Theresa asked a week or so back why I was recharting the lace from the Marianne Kinzel book to do my shawl. When I first started thinking about this shawl, one of my goals was to learn to chart lace on the computer (I don't much like working with a pencil and graph paper, I'd much rather type!) I knew also that I was going to need to do some re-arranging of elements in the charts, and it seemed like re-charting the existing charts would be a good way to get familiar with those elements, and learn more about lace charting in the process.
The "Springtime" cloth by Marianne Kinzel is in the First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, published by Dover Publications ©1972. (ISBN is 0-486-22904-1) Marianne Kinzel is a marvelous lace designer, and I've never heard of anyone finding an error in one of these charts, which is more or less unheard of in later lace books. Bless Dover for keeping these books available! (They also publish Kinzel's Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting.)
As much as I appreciate the patterns and the accuracy of the charts, I'm not wild about knitting directly from the Kinzel charts. I find the charts very visually "busy." There's a lot of information presented in any lace chart, but to my mind there are more and less pleasing ways to present that information.
Many lace charts (including the Kinzel charts) use a vertical line (l) for a knit stitch. I prefer an empty box for the knit stitch symbol. The Kinzel charts use an empty box for "no stitch," meaning that you simply ignore that box entirely. It's there only as a placeholder so that the real stitches line up better, making the chart look more like the lace that will be knit from it ("No stitch" symbols are necessary only when stitch counts change from row to row). Since I used an empty box to indicate a knit stitch, I shaded boxes with gray to indicate "no stitch."
Here is a scan of one of the original "Springtime" charts from Marianne Kinzel (used with permission from Dover Publications):
Here is a photo of my re-charting of this same pattern block, for comparison:
The colored symbol blocks were my attempt to differentiate between two symbols that I found tricky to distinguish on the Kinzel charts.
I find my own charts significantly easier on my eyes, but I want to emphasize that all of this is entirely a personal preference issue! When you're knitting lace, anything that makes the knitting flow more smoothly seems like a good plan, whether that's stitch markers at critical junctures in the knitting, a "life line" so that you feel more secure (this is a thread drawn through a row of knitting that will hold the stitches if you make a later mistake and have to rip back), or a system of counting rows and keeping track of your position in the chart. If it works for you, go for it!
I have had fun playing with lace charting (I have aspirations to one day design my own lace), and I've found Microsoft Excel a handy tool for the task. I've heard lots of recommendations for Adobe Illustrator for charting lace, but I haven't yet mastered it so I can't comment. Excel was easily at hand, so I started there.
Listening to: In the Moon of Red Ponies, by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that and show the charts. Nice of Dover to give you permission to you the scan. It really makes a lot of sense how and why you did this. Do you have a special "knitting font" to get the symbols or how did you get those symbols? I unfortunately do not know my way around Excel that well. But this looks like it might be worth learning. I am also curious about your shawlette and its progress. I am looking at the picture again and seeing how the front pieces are coming around and crossing each other. I am trying to imagine in my mind how this works and I am wondering if it ends up being rippled all around because of the extra or if our amplitude will help it flow nicely. I don't know if you are far enough along to know this or even if my question makes sense! I'm very curious about all this because my mind is busy trying to absorb and learn so that I can venture out on my own to design a shawl, but I'm still working on getting the basics down.
Great comparision! I too have a hard time visually with charts (am an art major, go figure!) Sometimes I rechart also, but I use a drafting programme.
Hi - Glad I found your site. I also love charting, and also prefer the grey to be an empty stitch position so the blank square can be a knitted stitch. I think the vertical and horizontal lines for standard stockinette clog things up visually. Your lace work is magnificent! A true inspiration. BTY, if you are working on at least a size 5 needle, I use the Denises with the extra long 52 inch cable instead of a tread to spread out larger diameter work. Don't like knitting with 'em but it lets you measure. Doesn't work for shawls, though, because the neck line stays bunched up.