How to Make Knitting Charts
Knitters seem to fall into two camps: chart lovers and chart haters. Whether you love using charts or not, there is no denying that, for many knitters, seeing a visual representation of what you are supposed to be knitting simplifies the process - even if for others, it’s like trying to decipher a secret code!
I am a big believer in providing both charts and written instructions in a knitting pattern so that you can cater to as many makers as possible. Your charts should be clear and simple, which means no hand-drawn charts!
There are several ways to design digital knitting charts which range from free to paid-for apps and software. In this blog post, I will show you a variety of options for creating knitting pattern charts that will work for all budgets.
To be completely upfront, I’ve only ever used Stitchmastery to create my charts. I love it so much that I have no need to use anything else! However, Stitchmastery is a paid-for software and I know that many designers are on a tight budget, especially when they are starting out, which is why I want to show you a range of options.
None of this post is sponsored, nor do the companies even know that I am writing this blog post. This is just my own research and opinions. Now, let’s get going!
Stitch Fiddle
Stitch Fiddle is a website that helps you to create knitting, crochet and cross stitch charts. You don’t need to install software - you just use the tool through your web browser.
Price
They offer two versions of the chart maker: a free version and a premium version, which is currently priced at €1.50 per month.
The main difference between the free and paid-for service is that you can create up to 15 charts with the free version and unlimited charts with the paid.
Additionally, the free service only allows you to download low-resolution versions of the chart, whereas the premium will give you a higher resolution, which is ideally, what you should be using in your patterns.
You can collaborate on charts with other team members such as a tech editor. For the free version, you can only share your chart with one other person, but if you pay for premium, you can share with more users.
Whenever you download a chart using the free version of the tool, it will say “Designed with Stitch Fiddle” at the bottom. This won’t be there if you pay for the premium version.
There are lots of benefits to using the premium service and at such a low price, it makes sense to pay for it if you can afford it.
Critique
One thing I don’t like about Stitch Fiddle is that it doesn’t give a key to shows what each symbol means. This means that, as a designer, you have to have a good understanding of the correct chart symbol to use for each part of the chart. If you’re struggling, you could always refer to the Craft Yarn Council’s Knit Chart Symbols standards to check.
This also means that you need to manually add abbreviations and descriptions for most of the chart symbols as they don’t seem to have them stored on the system - even though the symbol is available to use. It’s a bit odd!
Chart Minder
Chart Minder is another browser-based chart maker without the need to download software.
They offer many of the same tools as Stitch Fiddle, such as how your intended gauge affects your stitch/motif and scanning in an image to turn it into a chart. Whilst picture-based intarsias are not very popular at the moment, I think this feature could generate some interesting intarsias that are a little more abstract.
Price
They have a very similar model to Stitch Fiddle in the sense that they offer both a free and a pro version of the site. Currently, the pro version of the site is £1.25 a month when you pay annually (£15) and £2.50 when you pay per month.
Charts made with the free version feature a Chart Minder watermark, whereas the pro allows you to remove it. Aside from that, the free version offers quite a lot of functionality.
Critique
There aren’t a ton of stitch symbols available, so you might find that they don’t have the ones you want to use. However, it will work nicely for basic charts.
A Spreadsheet Program, Such as Excel or Google Docs
This is a (likely, free) solution using a program that might already be familiar to you.
I’ll warn you - this process might feel rather clunky because you’re using the program in a way that it was not intended. However, you can get great results! I know one very successful designer who still uses Excel to create her own knitting charts.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to make charts in Excel, there is a great tutorial that walks you through making a colourwork chart here.
You can get knitting fonts to add to your excel charts too, so that you can chart textures. Here is a free knitting font that has an extensive range of symbols. Cathy, the creator, has given full permission for it to be used on commercial patterns too.
Critique
You all know I love my spreadsheets, but I do see this process as unnecessarily laborious. Unless it clicks with you quickly, I would recommend seeking alternative solutions.
Stitchmastery
Stitchmastery is a program that can be installed on Windows, MacOS and Linux. There was a bit of a learning curve initially, but overall, I find the tools easy to use.
Stitchmastery is my favourite because it offers so much. It has every stitch you could imagine from cables to brioche to Estonian. Apparently, you can create your own custom stitches too, although I haven’t needed to do that yet because they offer everything I need.
The written instructions are written up as you create the chart, which is so handy! It means that I can easily offer both written and charted stitch instructions without much effort. I have just found out that I can also customise the template so that the written instructions are automatically written according to the language used in my style guide - I want to try this soon!
They have a fantastic blog which offers tutorials on the various ways you can make better charts. My favourites are written by knitting pattern expert, Kate Atherley. I often learn new ways I can make my charts better.
It is £60 to purchase the software, so it isn’t cheap. However, once you’ve got it, you’ve got it. There are no recurring payments. For me, it has been an excellent investment.
You can install the software on two computers, which is really handy. I recently had to wipe my computer due to tech issues and I was easily able to reinstall it without having to pay again.
Which knitting chart maker should you use?
What you should use very much depends on personal preferences and where you are at with knitting pattern design.
If you are just starting out and have a small budget, try out one of the browser-based chart makers or play around with a spreadsheet chart.
However, if you can afford it, I highly recommend investing in Stitchmastery. It has everything you could possibly need going forward as well as excellent customer service, so if you are stuck on what to do, they are just an email away.
Discussion
How do you create your knitting charts? Share in the comments section below, especially if it’s something that I haven’t included in this blog post. It might help someone in our community!
