design-your-own illusion knits
Are you ready to create your own design? This is the method that I use. Please try it and let me know if it works for you too.
Some things to remember:
-You can use standard graph paper or a program like Microsoft Word or Excel. I’ve had success with both methods.
-Stitches are approximately half as tall as they are wide. If you are using graph paper with ¼” squares, you will need to get out your ruler and divide each row in half (but leave the column width the same). If you are using Excel or a table in Word, make the row height approximately half the size of the column width measurement.
-Choose 2 colors to work with. The main color (MC) is your background color – the color that appears to surround your image when it’s viewed from an angle. The contrasting color (CC) is your image color. If you select a color that has high contrast with the background color, your image will POP more than one with less contrast. For example, white CC on black MC will show better than grey CC on black MC. TIP: the background color doesn’t have to be dark. You can also work with a light MC and a dark CC.
-Tight stitches yield the best results. You may want to use needles one size smaller than what you would normally work with for the type of yarn you’ve selected.
-Knit stitches are depicted by a blank square and purled stitches are depicted by a dash.
Create your chart (for knitting on straight needles):
1. Draw your image on graph paper. Decide how many rows you want to have of ‘regular’ knitting before and after your image. Four to eight rows work well, but it will depend on what type of item you are working your image into. These rows plus your image are your chart.
2. Divide your chart into 4-row sections. The first 2 rows will be in your main color (MC) and the next 2 rows are your contrasting color (CC). Repeat this pattern to the end of your chart.
3. Starting at the bottom right corner of your chart with number 1, number all odd-numbered rows up the right side of your chart. Odd-numbered rows are on the right side (RS) of your work.
4. Starting at the bottom left of your chart at row 2, number all even-numbered rows up the left side of your chart. Even-numbered rows are on the wrong side (WS) of your work. Numbering this way will help you to remember that odd-numbered rows are worked from right to left and even-numbered rows are worked from left to right.
5. All odd-numbered rows are knit. Leave these rows blank.
6. Your image is created in the even-numbered rows. Remember this is the wrong side (WS) of your work, so knit stitches will be raised on the RS and purl stitches will be flat on the RS.
7. In the MC even-numbered rows, knit (blank squares) where there is no image, and purl (dashed squares) where there is an image. Purling where the image is will help the raised CC stitches to pop out more on the RS.
8. In the CC even-numbered rows, purl (dashed squares) where there is no image, and knit (blank squares) where there is an image. Knitting where the image is creates the raised design on the RS.
9. Start knitting! You may need to adjust your chart slightly once you’ve completed your work. If your design is going into a larger item, knit a sample of the design to be sure you are happy with the results before starting on your larger project.
For a sample chart and instructions, see the dragonfly illusion scarf.
