Needlecrafts Knitting Knitting Basics

Alphabet Charts For Knitting

Older Caucasian woman knitting on sofa
Lumina Images / Getty Images

The ability to personalize your knitting opens a world of opportunities to take your gifts to a higher level. Once you know how to knit letters you can literally say anything you want with your knitting! You can add names or mottos to all your gifts. This kind of personalization really makes a gift stand out. Children especially love to receive gifts with their names on it. 

Knitting letters are similar to writing in that there are lots of different styles. You can find different patterns for different styles of type. Some styles are more suited to children and infants while others might seem more mature. It's all a matter of which pattern you prefer. Choosing the style of letter you want is an important step in personalizing your knitted gifts. Many knitters choose to stick to simple block letters but there are other methods of adding letters to your knits. Personalizing your knitting allows you to be creative with patterns in many ways. Finding out what style of letters you like best if a fun journey. ​

These letters are a little nicer than usual block lettering and are designed to be used primarily with Stockinette Stitch. This makes them very easy to even the casual knitter to master. They can be knit in the piece by stranding, or stitched on with Duplicate Stitch later. The latter method is especially useful, as you can knit up the piece before, say, you know the name of an expected baby, then add the name later. 

Lower Case Aphabet Chart

Numbers and letters on piece of knitting
Deepak Aggarwal / Getty Images

For a more subtle effect, using a single color, you can work the letters in Garter or Reverse Stockinette Stitch, on a background of Stockinette. As you gain confidence in your abilities try working these patterns in different stitches to find which looks you like the best. You can personalize your knitted alphabet in more ways than one, it's a great pattern to get creative with. 

Be sure to print off both charts and work out how many stitches and rows you are going to need for your finished word, then center them on your piece. Make sure to include any spaces between the letters! Just like on paper, people need to be able to read your knitted words. If you're knitting more than one word you must plan for enough spaces between the word that readers will understand it. 

Be aware of how the yarn you choose to use will affect the look of the letters. A smaller, finer yarn might make it easier to read what you've knitted. But the look of large chunky yarn is also appealing to many. Experiment with yarns, see what works best for you. Many knitters find using bring colors against a dark background help knitted words to stand out. 

Whether you decide to test your skills with different styles or just stick to the stockinette stitch learning to knit the alphabet can be super fun. It allows you to add lots of fun details to your future knits.