JC19 Understanding Japanese Knitting Patterns

with Gayle Roehm

Many knitters admire the detail and stitchwork of Japanese hand knitting patterns. This class will show you how to interpret the graphic format of these patterns so you can knit the designs for yourself. We’ll learn how to read a schematic and find basic information such as gauge, needle size, and yarn requirements. We’ll also go over the symbols used in stitch charts, which are standard among all Japanese publishers, and we’ll swatch a few for practice reading the charts. Bring Japanese patterns that you may have questions about. You must be very comfortable knitting from charts.

Skill level: Advanced, must be comfortable knitting from charts.

Participants bring: An assortment of yarn and appropriate size needles with which you are comfortable using.

About the instructor: Gayle Roehm is a former management consultant who now devotes herself to knitting. She teaches nationally for knitting events, guilds and yarn shops. Her designs have been featured in Knitter’s, Interweave Knits, A Gathering of Lace, and other publications. She also sells her work at a fiber arts gallery. Gayle has traveled throughout the world, lived in Japan, speaks Japanese and has knitted with Japanese designs for many years. She published an article about Japanese patterns in Knitter’s magazine in 1997, she prepared the Japanese section for the book Knitting Languages, and she has translated patterns for Sunrise Fibers.