Reading Charts

[Lin]

Hi! Help! How do I learn to read a chart?? It is very confusing to me!

[tarrentella]

It doesn depend on the pattern. Most patterns give a key or legend as to what the various symbols mean, and this can alter from designer to designer. On colourwork charts, the blank squares are normally the stitches to be worked in the main colour, and the shaded stitches are those to be worked in the contrast colour.
It is usuall to read the chart from right to left.

is there a particular chart you would like help with?

[Ingrid]

As Tarrantella said, each chart has a key that tells you what the symbols mean.

If you're working back and forth, right side rows are read right to left and wrong side rows are read left to right. Sometimes a chart doesn't even include the wrong side rows if they're just purled.

Each square represents a stitch or the result of working a stitch. For example, if you see the symbol /, it usually means to knit 2 together. It only takes up one box because after you do the k2tog, you have 1 stitch left.

It helps to block off all the rows above the one you're working on--I use Post-it notes.