Filet Crochet is a method of making patterns that look a little bit like simplified lacework. Some patterns are quite intricate and symmetrical, others like this are long and asymmetrical but still look quite cool if you use the right yarn colour and set them against a contrasting background.
Filet Crochet patterns are slightly weirder than normal crochet patterns. Normally folk don't write them out as a list of instructions (like you'd see with other patterns), rather they're designed as charts that show where triple crochet stitches are, or where chains and gaps are instead.
So let's take a look at the Filet Crochet 'fiddle' chart for the above pattern:
If you squint really hard, you'll just about make out a rather 'squished' looking Miner Willy in the middle of his walk cycle. The reason for the squishiness is that in fiddle charts, you have to account for ALL the stitches in your base chain (including the edges of each stitch) as being extra columns. The number of rows stays the same.
So for Miner Willy, if you drew him on a piece of graph paper, he's actually 10 columns wide, 18 rows tall. Because of the number of stitches we will use in each space or block, we have to multiply the number of columns times 3, and add an extra one for the border / starting chain on each row. Don't worry about the mechanics of this, it'll all become clear once you start working.
Reading a row and choosing where to start
Filet Crochet starts with a base (or foundation) chain, and all subsequent rows are worked into that chain. We're lucky because our design has the same starting and finishing rows, so it really doesn't matter where you start or end the design. What DOES matter though is that you may begin to work your rows left to right, but when you TURN your work, you'll actually be reading the NEXT row right to left. Confused? Don't be, it's quite simple once you get going, all you really need to know is where the gaps are, or where the blocks are.
So let's imagine we're starting at the bottom. Once we've made our foundation chain we actually start the real business of Filet Crochet in row 1, column one, the bottom right hand corner of our chart above. We then work Right to Left on the chart so our very first row is worked 'backwards' (or forwards if you read from right to left already as some languages demand!)
So first, we need to make a chain of 31 stitches. This is our foundation chain so CH 31
Now we're into the nitty gritty, beginning Row 1 and working right to left as we said.
We need to put a Triple Crochet stitch (Yarn over, put the hook through the stitch, yarn over again, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through the final loops on your hook to complete the Triple Crochet Stitch). This needs to be in the fourth stitch from your hook on the foundation chain. Why? Because we want a nice gap to begin with as our very first filet is actually a gap.
So if you look at row 1, we've actually completed the first block of work, a lovely square gap which (hopefully) should look like a little window made of chain stitches...
Next, we need another gap so we skip the next two stitches on Row 1, and put another Triple Crochet stitch into stitch 7 of our foundation chain.
We need to repeat the above 8 more times. If we were writing the instructions for the Foundation Chain and Row 1 it would look like this
First, CH 31
Row 1 (work from right to left): In 4th stitch from hook, TC x 1. [Skip 2 stitches, Chain 2, TC x 1]* repeat to end of row.
What you should end up with is 10 little chain stitch 'boxes' all along your foundation chain, like a little yarn ladder! Congratulations, you have completed your first filet crochet row! Give yourself a pat on the back.
Moving on to Row 2 and working 'upwards' from your base row.
Nearly every Filet Crochet pattern I've ever seen pretty much ditches you, the reader, at this point of the tutorial, assuming that now you've made a row of gaps you'll know how to make a row of blocks. How cruel! I am not going to do that, I am going to lead you through the next 17 rows so make a cup of tea, settle into a comfy chair and get ready to crochet your bum off.
Row 2 will be worked left to right. As I said above, it doesn't really matter which way you work in Filet, but the first thing you WILL need to do is turn your work over - otherwise these instructions aren't going to make any sense. You're also building on Row 1 so you need to move along the top of that neat little row of windows you just made.
Looking at our chart, and Row 2, we have six "Blocks" of triple crochet stitches separated by a gap in the middle of them but let's not dash ahead, let's get the first few stitches of this row down.
First, we need to CH 5 (chain 5). Why five? Because a chain of 5 will allow us to form the left hand edge, and the top edge of the first 'box' (which is a gap in our chart not a block).
CH 5
Now we need to miss out or skip the next two stitches and put one Triple Crochet stitch into the fourth stitch along. Yarn over, put the hook through the stitch, yarn over, pull through the first two loops, yarn over, pull through the last loops and you'll now have your first 'window' gap of Row 2.
1 TC in 4th stitch along
Now we need another gap, but instead of chaining 5 this time, we're only chaining 2. WHY? Because we're only making the 'top edge' of the next gap, not three sides as before. You'll see why once you complete the next set of stitches, so...
CH 2
Now the pattern will get interesting. Skip the next two stitches, and put another triple crochet in the 7th stitch along in Row 2.
1 TC in 7th stitch along.
But as we're now blocking in, making solid blocks, continue with Triple Crochet stitches for the next 9 stitches
1 TC in next 9 stitches.
We're now at another gap. What do we do? What do we do? Don't panic, we're going to skip the next two stitches, and plop down another 10 Triple Crochet stitches in the next 10 stitches.
Skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then 1 TC in next 10 stitches.
We're almost there. We have another gap on the last 'block' of the row, so skip the next two stitches, plop another TC Stitch into the last stitch of the row
Skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then 1 TC in last stitch of row.
Then turn your work, ready for Row 3!
Rules of thumb for Filet Crochet
So you've worked two rows of our Manic Miner design, well done you! By now you'll get the idea of how the gap stitches work (to produce 'holes' in your Filet design) and how the block stitches work (to fill in the gaps).
It's always worth remembering that at the start of every single row in this design, you Chain 5 stitches (not two) to build the first block of the next row. From thereon in you chain 2 every time you need a gap, and you TC every time you need to fill in a gap.
This will also help you decipher a filet chart like the one I included.
Row 3 of our design looks like this (excuse me using non-standard symbols for this, someone really needs to add a 'crochet' font to Blogger!)
!00!00!!!!!!!00!!!!!!!!!!00!00!
Basically, Gap, Gap, Block, Block, Gap, Block, Block, Block, Gap, Gap
Make sense? HOORAY if so, this brings you once step closer to working from ANY filet pattern on the internet, as they're nearly all written out this way.
BUT (and here's the big but, we love big buts and we cannot lie) as this row is read right to left (remember we're working in a sort of 'snake like' manner up the chart from the bottom row) we would write it out long form like this:
Row 3 (worked right to left):
CH 5, skip 2 stitches, TC x 1 in next stitch, skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then TC in next 10 stitches, skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then TC in next 7 stitches, skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then TC x 1 in next stitch, skip 2 stitches, Chain 2 then TC in last stitch, TURN
Can you work out what Row 4 might look like
A) as a filet chart and B) As a written out long-form set of instructions?
Join us for Part 2 coming up VERY soon where we'll pick up with Row 4 onwards.
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