How to read a crochet chart.

I have a vague plan!😕
The next few posts will be all about patterns and diagrams. ('Few' in this case being an uncertain number!!)
Like all things Crochet there are no standards beyond the basics. This makes everything just that little bit harder. You can read about the craft yarn council standards here. 

You may be struggling to read diagrams, put off by written patterns, or you may be thinking of writing your own patterns. Whatever the reason, before you can write a novel you need to learn to read. It's said a picture is worth a thousand words. So let's start with diagrams. As we are thinking of this like learning to read let's begin with our alphabet. Here is a downloadable chart with some of the elements you might expect to see. I have also included links (in the download only) to some of my previous posts, just in case like me you can never remember the difference between a popcorn and a bobble!

 

 

Let's start by looking at a simple chart. This is the chart for a common stitch often referred to as seed stitch.

The information that is given in a chart varies from illustrator to illustrator and is usually intended to be read along with written instructions. As most designs begin either with foundation chain stitches or a magic ring, that is what you would look for first. In this case there is a helpful arrow which shows us where to begin. I also prefer to make sure each row or round of my chart is in a different colour, it makes the chart easier to read. It doesn't mean that you'd change colour at the end of the row.

Here you can see that we start with 'Make 10 chain stitches'.

The little 1 indicates the row number and the fact that the last chain stitch is hovering like that tells us that it is first stitch in the row. The instructions would read something like: 'Row 1, Dc[Sc] in the 2nd chain from the hook, *Ch1, Skip 1 st, Dc[Sc] in next st, repeat from* to end of row,Turn.' In a normal row by row stitch pattern you would normally turn at the end of each row, so there wouldn't normally be anything in the diagram telling you to turn. 

   Row 2 might read, 'Ch1, skip 1st dc[sc],Dc[Sc] in next st,*Ch1, Skip1 st, Dc[Sc]in next st, repeat from* to end of row,Turn.'

Row 3 would read 'Repeat Row2'.

 

Now let's look at that Granny Square diagram. The first thing you notice (I hope!) is that it already looks a lot like a Granny Square. The symbols are drawn to the same proportion as the real stitches. So here you can see that the Treble [Dc] stitches are about three chain stitches high. 

As we are working in the round you'd expect to start in the centre. This squiggly spiral is my attempt at representing a magic ring. Each round is then numbered the same as the written instructions would be. So we begin Round One with three Chain stitches in place of the first Treble[Dc] stitch. The round is closed by the dot which represents the Slip stitch. 

Round Two begins with an open arrow, so without being told in a long-winded way we know that this round uses a different colour yarn from Round One. You can also see from the placement of the stitches in the diagram that the Treble[Dc] stitches are made into the chain spaces of the round below. If you don't use the English stitch names like me, by this point I am sure you appreciate how the confusion with stitch names is also so much less confusing with a diagram! 

I find written patterns to be scary. I've found them a lot more manageable if I just take the instructions section by section. In the same way, if you look at a chart line by line it will all fall into place! 

I haven't even touched on Tunisian crochet. I'm only just making my very first Tunisian garment so I am in no way qualified to talk about that. Maybe one day I can do that Blog post.

I think it would make sense if I told you how I draw my diagrams in the next post. I'll look at deciphering crochet patterns in the third post.