Purlgrid editorial team
How to Read Knitting Charts with Repeats
A small chart can describe a much larger piece of knitting. The repeat box tells you which part to reuse; the pattern’s notes tell you how often, where to begin and where to stop. Separate those instructions before you cast on.
The short answer
Repeat the stitches inside the marked box across each row as instructed, then repeat the specified chart rows upward while keeping a separate total row count. Work any stitches outside the box as directed. A motif’s width and height describe one repeat, not the whole piece.
Find the repeat box and its instructions
Look for a heavy outline, colored border or bracket, then check the legend to confirm what it marks. Identify the stitches inside it, the stitches outside it and the row range to repeat vertically. The box alone does not tell you how many repeats your size needs.
Follow the chart’s reading direction for the row you are working. Work the stitches before the repeat, cycle through the boxed section the required number of times, then work the stitches after it. Finish that entire knitting row before moving to the next chart row.
Count repeats across without repeating the edges
For this worked example, imagine a flat colourwork panel with a fixed 8-stitch repeat, 2 edge stitches at each side and no increases or decreases. Five repeats across require 2 + (5 × 8) + 2 = 44 stitches. The repeated center uses 40 stitches; the edges account for the remaining 4.
Work the starting 2 stitches once, the boxed 8 stitches five times, then the final 2 stitches once. Repeating the entire chart, including its edges, would add unwanted border stitches between motifs. Before starting, check the reverse calculation: (44 − 4) ÷ 8 = 5 complete repeats.
Use the stitch count for your chosen size. If the division leaves a remainder, check the edge allowance, starting column and any instructed partial repeat before changing the pattern.
Calculate the total rows before restarting the chart
Give the same example a 6-row repeat, with every row charted. Working chart rows 1–6 four times in total produces 6 × 4 = 24 rows. After chart row 6, return to chart row 1 for the next pass. Your fabric row count continues upward; it does not reset.
Now add 2 setup rows before the chart and finish with chart rows 1–3 once more. The complete section contains 2 + (6 × 4) + 3 = 29 rows. Keep setup rows and the final partial repeat separate so neither gets included in every pass. Here, total rows means rows worked after casting on.
Read the wording closely: four times in total includes the first pass, while four more times after an initial pass means five passes, or 30 chart rows in this example. Restart at the row specified in the instructions, which may be somewhere other than row 1.
Check whether every knitting row is drawn
Some charts show only right-side rows and give wrong-side instructions in a note. If the visible labels are 1, 3 and 5, do not treat those three drawn lines as three consecutive fabric rows. Work the intervening rows from the written instructions.
For a repeat explicitly defined as rows 1–6, count all 6 worked rows, including an uncharted row 6. Do not infer the repeat height from the number of drawn lines or assume an omitted row is always purled; use that pattern’s notes.
Record both your chart position and total progress
Keep a row guide beside the chart and a separate tally of completed rows. For the example with 2 setup rows, a useful stopping note is: total row 14 complete; repeat 2, chart row 6 complete; next is total row 15, repeat 3, chart row 1. Writing the next action prevents confusion about whether a recorded row was finished.
Stitch markers between horizontal repeats can help you spot a count mismatch near its source. If a decrease crosses a repeat boundary, follow the pattern’s marker instructions. When resuming, compare a recognizable feature in the fabric with the chart before working the next row.
Preview a repeated rectangle in Purlgrid
Open the knitting chart maker and select Size. In Size and gauge, set Stitches to 8 and its adjacent × repeats field to 5; set Rows to 6 and its × repeats field to 4. Draw your colourwork motif in that base grid. These settings describe a repeated rectangle of 40 stitches × 24 rows.
The repeat controls tile the whole base grid, including any border you draw inside it. They do not add the example’s separate edges, setup rows or final partial repeat. Keep those in your construction notes. For large designs, the preview may show fewer repeats for performance; a notice explains this.
In the download menu, Chart table (CSV) and Written instructions (TXT) describe one base repeat and include the horizontal and vertical repeat counts. They do not expand every repeated row into a full project sequence. The web editor has no completed-row counter; use your separate tally while knitting.
Before you continue
- Confirm the repeat boundaries and instructions for your size.
- Separate repeated stitches from edges and other stitches worked once.
- Count uncharted rows, setup rows and any final partial repeat.
- Record the last completed row and the next chart row before stopping.
More questions, answered
Do I work the whole boxed motif before moving across?
No. Repeat the current chart row across the fabric first. Move up the chart only after completing the knitting row or round.
What does repeat rows 4–9 mean?
Work rows 4 through 9, inclusive: that is 6 rows per pass. When another pass is required, return to row 4. Earlier setup rows stay outside that cycle.
Does a gray square count as a stitch?
Check the legend. A square marked no stitch is a placeholder to skip, not an instruction to knit or slip a stitch. Gray shading alone does not establish its meaning.
Can I stop halfway through a repeat to use leftover stitches?
Only where the pattern allows it. Some sizes deliberately start or end partway through a motif. Follow those instructions rather than inventing a new stopping point.
Does the fixed-width calculation apply to a shaping chart?
Not automatically. Increases and decreases can change the stitches used or produced by a repeat. Check the legend and the required count for that particular row instead of multiplying the box’s apparent width.