Ideas for #plateaknit Instructions and How to Use Them, by Ingrid Murnane

In a follow up to my last post, here are some basic knitting abbreviations and an explaination of how to use them. There are also some other instructor/maker ideas to help you in #plateaknit.

Basics

K = knit

P = purl

These are the two basic stitches. Tell us how many stitches you’d like us to knit or purl like this: k15 or p4.

You can also make a set of instructions as follows: k2, p6, k2, p6, k to end of row.

You can specify the number of rows that we need to knit like this for as well, by adding (for three rows) or suchlike.

If you’d like something repeated, do it following a formula something like this: (k2, p3) 5 times

You can do more than just get us to make patterns with the knit and purl stitches. You can ask us to increase or decrease the amount of stitches in a number of ways, make eyelet holes, ask us to change colours, turn the knitting round and go the other direction or make a buttonhole.

Increase stitches

m1 = make one by picking up and knitting a stitch between two other stitches

kfb = knit front and back

yo = yarn over

yf = yarn forward

Decrease stitches

k2tog = knit two stitches together

p2tog = purl two stitches together

ssk = slip two stitches knitwise, transfer them back and knit them together

Other things to do

Eyelets: yo k2tog = makes an eyelet

Buttonholes: specify the number of stitches width eg: bh5

Change direction: as it says, turn the knitting and work back the other way (as in short row shaping)

Change colours: to make stripes or coloured patterns

Change needle sizes (to larger or smaller ones)

There are many more things you can do in knitting than just these, but these basics should help both the instructors and makers in the performance.

Knitting by InnyNaney on Flickr.

Here are some great examples of ways that you could incorporate knitting instructions into your tweets (with thanks to my fellow Steering Committee member Jonny Gray!)

Tweet01: sl1, k1 *m1, p2, k2tog, p1* (repeat from * three times) k to end #plateaknit

Tweet02: Do two rows in the color you are currently working with then change to something (more) green. #plateaknit

Tweet03: Change one of your needles up three sizes #plateaknit

Tweet04: Add five stitches to your next row in any way of your choosing #plateaknit

Tweet05: Bind (cast) off and start a new piece. #plateaknit

Tweet06: Do the next five rows in a k2, p2 rib. #plateaknit

Tweet07: Over as many rows as you choose, reduce the row to ten stitches wide then expand back to the original number of stitches in the row. #plateaknit

Tweet08: Do a short row of half the number of stitches in your current row. #plateaknit

Tweet09: Weave in a length of packaging twine into part of a row. Leave at least 6 inches of twine dangling on the RS of the piece at both ends of the weave. #plateaknit

Tweet10: Repeat the last instruction five times. #plateaknit

Tweet11: Make it shine! #plateaknit

Of course the makers could also, in the spirit of Lee Meredith’s Game Knitting choose not to use any of the ‘instruction’ tweets as direct instructions and instead do something (for example knit an eyelet or change colours) whenever a particular word such as ‘and’ or ‘row’ is mentioned in a tweet or when somebody talks about food. It really is up to you how off the wall you want to make it! Basically, makers will interpret instructions to the best of their abilites, including (if they choose) interpreting any part of an instruction tweet as additional guides.

Whatever you do with it, however simple or complicated you want to make it, just have fun!