Two words…. Stitch Maps

One more word…. Amazing!

I wanted to share with you this revolutionary new charting method,  devised by JC Briar.  JC Briar is the author of ‘Charts Made Simple’ or what I lovingly call my ‘charting bible’.   My wonderful friend and knitting mentor bought me this book a while back when I was having a hard time getting a lace chart out of my head and into a coherent chart.  The book is amazing,  it teaches how charts reflect the knitted fabric and how to read the two.  It’s a wonderful resource for knitters of all abilities,  but it’s excellence lies within the sections that deal with shaping in charts, blank stitches,  cables,  dealing with changing stitch counts.   I would go so far as to say as a knitter’s reference book it is up there with EZ’s books and Barbara Walker’s Treasury Collection.

Today I discovered that JC Briar has developed a new form of knitting chart – WITHOUT A GRID!!!!  I have been sat here at my desk for a while trying to find the words to describe Stitch Maps and failing.   I can tell you,  at first glimpse I thought it was a crochet chart,  then just how much the chart represented the knitted fabric amazed me,  then I asked myself…. why didn’t I think of this?

This is how JC Briar describes Stitch Maps:

“Stitch Maps are a new form of knitting chart that use traditional symbols in a novel way: without a grid.  The symbols within a stitch map clearly show what stitches to work.  And – not being confined within grid squares – they also show which stitches of the previous row should be worked”.

Please take a look for yourself!