Table of Contents: Embedding meaning in Your Knitting | Converting Words to Numbers | Making a grid | Possible layouts | Converting grids into stitch patterns | Lace | Cables | Other Encodings | Summary of My Method | Further Resources
Turning a grid into a lace chart can be very satisfying, but is also a bit more complicated. I'm going to present an introduction here, but not go into details, as this could involve a full article by itself.
If you want to knit lace from one of these grids, it's obvious that the marked squares can become yarn overs. There are other considerations as well: do you want to have a plain row after every row with yarn overs? Do you want to knit garter stitch lace or stockinette? You also need to figure out where to put the decreases, because the location of the decreases will affect the appearance of your lace. The key thing is that you need the same number of decreases in your stitch pattern as you have yarn overs. Be prepared to swatch a lot to see what happens, but do try a lot of variations – you'll learn a lot about lace and might get surprising and interesting results. (If you are keeping your code decipherable, you'll want to have the decrease in the same line as its corresponding yarn over.)
This is the grid I worked with:
All these stitch patterns are multiples of 12. The return rows are all purl stitches, except that I knit one and purled one into each double yarn over.
Chart Symbols & Abbreviations:
 | k | knit |
 | yo | yarn over |
 | k2tog | Knit two together to make a right-leaning decrease. |
 | ssk | Slip one knitwise, slip the next knitwise, then knit two together through back loop. (Or otherwise make a left-leaning decrease.) |
 | RT | Cross the 2nd st in front of 1st st, knit the 2nd st, then knit the 1st. |
 | LT | Cross the 2nd st behind the 1st st, knit the 2nd st, then knit the 1st. |
 | RTssk | Slip each of the 1st two stitches knitwise, slip back to left needle. Cross the 3rd st in front and knit it; knit the 1st two stitches together through back loop. |
 | LTk2tog | Bring the needle behind the 1st stitch, knit the 2nd and 3rd stitches together. Knit the 1st stitch |
Peace Lace: Swatch 1
In this first swatch, I started out by putting a decrease next to every yarn over in the chart, but then I moved them around as I swatched to make sinuous lines (also, I started six stitches over from the edge of the grid):
Chart I made before starting knitting:
Row 1: k1, yo, ssk, k6, k2tog, yo, k1
Row 3: k3, yo, k2tog, k2, ssk, yo, k3
Row 5: k4, k2tog, yo2, ssk, k4
Row 7: k3, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k3
Row 9: k4, k2tog, yo2, ssk, k4
Row 11: yo, k2tog, k8, ssk, yo
Row 13: k4, k2tog, yo2, ssk, k4
Row 15: k2, yo, k2tog, k4, ssk, yo, k2
Row 17: k4, k2tog, yo2, ssk, k4
Row 19: k3, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k3
Finalized version of that chart, with an eye to making everything flow:
Row 1: k1, yo, k1, k2tog, k4, ssk, k1, yo, k1
Row 3: k3, yo, k2tog, k2, ssk, yo, k3
Row 5: k4, ssk, yo2, k2tog, k4
Row 7: k3, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k3
Row 9: k2, k2tog, k2, yo2, k2, ssk, k2
Row 11: yo, k1, k2tog, k6, ssk, k1, yo
Row 13: k3, ssk, k1, yo2, k1, k2tog, k3
Row 15: k2, yo, k1, k2tog, k2, ssk, k1, yo, k2
Row 17: k4, ssk, yo2, k2tog, k4
Row 19: k3, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, k3
Peace Lace: Swatch 2
In the second swatch, I made most of the decreases line up vertically in the chart, swerving only to go around the yarnovers in the same line:
Row 1: ssk, yo, k8, yo, k2tog
Row 3: k2tog, k2, yo, k4, yo, k2, ssk
Row 5: ssk, k4, yo2, k4, k2tog
Row 7: k2tog, k3, yo, k2, yo, k3, ssk
Row 9: ssk, k4, yo2, k4, k2tog
Row 11: yo, k2tog, k8, ssk, yo
Row 13: k2tog, k4, yo2, k4, ssk
Row 15: k2tog, k1, yo, k6, yo, k1, ssk
Row 17: ssk, k4, yo2, k4, k2tog
Row 19: k2tog, k3, yo, k2, yo, k3, ssk
Peace Lace: Swatch 3
In the third, I added in some twisted stitches for the fun of it:
Row 1: ssk, yo, k8, yo, k2tog
Row 3: k2tog, k2, yo, k4, yo, k2, ssk
Row 5: LT, k2, k2tog, yo2, ssk, k2, RT
Row 7: k1, RT, ssk, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, LT, k1
Row 9: k2, RT, k2tog, yo2, ssk, LT, k2
Row 11: yo, LTk2tog, k6, RTssk, yo
Row 13: k2tog, k4, yo2, k4, ssk
Row 15: k1, ssk, yo, k6, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 17: k2tog, k4, yo2, k4, ssk
Row 19: k2tog, k3, yo, k2, yo, k3, ssk
If you would rather comment on Ravelry, I've posted this to my group as well.
Next post in series: Cables
