Knitting Patterns

Are you ready to try some knitting patterns?

Once I had mastered the basic knitting skills, I remember how keen I was to start a "real project". Completing a pattern is very satisfying and will boost your confidence. You will be producing great hats/socks/blankets in no time!

I know I was surprised how quickly I was able to move from knowing nothing to knitting some great garments. Much to my amazement, people started admiring my work within the first couple of weeks!

If you are as impatient as I am, you might want to check out the beginner knitting patterns and free knitting patterns now.

However, before you steam ahead, it helps to be familiar with the common knitting terms and knitting abbreviations.

Also, you might find this quick guide helpful:

Materials

All knitting patterns give you a list of materials required. The designer has based his/her measurements on the size of knitting needle and the type of yarn suggested. If you change either of these then who knows what the end product will look like!

Tension

Tension (or gauge) is the number of stitches and the number of rows that you get when you measure a 10x10 cm or 4x4" square on your knitting.

You will find a tension measurement at the beginning of each pattern.

Tension determines the size of the finished piece, so if the number of stitches/rows on your sample swatch do not match those on the pattern then you will need to make adjustments. If it is too loose, then use smaller needles; if it is too tight, use larger needles.

Tension swatches are so boring but overlook them at your peril!

Understanding Sizes

Patterns often give instructions for a range of sizes of the same garment. When this is the case, the smallest size is printed first, followed by the others sizes in curved brackets:

eg 7(8:9:11) 50g DK Cotton

The above example shows that the amount of yarn you will need will vary according to the size of the garment. This same format is then used throughout the knitting pattern

eg Cast On 73(81:85:89) stitches

Highlight the figures for the size you are making to avoid confusion!

Understanding Brackets and Asterisks

Asterisks and brackets are used in patterns to mark where you need to repeat a sequence of stitches. If your piece is going to look like the pattern photo then you need know how to correctly read these abbreviations.

Here are some examples:

1. [k1,p1] twice means knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one (ie 4 stitches)

2. *k1,p1; rep from * twice more means knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one (ie 6 stitches)

3. P2, [k1,p2] to end means purl the first two stitches then knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one etc to the end of the row

4. *K5,p2,[k1,p2] 3 times; rep from * to end means that only the instructions in the square brackets need to be repeated three times. So you would knit five, purl two, knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, knit five, purl two, knit five, purl two to the end of the row.

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