More cluster stitches

Posted 9 Sep 2016 by JC

By request, Stitch-Maps.com now has symbols for a couple more cluster stitches:

• Yo-k3-pyo on RS
• Yo-p3-pyo on RS

They give a result similar to wrap 3 sts, but without the fuss of slipping stitches back and forth. Where can you imagine using them?

Wrapped stitches

Posted 9 Sep 2016 by JC

It’s not often, but sometimes you’ll see a stitch pattern with instructions to “wrap” a group of stitches – not “wrap and turn” as part of a series of short rows, but literally wrapping the yarn around the stitches before working them. Typically, the instructions will say something like, “Slip 3 stitches with yarn in front, bring yarn to back, slip those 3 stitches back to left needle, and k3.” The goal is to create a decorative horizontal bar, while pulling together a set of stitches.

Stitch-Maps.com now has symbols for this sort of maneuver, making it possible to map stitch patterns like this beauty from Lesley Stanfield:

The symbol at the center of row 9 clearly shows that three stitches should be wrapped. Similar symbols allow for wrapped groups of 2 to 9 stitches. For example, Barbara Walker’s Pear-Shaped Cable wraps a group of 7 stitches:

Note that the key suggests wrapping a group of stitches just once, then working the stitches in stockinette stitch. But it’s possible to wrap the stitches multiple times, or to work them in some manner other than “knit on RS, purl on WS.” Check the notes that come with a stitch pattern to see if they call for special treatment – for example, Stanfield #274 suggests wrapping 3 stitches 8 times, then merely slipping them to right-hand needle.

One other item of note: the knitspeak phrasing you’ll want to use when creating stitch maps of this sort is wrap 2 sts or wrap 5 sts. You could say wrap next 2 sts or wrap yarn around 5 sts, but that extra verbiage isn’t necessary.

And for a final bit of eye candy, Barbara Walker’s Four-Lobed Escutcheon, with wrapped stitches strategically placed on WS rows 15 and 29:

(I had to look up “escutcheon.” It means “a shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.”)

Enjoy!

Affiliate program

Posted 30 Aug 2016 by JC

Stitch maps have been around for a few years now. Yet many knitters still haven’t heard of them, or seen how they can clarify what’s going on within a stitch pattern. That’s why I’m enlisting your help in spreading the news.

Stitch-Maps.com now has an affiliate program that rewards its affiliates for promoting the site via special “affiliate links.” In a nutshell, each time someone follows one of your affiliate links and subsequently purchases a subscription, you earn a 10% commission on their initial subscription payment. Sweet, huh?

Creating links is easy. Once you’ve joined the affiliate program, a “Promote” link appears at the top of every page. Navigate to any page, click “Promote,” and that page’s link appears on the “Create an affiliate link” page, in the “Page link” text box. Your affiliate link appears below, ready to be copied and then pasted into your PDFs, web pages, or social media outlets.

Bonus: Each of your affiliate links can include a tag of your choosing, if you’d like to associate the link with one of your marketing campaigns. The “View affiliate status” page lets you see which links have been clicked, so you can track the progress of your marketing campaigns.

The fine print:

• Commissions are paid quarterly, if you’ve earned $5.00 or more.
• Payments are made via PayPal, to the email address of your choice.
• You have to have a premium subscription to sign up for the affiliate program, and to earn commissions – though if your premium subscription has lapsed, we’ll still pay you the commissions you’ve earned.

Want more details? See the Affiliate program page. Ready to join? Be my guest!

Questions? Comments? Just let me know!

Faster

Posted 20 Jul 2016 by JC

Good news! When it comes to drawing pretty pictures, Stitch-Maps.com is now faster than ever before. Specifically, after figuring out where all the symbols in a stitch map belong (which is the most time-consuming part of the process), the site now squirrels this information away in a more efficient manner. As a result, all related images – with or without column guides, with or without stitch counts, etc. – are drawn much more quickly. As long as you’re talking about the same stitch pattern, with the same number of horizontal and vertical repeats, you’re going to see dramatically improved speed.

This is especially good news for subscribers using current row highlighting. Picture this: You want to knit Pitsilised Koekirjad #184. You ask the site to display three horizontal repeats, and two vertical repeats. The site might pause if it’s never been asked to display this before... but from that point forward, you’ll be able to click from one highlighted row to the next with hardly any pause at all.

Enjoy!

PS. Yes, I also intend to make the code that figures out where all the symbols belong (aka “the layout code”) faster, so any initial pause is minimized too. All in good time, my friends!

Maintenance

Posted 29 Mar 2016 by JC

Stitch-Maps.com has been up and running with only minor hiccups for nearly three years. That record is going to be broken on Thursday, April 7. Starting at 9am Pacific Daylight Time, the site will be down for some long-overdue maintenance, as I upgrade the software packages on which the site is built.

And how long will the upgrades take? It’s anyone’s guess, really, but I’m hoping no more than a couple hours. My apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause!