On a knitting chart, each square is one stitch and the symbol inside it tells you how to work that stitch. A blank square is usually a knit, a dot or dash is usually a purl, and a circle is usually a yarn over. Slanted lines show decreases, grey squares mean no stitch, and cable symbols stretch across several squares.
That covers most of what you'll meet. Where to start and which way to read each row is a separate question, which we cover in how to read a knitting chart. This guide is the symbol list: look up a square, then get back to your row.
Why should you check the key first?
Check the key first because chart symbols are not standardized. Tin Can Knits says the first thing to look at is the key or legend, plus any chart notes, because each designer may use a different format and set of symbols.
You can see this between two well-known sources. Vogue Knitting draws a knit stitch as a vertical line and a purl stitch as a horizontal one, while many charts use a blank square and a dot. Lion Brand puts it plainly: the pattern's own legend is the only authority for that design.
What do knit, purl and yarn over look like?
In most charts, a blank square is a knit, a dot or dash is a purl, and a circle is a yarn over. Lion Brand describes these three as the foundation symbols, and they cover most stitches in beginner and intermediate patterns. If you want a refresher on the stitches themselves, see knit and purl.
A chart always shows the fabric as it looks from the right side. So a blank square means knit on a RS row, and purl on a WS row, because both give the same stitch on the front. Row numbers on the right edge of the chart mark RS rows, and numbers on the left mark WS rows. A yarn over makes a deliberate hole, so it shows up as a gap in the finished fabric.
How are decreases and increases drawn?
Decreases use slanted lines, and the slant matches the way the stitch leans. A forward slash (/) is typically a right-leaning decrease such as k2tog, and a backslash () is a left-leaning one such as ssk. If you need the move itself, here is how to knit two together (k2tog).
Increases are often drawn as an X or a V, and the key will say whether it is a knit front and back (kfb) or a make one (M1). Because a decrease takes two stitches and leaves one, the chart needs a way to keep its grid square. That is what the next symbol is for.
What does a grey or "no stitch" square mean?
A no stitch square means there is no stitch in that spot, so you skip it. Tin Can Knits answers this directly: it means that no stitch is worked in that square, and you move straight to the next charted stitch.
Lion Brand notes that these shaded cells are not errors or decoration. They hold the grid in line in lace and shaped pieces, where the stitch count changes from row to row. Your stitch count will not match the number of squares in that row, and that's expected.
One habit helps here. Before each row, glance at the no stitch squares and the decreases in it, so you know whether the row will end with fewer stitches than it began with. That small check catches most miscounts before they reach the needles.
How do cable symbols work?
A cable symbol is as wide as the number of stitches it involves, so it covers several squares at once. Tin Can Knits notes that cable turn symbols are more than one stitch wide, and gives c4b and c4f, worked over four stitches, as examples.
The name tells you what to do. In Lion Brand's example, C4F places stitches on a cable needle held to the front, C4B holds them to the back, and the number is the total count of stitches in the cross. Read the key before you cast on, since the stitches held and the way they cross are set out there. A cable chart may also show only the RS rows. In that case, Tin Can Knits says you would typically knit the knits and purl the purls on the WS.
What do heavy lines and boxes mean?
A heavy line or a box marks a repeat. Tin Can Knits compares it to brackets in written instructions: work the edge stitches once, repeat the boxed stitches as many times as they fit, then work the last edge stitches. When you reach the end of the chart, you typically begin again at row 1 if the stitch pattern is repeated. See what rep means in a knitting pattern for the written version.
Try it in Row & Round
Symbols are quick to learn, but it's easy to lose your place among them. In Row & Round, the highlighter bar sits on the row you are working and moves with each +1, so you can see your place at a glance. It does the job of the sticky note on a chart. You can read more about the highlighter bar. Row & Round is coming soon to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Bottom line
Read the key before the first stitch, then take the chart one square at a time. Blank is usually knit, a dot is usually purl, a circle is a yarn over, slashes lean like the stitch, and grey means skip. When a symbol looks unfamiliar, the pattern's key wins.
Questions
- What does a blank square mean on a knitting chart?
- Usually a knit stitch on a right side (RS) row. A chart shows the fabric from the right side, so on a wrong side (WS) row the same blank square is worked as a purl.
- What does a grey square on a knitting chart mean?
- It is usually a no stitch square. Skip it and work the next charted stitch. It keeps the grid lined up where the stitch count changes, for example after a decrease.
- Are knitting chart symbols the same in every pattern?
- No. There is no single standard, and a circle or a line can mean something different in another designer's chart. The key that comes with your pattern is the final word.
- How do you know which way a decrease leans?
- The slant of the line matches the slant of the stitch. A forward slash is typically a right-leaning decrease such as k2tog, and a backslash is a left-leaning one such as ssk.
