Purl. ENNO

Draw a chart

By the end of this you will have drawn a colourwork chart, seen it as knitted fabric, saved it as a PDF, and turned a photo into a second chart.

On this page 4

Part one: draw a chart

  1. Tap More, then Colour charts.
  2. Tap New chart.
  3. Type the size. One square is one stitch, so try 20 for both Stitches (width) and Rows (height).
  4. Tap Make the chart.
The New chart form with the stitches and rows fields filled in
Twenty by twenty is a good size to try things out on.
  1. Tap a colour in the strip along the bottom to select it.
  2. Draw on the grid with one finger. Pencil is already chosen.
  3. To pan, start the drag outside the grid. To zoom, pinch. To abandon a stroke halfway, touch down a second finger.
A star motif being painted on the grid, with the colour strip below
One finger on the grid paints. The margin around it is for panning.
  1. Tap + at the end of the colour strip to add a second colour, then Use this colour.
  2. Tap Select, drag a box around your motif, then tap Repeat to tile it across and down. One tap on Undo takes the whole repeat back if you do not like it.
The Select toolbar with Copy, Paste, Move, the two Mirror buttons and Repeat
Mirror and Repeat each count as one change, so Undo takes them back whole.
  1. Tap More at the top right, then Preview.
  2. Type your Gauge per 10 cm into Sts and Rows. The line at the bottom now says what the piece measures.
  3. Try the 3D and Chart looks, and step Repeat the chart up to see the motif tiled.
The Preview screen showing the motif as knitted fabric with the gauge fields below
Your gauge turns the grid into a real measurement.
  1. Go back, then tap More at the top right, Export, and choose PDF. That is the printable version, numbered on all four edges.
The Export chart sheet with PDF and PNG
PDF prints. PNG is for sending to a friend.

Part two: turn a photo into a chart

  1. Go back to Colour charts and tap From a photo.
  2. Tap Take a photo or Choose from library.
  3. Drag the corners of the box to frame the part you want.
A photo with the framing box dragged around part of it
Frame tightly. Small details do not survive being squeezed into stitches.
  1. Set Stitches wide. The line underneath tells you how many rows that works out as.
  2. Set Colours. Start low, around four to six, and add more only if the picture needs them.
  3. Turn on Correct for knitting gauge and type your Sts / 10 cm and Rows / 10 cm. Stitches are wider than they are tall, so this adds rows to keep the picture's shape when it is knitted.
  4. Tap Chart at the top to see the result, and Photo to compare.
  5. Tap Create chart. The chart is saved and opens in the editor, where you can tidy it up by hand.
The photo to chart controls with Stitches wide, Colours and the gauge fields
Fewer colours read better in yarn than a faithful copy does.

If it goes wrong

  • You painted a stroke you did not mean to. Touch a second finger down before you lift, and the stroke is dropped. If you already lifted, tap Undo.
  • The grid will not move. Panning has to start outside the grid. A drag that begins on a square paints instead.
  • The photo chart looks squashed on screen. That is Correct for knitting gauge doing its job. The chart looks tall because the knitted result will not be.

Next

  • Colour charts: every tool, no stitch squares, colour counts, and following a chart while you knit.