When it comes to cable cross abbreviations like 2/2 RC, the StitchMastery Knitting Chart Editor really gets it right. That piece of charting software recognizes a slew of cable cross abbreviations, all in the same form:
- The first half of the abbreviation specifies the number of strands, and the number of stitches in each strand: “x/y” is a two-strand cross with x stitches crossing over y stitches, and “x/y/x” is a three-strand cross with x stitches on each side exchanging places while y stitches remain untouched in the middle.
- The second half of the abbreviation specifies how the strands should cross and how the stitches should be worked.
It’s in the latter half of the abbreviations that StitchMastery KCE really shines. Many publications use the following:
- LC, left cross: hold cn to front; knit all the stitches
- RC, right cross: hold cn to back; knit all the stitches
- LPC, left purl cross: hold cn to front; purl background stitches, knit foreground stitches
- RPC, right purl cross: hold cn to back; knit foreground stitches, purl background stitches
But StitchMastery KCE goes a step further, and uses the following in addition:
- LT, left twist: hold cn to front; knit all stitches through back loop to twist
- RT, right twist: hold cn to back; knit all stitches through back loop to twist
- LPT, left purl twist: hold cn to front; purl background stitches, knit foreground stitches through back loop
- RPT, right purl twist: hold cn to back; knit foreground stitches through back loop, purl background stitches
I like these additions. They make it possible to express stitch patterns like those found in Twisted-Stitch Knitting and Bäuerliches Stricken.
But these additions kind of conflict with common interpretations of “LT” and “RT.” In many publications, LT by itself (not prefaced by x/y or x/y/x) means “bring right needle behind first st on left needle and knit second st, then knit first st, then drop both sts off left needle” – that is, work a 1/1 LC without a cable needle. Likewise, RT often stands for working a 1/1 RC without a cable needle.
Is this a problem? I don’t think so. I imagine that Stitch-Maps.com can always use 1/1 LC and 1/1 RC to refer to 1-over-1 crosses, regardless of whether they’re worked with or without a cable needle. Then it could use x/y LT and x/y RT to refer to left and right crosses (of various sizes) in which all the stitches are knit through back loop to twist. Further, I’m figuring that Stitch-Maps.com can recognize “unadorned” LT and RT, and substitute 1/1 LC and 1/1 RC accordingly, much as it already recognizes, say, sk2p and substitutes sl1-k2tog-psso.
Your thoughts?
Tagged: charting, geeky, books, stitch maps.