). These rows happen to be the ones that begin next to the body of the sweater. The other rows divide two categories: increasing rows and decreasing rows.
3) Each row that begins on the outside edge of the edging and is an increasing row starts with a yo, knit 2 together (which makes a really charming edge treatment), knit 1, then (yo, knit 2 together) X times, yo, knit to end of row (knit 2 together at the end to join the edge to the live stitches). X is the number of yos from two rows before, which you can clearly see.
4) Once X reaches 8, you will begin working decreasing rows. They are like increasing rows except that you start each row with a yo, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, then (yo, knit 2 together) Y times, knit to end of row (knit 2 together at the end to join the edge to the live stitches). Y is X minus 1.
5) Once your total number of stitches equals 16, start over.
Another Way That A Swatch Can Save Your Day
As a double-check to see if you are working the correct number of yos on each row, count the number of knit 2 togethers and knit stitches after the first yo on any row. The total should be 10.
To be safe, you should test the pattern on a swatch. I would work at least 2 repeats from the written pattern, then try it without the written pattern. You should also keep the swatch in your bag, so that you can look at it if you forget how many yarn-overs come before you begin decreasing.
Thinking about the pattern in this way opened my eyes to the simple, but effective, structure of the pattern. It's symmetrical, of course, but there is more to that than I realized at first. Why not start the eyelets right after the first yo, knit 2 together? Well, it wouldn't work as well because, on the decrease rows, you need another knit 2 together there to help reduce the stitches. So, a plain knit stitch stands in for the decrease you will need later. Brilliant. I also love the edge treatment and plan on using it all over the place. I like a slipped-stitch edging, but this has just a touch more character and is also a tiny bit more mysterious. I also noticed right away if I forgot to purl the last stitch on the row before, a sin I often commit, unfortunately.
Feather And Fan
Feather and Fan is a stitch that feels like a magic trick because it draws up the fabric into pretty scallops at the cast-on and cast-off edge. It is a great, old pattern that has been changed and re-imagined over the years. It is sometimes called "Old Shale", which may be a variation of "Old Shell", which it is also called, sometimes. It looks terrific in any yarn, but a variegated or striped yarn will show its structure the best. Here it is, in rule form:
Setup: You must have a stitch count that is divisible by 18 + your edge stitches. May I suggest a knit 1, purl 1 followed by a yo, knit 2 together edge on each side? If you use that, you would need a stitch count that is divisible by 18 + 4. Let's try a scarf with 40 stitches. Work a set-up of 2 garter-stitch ridges, or 4 rows. The rules below apply only to the central 36 stitches. Your 4 edge stitches follow their own rules, above.
Rules:
When you are looking at a pattern row, knit one row.
When you are looking at a purl row, knit one row.
When you are looking at a pattern row followed by a full garter-stitch ridge, purl a row.
When you are looking at a knit row, work a pattern row.
Pattern row: (knit 2 together) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (knit 2 together) 3 times
Pattern row, put another way: (use up 6 stitches by knitting 2 together, then use 6 more with yo, k1) across, then knit 2 togethers to use up the last 6.
I'm planning on offering next week's knitting pattern in both a row-by-row format and a "rules" format. I will be counting on you, loyal listeners, to let me know which one you prefer to use.
Links
2010 Uses for Gauge Swatches
Number 14: A swatch to test how good you are at knitting your pattern without the paper pattern, or to give you an example.
