How to make a crochet symbol chart.

Get started

Open the editor to find a round diagram example. You can also choose the row diagram example from the menu above the canvas. These are diagram examples for exploring the editor; they are not tested crochet patterns.

1. Choose a stitch in the Stitch library.
2. Choose Draw and tap or click the canvas to place stitches.
3. Use Select to move and shape them, or Pan to move your view.

The status line above the worktable reports results and any problem the editor can detect.

Edit stitches

In Select mode, click or tap a stitch to select it. Use multiple selection to work on several stitches together. Drag a selection to move it; use the Selection buttons to duplicate, group, ungroup, rotate, mirror or delete.

Undo and Redo let you revisit recent editing steps. The symbol and selection counts below the canvas describe drawn objects, not the actual number of crochet stitches.

Rows and rounds

Choose Rows or Rounds in Chart settings. Guides and grid snapping are optional aids for arranging stitches. Change grid spacing to make a tighter or more open layout.

To build a motif around its center, select stitches, choose a number of copies from 2 to 24, and press Repeat. The copies are editable stitches in your chart. The editor also limits the total symbol count to keep projects manageable.

Crochet chart row numbers and round numbers

Use Row and round numbers in the editor's Details panel. Choose Row or Round, enter a number, then press Place on canvas and tap its position. Alternatively, enter X and Y coordinates and press Add at X/Y. These are manual annotations: placing a label does not assign nearby symbols to a row or decide the reading direction.

Choose an existing number from the label list, change its type, number or position, and press Update label. You can also tap or drag the label in Select mode, or move a selected label with arrow keys. Use Delete label, or Delete after selecting the label, to remove only that label. Selecting a label clears the symbol selection; grouping, rotation and radial repeats operate on symbols.

Each project allows 200 number labels, with integers from 1 to 9999 and X/Y coordinates from −10000 to 10000. Each Row number and each Round number can appear once; Row 1 and Round 1 can coexist. A duplicate reports an error without renumbering your chart. Undo, Redo, browser recovery and project files preserve labels.

Open the numbered row diagram or open the numbered round diagram. Each link replaces the current chart once; Undo restores your previous work.

Crochet chart symbol count

The total below the canvas counts the placed symbol objects. The Stitch legend lists the quantity of each used symbol in your chosen US or UK terms. For example, two shell symbols and three chain symbols make five symbols, even if you also add two number labels. A shell is one drawn object; its key describes a group of stitches. These quantities do not calculate actual stitch totals, yarn needs or whether a pattern can be worked.

Duplicating symbols and creating editable radial copies increase their quantities. Labels, guide lines and legend icons do not. Check the written pattern and its own key when interpreting a chart; the crochet symbols reference explains these distinctions.

Save, export SVG and print a crochet chart with its legend

The editor saves your current project in this browser for recovery after a refresh. Use Save project to download a versioned project file, and Open to load one later. Keep a downloaded copy before clearing browser data or switching devices.

Export offers SVG, PNG and PDF charts with the chart title, number labels and an optional US or UK stitch key with symbol quantities. Include legend on export is saved in your project and controls only the key; number labels remain in every export. Project files preserve editable symbols and labels. SVG is vector artwork; PNG and PDF chart artwork are raster. Chart text in a PDF is not searchable or editable; page assembly marks are separate PDF text.

Exports include the whole chart, even if a number label is far away from its symbols or there are only labels. The default One page (fit) PDF retains automatic A4 portrait or landscape direction. PNG and this single-page PDF share the original 2800-pixel longest-side limit. Long diagrams can become small when fitted to one page.

To print a large crochet chart across multiple pages, choose A4 pages at print scale in Export. Select 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150% or 200% and A4 portrait or landscape. The preview shows the total pages and the assembly rows and columns. At 100%, 96 SVG/CSS chart units equal one printed inch (72 PDF points). At 200%, that diagram is twice as large. This describes printed diagram size, not crochet gauge, actual stitch totals or finished fabric size.

The paginated PDF rasterizes each page independently at 144 dpi, with 12-point (about 4.2 mm) overlaps, page numbers and alignment ticks outside the artwork. Assemble from left to right, then top to bottom. Trim the adjoining side margins and align the repeated strips using the ticks at each overlap's center; do not count repeated symbols as additional objects. Title, number labels and every enabled legend row remain part of the complete chart, sometimes across pages. Print on A4 at Actual size / 100%; a printer's Fit setting changes the intended size. Inspect the result before printing.

Pagination is limited to 20 pages and 32 million rendered pixels, with a bounded decoded-raster budget. An oversized layout is refused before pages are rendered. Choose a smaller scale, the other A4 direction or One page (fit); your editable chart remains intact. Print settings last only until this page reloads and are not saved in JSON or browser recovery. Download a JSON project to reopen and edit the diagram. New, Open and example links replace the chart; Undo restores the previous one.

US and UK terms

US and UK crochet names differ for several stitches. Switch the Crochet terms setting to change names shown in the stitch library and legend. The actual symbols in your chart do not change.

Common examples: US single crochet is UK double crochet; US double crochet is UK treble crochet. Always check the chart's legend before working from a diagram. The US and UK crochet terms table lists every pair, and how to read crochet charts explains row and round direction.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Delete or Backspace: remove selected symbols or the selected number label.
• Ctrl/Cmd + Z: undo. Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + Z: redo.
• Ctrl/Cmd + D: duplicate selected stitches.
• Escape: clear the selection.

Shortcuts do not take over when you are typing in an input or changing a setting.