Graphing a Filet Crochet Pattern from Scratch

[birdlady1]

So I've found a wonderful bird photograph, turned it into black and white, and added the words I wanted. I saved the "document" as a PDF, then went to http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/ to graph it.

 

It looks okay ... not great ... because there are shades of gray. I don't know how to "translate" those gray blocks ....

 

So what can I do now to make it a more effective graph that I can actually use for a filet crocheted piece?

 

Help! Please?

[Katchkan]

So I've found a wonderful bird photograph, turned it into black and white, and added the words I wanted. I saved the "document" as a PDF, then went to http://www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/ to graph it.

 

It looks okay ... not great ... because there are shades of gray. I don't know how to "translate" those gray blocks ....

 

So what can I do now to make it a more effective graph that I can actually use for a filet crocheted piece?

 

Help! Please?

I know of no program that can take a photo and turn it into a filet chart. All the graph programs are going to do just what yours did. Give you shades of grays. Doesn't work well for filet. I have never worked from a photo to get my designs, so if there is a method I do not know of it. Sorry couldn't be of more help.

[samistrange]

Try playing with the number of colors you want in the finished piece, if I remember right if you only choose 2 you'll get black & white.

[sunnywolfgar]

birdlady1,, this may work for you...

 

this is what I do......

 

If there is something I like in a picture graph etc, I take and transfer the pattern by hand and my eyes on to the graph paper, you can buy the paper at office stores. The bigger the tablet gets the more pricer it gets. I think I got something like 11x14 or 14x18 something like that and it was like $14.00 or $18.00 some where in there anyways ..Print it out your pattern , then with your own graph paper color in blocks you want colored etc. so if the first 4 blocks are black, color your blocks on your graph paper, I would use colored pencils and shading the blocks lightly so you still know its a block and not 4 blocks together. As you do your transfering ,go row by row and before you know it you are done. use a high lighter on the one you printed out so you know where you are when you come back.

 

It can be very :yestime :yesconsuming,, but well worth it.

 

tip: do not put it down till you are done with the whole row. Easier to know where you are when you come back.

 

good:clover luck,

sunnywolfgar

[birdlady1]

Wow, Terry! That's a LOT of work , especially for a filet piece I was going to do on a whim for a local bird rescue group. I may have to try something else, although my Kodak software allows me to turn photographs into black and white as well as into coloring books and cartoon critters.

 

Just in case, I do have a pad of graph paper.... Thanks!

 

Thank you, too, Kathy and Samistrange. I would have hoped it would have been a little easier... Oh well.

[sunnywolfgar]

Forgot to mention is also great way to add other graph work into what you already have.

[Granny Square]

Take your image and "clean it up" with the Paint program that probably came with your computer (or the Kodak software maybe?), making black or white decisions with the grey squares.

 

I've also done this...lighten your image to a faint grey instead of black, stick a page of your graph paper in the printer and print the image directly on the graph paper. Some of the squares will be partly covered, you can fill in (or not) as it pleases your eye. Easier than graphing the whole picture, just adjusting the edges.

 

Have fun!

[sunnywolfgar]

Thank--you granny square great tip, I will have to try that sometime.

[silkymist]

You can download a free demo of software for filet crochet here...it works real well.

http://crochetdesigns.com/software/default.htm

[birdlady1]

You can download a free demo of software for filet crochet here...it works real well.

http://crochetdesigns.com/software/default.htm

 

Hmmm, this looks interesting and might be exactly what I'm looking for. Have you fooled with it?'

 

Kathy, have you ever seen this or worked with it?

[cjansen]

The other thing to do is to use a paint program and decrease the colors to 2 that will give you black and white. picture may end up unrecognizable, or okay enough to adjust manually. I do this by changeing the pixel size to squares in filet (25 pixels by 25 pixels will give you 25 filet squares by 25 squares) then decrease color count to 2. if not enough detail you can increase original picture size and see if that gives you a better 2 color pic. I hope that is clear... I'm not good at explaining things -- I just do them!

[goldie]

can some one help me with this i cant download the demo for this prog and i would really like to try it

[MaryPat]

My next project, which will start this weekend, is to do a graph using KnitPro. I was going to open the photo in Microsoft Photo first and see if there were any special effects that would be helpful in reducing the number of colors. your posting got me to try it out just now. In Microsoft Photo, there's a special effect called "Stamp..." When I tried that with a very complex photo, it turned it into a black and white outline that would work, I think, for what you want.

 

The effect I'm going to use is "Watercolor". It will reduce the number of colors and connect them much more than a regular photo.

[RoseRed]

That's the one Kathy and I both use. When I found it online I asked her about it also. I'm not familiar with the free version but I know the paid version would work for that. It takes a lot of playing around to get it right tho.

[chrissyf]

Hmmm, this looks interesting and might be exactly what I'm looking for. Have you fooled with it?'

 

Kathy, have you ever seen this or worked with it?

I use this to design almost all of my filet pieces even the ones i "draw" square by square. I used to do it all by hand on graph paper. Time consuming but gratifying. I tried the printing on graph paper thing and it worked so so. I found it easier to place my picture that was printed on a window with the graph paper over it and tracing it that way. Sometimes graphing by hand takes almost as long as making the actual piece but it can be fulfilling since you have the knowledge that you did it by your own hand. Good luck

[frogrockr]

There is a Filet Crochet:crocheting program that does work exceptionally well, I think it is the sample you've mentioned.

 

I had it saved to memory stick but someone decide they needed the USB drive more than me...

 

Manda

[moggy]

There are some cross stitch design programs out there too - if you just set it to two colours you should get a decent filet graph from it

[RDRautine62]

I found that if you have a photo program such as one from Adobe (I use Photoshop), the photo can be changed. The program can eliminate some of the colors/grays for you. As a black and white, it can go from totally white areas to black with as few or as many shades in between. The process is to get rid of so many close color values. It can be used in a process called "Levels" Here is an explanation of it: http://www.the-graphics-tablet.com/color-cast.html

Try a trial version of Photoshop and play with it. Photoshop takes a photo and turns it into "pixels" or squares. Such squares can be used for crochet, weaving or knitting. It also has lots of effects under "Filters" that are fun to try. Never know what it'll turn out until you try.

Good luck.

[chrissyf]

i just thought of something else...make your picture a coloring book page and try that in knit pro....coloring book pages are just open and closed areas just like filet