How to Read a Crochet Graph

To read a crochet graph, treat each cell as one stitch in the color shown, start at the bottom row, and work upward. When you work back and forth in rows, odd rows read right to left and even rows read left to right.

Why the direction alternates

When you work flat, you turn your work at the end of each row. Row 1 usually runs right to left for a right-handed crocheter, then you turn, and row 2 runs left to right as you look at the chart. If you are left-handed, swap the two directions.

If you work in the round, every round runs in the same direction, so read each round the same way.

Follow an example

Say row 1 of a chart, reading right to left, shows 5 navy, 3 yellow, then 5 navy. You would work:

1. 5 single crochet in navy, changing to yellow in the last stitch
2. 3 single crochet in yellow, changing to navy in the last stitch
3. 5 single crochet in navy

Changing color in the last step of the stitch before keeps the new color clean.

Keep your place

Most mistakes come from losing track, not from the stitches. A few things help:

• Count in tens. Good charts have heavy lines every 10 stitches and rows.
• Mark your row. Use a sticky note under the current row, or a tracker that highlights it.
• Check the count. Each row should add up to the chart's width.

MotifSmith shows the current row highlighted, with the color counts already written in working direction, and remembers your place on your device. Try it here.

Why your picture looks stretched

Single crochet stitches are wider than they are tall, so a chart drawn on square cells comes out wider than it looks on screen. Charts made for crochet add extra rows to correct for this. To check a chart, work a small swatch and compare proportions.

Next

• Yarn calculator to see how much yarn the chart needs
• C2C vs tapestry vs filet crochet if you are unsure which technique suits your chart