Purlgrid
Focused guides for the questions that can stop a project: fit, yarn, gauge, bobbins, reading direction, floats, charts and choosing a first make. Each ends with a useful next step.
Count the complete lettering, including gaps and margins, then compare it with the stitches available. Use a smaller supported alphabet, shorten the text or deliberately enlarge the panel. Scaling the printed page does not change the stitch count.
Compare the amount needed for each colour with the amount you actually have in that colour. A large total can hide a shortage in one strand. Use the same units, include the stated allowances and keep extra material for your chosen finishing.
A fixed stitch count makes a different width at a different gauge. Measure stitches and rows in the same fabric and after the intended finishing. Then decide whether to change your tools, choose a supported size or regenerate a project designed for your measurements.
Count the separate colour areas in the working diagonals, not just the colours in the picture. Total bobbins and the maximum hanging at once are different numbers. Use a plan from the actual graph, and arrange the active strands in their working order.
Read the chart key and construction notes first. Flat knitting, knitting in the round, C2C diagonals and alpha-knot rows do not share one reading rule. Follow the row numbers and the arrows printed for the actual technique.
Look at the unused strands across the back as well as the stitch count. Tight floats can pull the fabric inward even when every row contains the correct number of stitches. Swatch in the actual colourwork method and inspect the relaxed fabric.
Divide each stitch dimension by the Aida count to get inches, then convert units if needed. Add your finishing margin twice to each dimension, once for each side. Use the full area needed by your chosen finish, not only the coloured stitches.
Choose a small project with one main new skill, clear counts and a finish you understand. A plain coaster or dishcloth is often easier to manage than a fitted multicolour garment. Pick the craft you want to practise rather than a promised completion time.
Make a colorwork knitting chart by setting a blank grid to your stitch and row counts, painting each cell in its yarn color, then checking the repeats and knitting a sample. In Purlgrid, use the grid to place stitches and the yarn preview to judge the design before saving it.
Repeat the stitches inside the marked box across each row as instructed, then repeat the specified chart rows upward while keeping a separate total row count. Work any stitches outside the box as directed. A motif’s width and height describe one repeat, not the whole piece.
Draw one complete motif repeat, including its background spacing, then repeat it across a stitch count that fits exactly. In Purlgrid’s web editor, use the horizontal × repeats field for a hand-drawn tile or Tile as a band for a library motif, then inspect the joins and the Back preview.
Use a colourwork chart maker to plan a motif; use a complete knitting pattern when you need instructions for the whole item, including its construction and shaping. A chart can be part of that pattern. Turning its colours into written rows does not supply the missing garment instructions.
Turn a small drawing into a knitting chart by simplifying it into solid shapes, choosing a grid of stitches and rows, and painting one colour per cell. For this colourwork chart, each cell represents one stitch and each horizontal line represents one row or round. Check the drawing at your actual gauge before knitting it.
Choose PDF for a page you plan to print and PNG for a single chart image you want to keep or place in another document. In Purlgrid’s chart checker, use “Print or save as PDF” for the browser’s print dialog or “Download PNG” for an image of the displayed chart. The colourwork editor has different exports, so check which tool you are using.
Mark the row you are working, count only fully completed rows, and record your repeat and stitch position before you stop. For colourwork, follow each run of one colour separately. Purlgrid can export those runs and store manually entered progress in My projects.
Preview two yarn colors in the same chart, compare the textured view and grayscale contrast, then knit a swatch with your actual yarns. Purlgrid’s web chart maker uses library yarn textures to help you compare combinations; it does not reproduce your exact skeins.
Use “Download image” for a PNG of the knitted preview; to send the preview and numbered chart together, capture both on screen or combine separate captures in an image editor. Purlgrid’s web chart maker does not export that combined layout. Add a “Share” link if the recipient needs to open the chart and edit a copy.
Stitch symbols tell you what to do with the stitches; a color grid tells you which yarn to use. Check the chart’s key before treating a mark as either. Purlgrid’s web chart maker edits colourwork grids, not lace, cable, or knit-and-purl symbol charts.
Choose Stitch Fiddle for browser-based drawing and synced charts, Chart Minder for drawing with a stitch preview, knitCompanion for following an existing PDF, or Purlgrid’s web chart maker for textured yarn previews and chart checks. If you need an Android tool, first decide whether you want to create a chart or follow one while knitting.
Purlgrid is a Stitch Fiddle alternative for drawing knitting colourwork with textured yarn previews and chart checks; choose Stitch Fiddle when cloud sync and a row highlighter matter more. Chart Minder also offers free drawing and tracking in a browser. Test your workflow before moving a whole project.
Purlgrid’s free knitting chart maker includes charts up to 400 × 400 stitches, 40 colours, yarn previews, local saving and PNG, CSV and TXT exports without an account. Other free makers have different chart, storage and export limits, so check the whole workflow before drawing a large design.
To make a knitting chart from a photo, use automatic conversion for a first draft, draw by hand for precise control, or combine both. Purlgrid’s web editor supports photo conversion and manual editing; Stitch Fiddle and Stitchboard offer other conversion workflows. Choose by detail, stitch proportions, editing, storage, and the output you need.
Use Purlgrid as a knit companion alternative when you want to edit your own colourwork chart and manually record progress; use a PDF tracking tool when you need markers over an existing pattern. Purlgrid’s web chart maker and My projects do not replace a PDF reader with moving row and stitch markers.
Choose Purlgrid for browser-based colourwork drawing, textured fabric previews and chart checks; choose Stitchart when symbol charts and remembering your row and repeat are priorities. Both support chart creation and image output, but their previews, files and progress tools serve different needs.