Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible: 260 Exquisite Designs by Hitomi Shida: 260 Exquisite Patterns by Hitomi Shida

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Much of this production took place in the Honjo district, in eastern Tokyo, where many residences of feudal clan lords, daimyo, had been located and were now transformed into knitting factories. I had no idea when I crocheted/knitted this chair cover that I`d one day be a kitten-slave for real. Steeks provide provide ways to form openings in fabric that is worked in the round: openings for armholes, necklines, cardigan fronts, and so on.

There are detailed explanations of chart symbols and general principles, with photo-tutorials for particularly complex stitches, so everything should be doable.The names of these styles often are associated with nationalities, like English knitting or Irish Cottage style, but the style you prefer has very little to do with where you grew up, or even where you learned to knit. Strolling and knitting with one half of the twinnage, watching combine harvesters at work because my son is fascinated by farming.

Purposely choosing one of the less complicated openwork patterns to begin with, I was pleased to find that, so far, working Japanese charts is not as difficult as I anticipated. It does have a few more rows than the front flaps have stitches, and I think it’s just a functino of making the back flap depth match the front flap width, since that’s what you’re seaming together.

The stitch patterns themselves are complex, because Japanese designers combine many simple elements into very elaborate pattern stitches, but if you understand basic US chart symbols, you’re well on your way to learning to follow Japanese knitting charts. The truth is, charts are written in a code that can be deciphered by knitters who learn the symbols on the page and in their knitting. Then the charts on the following two pages show us the actual stitches — the placement of ribbing and garter stitch and colorwork. The Meiji government recognized that the textiles industry was to play a big part in the industrialization of Japan, and actively encouraged mechanization and mass production of knitted fabric.