Checking out Stitch Maps

If you were around the knitting Internet (yes, there is such a place) at the end of last week or over the weekend you may have already heard about Stitch Maps, a new project by knitting chart enthusiast J. C. Briar. Briar’s book (which I have read but somehow failed to actually review) Charts Made Simple is a really good book for teaching how to use knitting charts of all sorts.

Briar is clearly a visual thinker and knitter, and she has taken visual representations of knitting even further with her latest project.

If you look at that picture up there, which is a version of Feather and Fan, you might think that it looks like a crochet chart. And it does. Crochet charts have always been a more literal visual representation of the work, because it’s difficult to symbolize the difference between, say, a double crochet and a half-double crochet any other way.

But knitting charts have always been flat, I guess because stockinette stitch is flat, or because whoever started charting knitting didn’t think to make the chart look like knitting.

J. C. Briar did. And the result is a little jarring if you’re a knitter, but still pretty darn cool. And it’s actually really logical, because the map can show, for instance, the curving of the Feather and Fan pattern, and how two stitches from the previous row come together in a knit 2 together on this row.

I don’t know if this sort of stitch mapping will catch on, because it also takes up a lot more space in print, and I imagine it might be difficult to represent different sizes of garments on the same chart. But for simply charting out stitch patterns, it’s very cool and I look forward to playing with it some more.

What do you think about stitch maps as opposed to more traditional knitting charts? Would you ever knit from one?

[Photo via Stitch Maps.]

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

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