Dorothy Reade believed that charts should give knitters an idea of what a knitted stitch would look like when it was completed. She was only partially successful in achieving her goal. Today chart symbols are even clearer, and with a bit of practice most knitters can learn to knit lace, cables, and other texture patterns quickly by following charts.

This bag uses one of Dorothy Reade’s favorite lace motifs, Peruvian cat design that she used on the cover of her first book, 25 Original Knitting Designs, you can easily see how much more clear today’s charts are.

I would like to give my sincere thanks to Dorothy Reade’s daughter, Donna Nixon, for her amazing generosity in sharing her time, information, and her mother’s work with me.