Every knitting pattern gives a gauge, or number of stitches and rows per inch, appropriate for the type of yarn and needle size used in the original pattern. The gauge is extremely important for a pattern because it tells you how many stitches to cast on and how many rows to knit for your desired garment size. I rarely use the yarn that is listed in the pattern nor do I even use a yarn similar in size to the given yarn. Because of this tendency, I am required to change the pattern in order to ensure that I am making the correct size for the garment. Therefore, I need to read and write the words, letters, and symbols of the pattern, as well as write and interpret mathematics in figuring out how many stitches to cast on, how many rows to knit, how much yarn to use, etc.
Determining gauge is also essential when making up your own patterns. Writing your own pattern again requires the reading, writing, and interpreting of mathematics as well as writing skills to write out the final pattern. I am making a blanket for my dad with a pattern that I wrote myself. He is a big fan of the University of Miami Hurricanes so I took a photo of one of their logos and ran it through a pattern generator. While this program breaks down the picture into number of stitches, I still need to figure out how big the blanket will be based on the yarn I want to use as well as the suggested needle size for that yarn. This particular pattern taken as it was generated would have made a tiny lap blanket so I needed to add in rows and stitches to widen and lengthen it as well as to make a nice border so that it was a more appropriate size. You can see all of my notes with equations and written instructions for the pattern along the margins of the picture of the logo.
While a knitter obviously needs to know physically how to knit, it is also important for a knitter to be literate in the language of the craft in order to pick apart a pattern. And it is mighty helpful to understand ratios!
Everything you stated is so true Abbey! My mother in law is a lifelong seamstress, and she often amazes me in the things she knows how to do. When it comes to making clothes, knitting, or quilting, you always have to have a understanding of the the mathematical process, and everything that you said, plus things like running a sewing machine (some now days are so confusing), and even being able to thread a bobbin is all a part of that underlying knowledge that makes up the literacy of crafting... Your post also got me thinking about the concept of creativity in general, and does it take literacy to be creative? Great post!!
ReplyDeleteI'd never thought of it that way, but now I understand. It's like how people generally dismiss auto mechanics as people who work only with their greasy hands, and not engineers who must understand each unique vehicle well enough to determine what's wrong with it and how to repair it.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had you as a math teacher in high school!! As a visual learner having math laid out in a pattern I can physically see and adjust would help me more then I can express. I love sewing and knitting, but never thought of it as a math problem. I think you could take a lesson on knitting and collaborate with the home economics or art teacher to create a great lesson that helps students understanding from two/ three different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteVery clever, thanks for opening my eyes to a different way of viewing math.
A very interesting take on knitting. My mom and aunt are quilters, and the geometry involved in making a quilt can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. I had not thought of knitting in the same way, but you make clear all of the dimensions that you have to consider. Cool!
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to have a few lessons on knitting and math when I am a teacher. I hadn't thought of collaborating with the home ec or art teacher but that is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how the more that you delve into a subject, the more that other, seemingly unrelated, subjects seem to reveal themselves? This is so true of both of our content areas, mathematics and the arts. Craft arts such as knitting, require precision and careful calculations in order to create a harmonious piece. Artists use (much to the chagrin of many art students) math to create grids, glaze and paint formulas, geometric fabrications, to scale an image up or down... the list goes on. I'm getting excited to incorporate different subjects into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteSome people think that all communication and expression are expressions of mathematics, like a Unified Theory of Human Thought.
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