How to Read a Knitting Chart: Rows, Rounds, Symbols and Repeats
Where to start, which direction to read, what right-side and wrong-side rows mean, how repeat boxes and no-stitch squares work, with a worked lace example.
The short answer: start at the bottom right. Read right-side rows from right to left and, when knitting flat, wrong-side rows from left to right. In the round, read every round from right to left. Each square is one stitch; the key tells you what each symbol means, and a repeat box marks the stitches you work again and again.
A knitting chart is a picture of the fabric seen from the right side. Each square is one stitch and each horizontal line of squares is one row (or round). Once you know the direction to read in, a chart is faster to follow than written instructions: you can see the pattern forming.
The four rules
- Start at the bottom. Row 1 is the bottom row of the chart. Charts are drawn the way the fabric grows, from the cast-on edge up.
- Right-side rows go from right to left. You knit from the right end of the needle to the left, so you read the chart the same way. Right-side row numbers are usually printed at the right edge of the chart.
- When knitting flat, wrong-side rows go from left to right. On a wrong-side row you are working across the back of the fabric, so the chart is read backwards, and its row numbers are usually printed on the left.
- In the round, every round goes from right to left. You never turn the work, so every round is a right-side round and the chart is always read from the right.
Right side and wrong side
Because the chart shows the right side of the fabric, symbols mean different things on right-side (RS) and wrong-side (WS) rows. The key usually gives both:
| Symbol in the key | On an RS row | On a WS row |
|---|---|---|
| Blank square | knit | purl |
| Dot or dash | purl | knit |
/ | k2tog | p2tog |
\ | ssk | ssp |
O | yarn over | yarn over |
The logic: whatever you do on the WS row has to look like the symbol from the front. A knit stitch seen from the front is a purl stitch from the back, so a blank square is knit on RS rows and purl on WS rows.
Many lace charts only show right-side rows and say “all WS rows: purl”. Read the notes above the chart before you start.
Symbols and the key
There is no single universal set of chart symbols, but most modern patterns use (or come close to) the Craft Yarn Council standard. The key next to the chart always wins. Common symbols:
- Blank: knit on RS, purl on WS.
- Dot or horizontal dash: purl on RS, knit on WS.
- O: yarn over, an increase that makes a hole.
/and\: decreases that lean right (k2tog) and left (ssk).- Upside-down V or ^: central double decrease.
- Grey square: no stitch.
- Crossing lines over 4 or 6 squares: a cable. The width of the symbol tells you how many stitches it uses, and the line on top shows which way the stitches cross.
For the words behind the abbreviations, see knitting abbreviations.
Repeats
Most charts show one repeat of the pattern plus a few edge stitches. A heavy outline, often red, marks the repeat box. Work the stitches before the box, then the box as many times as the row allows (or as the pattern says), then the stitches after it.
Example: a chart 12 squares wide, where squares 3 to 10 sit inside the repeat box (8 stitches) and squares 1, 2, 11 and 12 are edge stitches. On 36 stitches you work:
- the 2 right-edge stitches once,
- the 8-stitch repeat 4 times (32 stitches),
- the 2 left-edge stitches once.
2 + 32 + 2 = 36. Before you cast on, check that the edge stitches plus a whole number of repeats add up to your stitch count; it is the quickest way to catch a wrong cast-on before it costs you an evening.
No-stitch squares
When a chart increases or decreases, the number of stitches changes from row to row, but a chart is a rectangle. Grey no-stitch squares fill the gaps so the columns stay lined up with the stitches above and below. When you reach one, skip it: it does not exist on your needle.
A worked lace example
A four-stitch lace chart, rows read from the bottom:
- Row 1 (RS), read right to left: knit, yarn over, k2tog, knit.
- Row 2 (WS), read left to right: purl all four.
In words: Row 1 (RS): k1, yo, k2tog, k1. Row 2 (WS): p4. The yarn over adds a stitch and the k2tog takes one away, so every row still has four stitches. Checking that the count stays the same from row to row is the quickest way to catch a mistake in a lace chart.
Keeping your place
The hardest part of charts is not reading them, it is remembering which row you are on. Common tricks: a sticky note or magnetic strip placed just above the current row, so you can still see the rows you have already knit and compare them with your work; highlighting finished rows on a printed copy; or a row counter.
Knytstudio does this on your phone. You can chart a pattern or turn a photo into one, then follow it row by row: the tracker counts rows from the bottom in knitting direction and shows each row as written instructions, and the chart check flags rows whose stitch counts don’t add up.
Frequently asked questions
Do you read knitting charts from right to left?
Right-side rows are read from right to left, which is the direction you knit them. When you knit flat, wrong-side rows are read from left to right. When you knit in the round, every round is read from right to left.
Where do you start reading a knitting chart?
At the bottom right corner. Row 1 is the bottom row of the chart, and you work upwards: the chart shows the fabric the way it will look, with the cast-on edge at the bottom.
What does a blank square mean in a knitting chart?
Usually a knit stitch on the right side, which is a purl stitch on the wrong side. Always check the chart's key: some charts use a blank square for 'knit on RS, purl on WS' and some for 'no stitch'.
What is a no-stitch square?
A grey or shaded square that is not a stitch at all. It keeps the chart's columns lined up when stitches are increased or decreased. Skip it and go on to the next real stitch.
What is the red box on a knitting chart?
A repeat box. The stitches inside it are worked again and again across the row, as many times as the pattern tells you, usually with a few edge stitches before and after.