Have you noticed that charts don’t have the proper proportions to reflect an actual stitch’s width and length?

Here are a few examples

Let’s look at the chart for the Textured Danish Rose, done with squares:

And, a truer chart:

You see how the one on the bottom – the truer one – looks like it’s been pinched so that it’s shorter? And here’s both of them together:

The regular chart (in red) has THREE more rows in it! It’s around a fourth larger. That’s A LOT.

I’ve always been a big proponent of charts that show us true pictures. If you’re working on cables, you’re more concerned about which pieces hop over which. But if you’re doing texture or colorwork, you’ll want the chart to accurately reflect what’s going to be knitted.

A Quick Fix

If you’re just trying to get a more accurate depiction of what’s charted, if you can squash the rows by about 25%, that should get you closer.

And please note that the 25% isn’t accurate for garter stitch. In this case, a stitch is roughly half as tall. Meaning that a “regular” chart is even less correct when showing garter stitch.

Has Your Mind Been Blown Yet?

You may be wondering why I’m telling you all of this.

It’s good to keep these in mind – especially when you’re trying to do things so that it would look accurate. For example, you can’t just take a counted cross stitch chart and translate it 1 for 1 in knitting.

You’ll likely have a need for this at some point. And until then, just keep it in your back pocket.