05.05.08

Knitting Stitch Taxonomy

Posted in Stitch Pattern Catalog at 7:08 pm by webmaster

For some time I had in mind to create a knitting stitch taxonomy.  I recently got started with it.  I would like to follow the type of heirarchical models that is learned when I studied botany.  That is the standard Kingdom, Phyllum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, species approach.  If Knitting is at the Kingdom level and an individual stitch pattern is at the species level, the question is how to fill in the middle levels.  As with all taxonomies there will be room for disagreements about any number of things.  If you study the biological sciences you soon know that every taxonomist is duty bound to recast some portion of the prevaling taxonomy.  The following is the beginings of my taxonomy of knitting stitches and you are welcome to devise your own.

At the level that corresponds to the Phyllum level, I decided to base the sort on very fundamental structure.  I came up with three phylla:

• Plain - the name speaks for itself.
• Relocation - this is the use of moving stitches either vertically or horizontally.
• Openwork - this is use that results in holes in the fabric.

In the next level that corresponds to the Class level, I found that some of the common categories familiar to most of us start to come into play.

Under Plain I have listed Knit Purl and Short Rows.

Under Relocation I have listed Slip Stitch, Dip Stitch, Twist Stitch and Cable.

Under Openwork I have listed Yarn Over and Ladder.

From this point on the classifications become more subjective.  I won’t try to explain all my reasoning.  This is afterall a work in process and I am learning quite a bit from the exercise.  The diagrams I have so far are shown here.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you might  notice in the diagram there will be ‘hybrid’ stitches.  The most obvious of these is the group of stitches that combine lace and cables.

From here, I have to fill in with individual stitches.  I’m sure that I will discover more subcategories as I go along.  And soon there will be no way to fit this onto a computer screen.  If this develops as I hope it will, I plan to convert the diagrams into PDF files that could be down loaded.  They probably won’t lend themselves to being printed unless you have a plotter printer that can manage oversized sheets.

 

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