Charts v. written instructions

I think my brain is beginning to leak out of my ears, so I’m taking a break from this morning’s task, which is writing out in full a 24 row lace pattern from the chart I’ve already done. Every row is different, including the wrong side, so I can’t even cheat and write “as row 4″ or cut ‘n paste.

Mainly, it’s worry that I’ll mistype and a purl will jump into the pattern instead of a knit, or too many yarn overs and the whole pattern goes loopy. That’s why I love charts. I followed a chart for the very first time when I knit Trellis from Knitty, but it wasn’t until I knit Branching Out that I really appreciated them. That project was the first lace I ever knit, so a steep learning curve and also the start of my lace addiction! Now I can’t imagine ever knitting a lace pattern using the written instructions. A chart helps me to visualise what I’m doing, far more than row upon row of k2, yo, ssk, etc. (BTW, for anyone who wants to write their own charts, I use this free font in conjunction with Excel.)

But I do appreciate that everyone has their own preferences, so now I’ve had a break, it’s back to typing out the rest of the pattern! Send chocolate.