“I know they are supposed to make it faster, but I just want to say, ‘Can’t you just spell it all out for me?’”
Sitting in this private crochet lesson, I had to smile and think back to my own experiences – with yarn craft and beyond.
One of the first projects I did as a new knitter in my early 20s did exactly what my current student requested, spelled out each and every step.
So what would read: k3, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3
Was written like this: knit, knit, knit, yarn over, slip 1 stitch to right needle, knit the next two stitches together, pass the stitch you slipped to the right needle over the stitch you knitted together, yarn over, knit, knit, knit
I LOVED it!
It drove everyone I asked for help with that project nuts.
Any time abbreviations come up I also think about a job I had in New York working for a school system. It seemed like every other word spoken or written was an acronym. And some were used in a very different way than I was used to!
This organization was growing very quickly, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt lost in meetings. So, I worked hard to build a bridge for newcomers to this new language. Some of the things I did included:
- Creating a “dictionary” of these acronym
- Sitting next to new hires and “translating” by whispering or writing down the full name/term instead of the acronym
- Typing out the whole thing the first time in emails or other communications with the acronym in parentheses
This is something I still strive to do, especially for my students.
My current crochet student followed up with, “So, I just find it easier to have someone with me to show me and talk me through what to do for now.”
There is always more than one way to “solve” a problem! (and I’m happy to be part of that solution for each of my students!)
Starting something new often means we have to learn a new language, or at least a new dialect.
That is going to be true for knitting or crochet, but there are lots of resources.
Most patterns include an abbreviations section that you can refer back to throughout the project.
Google and YouTube are very useful tools for learning the meaning of an abbreviation (and also how to execute the newly learned stitch or technique!
PRO TIP: if you add “knit” or “crochet” after the unintelligible string of letters/numbers you will find a relevant answer more quickly!
Example: search “hdc crochet” instead of “hdc”
This way you get the crochet stitch instead of information about the downtown of a town in Massachusetts:
Just like when visiting a foreign country, we may not understand everything that is said, especially in the beginning, but even learning a couple key words (or abbreviations!) can get you pretty far.
When I visit other countries, being able to say “thank-you” in the local language is something that brings me great joy and a sense of accomplishment. And remembering both what an abbreviation in a pattern means AND how to do it is another great way to feel a well earned sense of pride.
Give it a try!
And if you want a translator, I’m just a lesson away – happy to answer questions and help guide you through your project one baby step at a time, stitch by stitch.
Book a lesson here: https://tidycal.com/knitbynickwhole
