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Crochet › Motifs and stitch patterns

Filet crochet

A grid of square holes (mesh) with some squares filled in, so a picture or letters show as solid blocks on an open net. Each square is 3 stitches wide: an open square is a dc then 2 chains (skipping 2 stitches); a filled square is a dc then 2 more dc.

What you work it with

Crochet · Tools: A small hook with cotton thread or a smooth cotton yarn; the chart on squared paper.

Symbol chart

One or two repeats of the stitch pattern, in standard crochet symbols.
1234Chain (ch)Double crochet (dc)Read from the bottom: each row starts at its number, with its turning chain.

Steps

  1. Chart the design on squared paper: one square = one mesh square.
  2. Chain 3 × the number of squares + 1, plus 3 for the turning chain.
  3. Row 1: dc in the 4th ch from the hook for the first wall, then for each square: open = ch 2, skip 2, dc; filled = dc in the next 3 stitches.
  4. Turn, ch 3 (counts as the first dc).
  5. Work the next row from the chart, reading it back the other way.
  6. Block flat.

The full card

What it looks like
A grid of square holes (mesh) with some squares filled in, so a picture or letters show as solid blocks on an open net.
How it behaves
Flat and lacy; firm enough to hang as a curtain or table runner.
How it works
Each square is 3 stitches wide: an open square is a dc then 2 chains (skipping 2 stitches); a filled square is a dc then 2 more dc. The squares share their dc walls, and each row ends with one more dc.
Tools
A small hook with cotton thread or a smooth cotton yarn; the chart on squared paper.
Parameters
Width: number of squares × 3 + 1 stitches. Work fairly firmly so the squares come out square.
Steps
1) Chart the design on squared paper: one square = one mesh square. 2) Chain 3 × the number of squares + 1, plus 3 for the turning chain. 3) Row 1: dc in the 4th ch from the hook for the first wall, then for each square: open = ch 2, skip 2, dc; filled = dc in the next 3 stitches. 4) Turn, ch 3 (counts as the first dc). 5) Work the next row from the chart, reading it back the other way. 6) Block flat.
Charting
On this chart each dc symbol is a wall or a filled stitch, and a pair of chain ovals is the top of an open square; a filled square shows 3 dc. Odd rows read right to left, even rows left to right.
Limits and common problems
Squares that are taller than wide distort the picture: chain 1 less or work tighter. Counting walls wrongly shifts the design by a square.
Combines with
Double crochet, Chain and foundation rows (incl. foundation single crochet), Crab stitch edge (reverse single crochet)
Pieces and assembly
Curtains, table runners, edgings, letters and pictures; frame the panel with a sc border.

Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.

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