Filet crochet Part 1–An introduction

What is filet crochet?

Filet crochet is a style of crochet composed of solid and open blocks. Stitches used are mostly treble crochet and chains.

Abbreviations:
Note: All stitch terms used are European
Chains – ch
Treble crochet- tr

Symbols:

What are Open Blocks?

An open block is composed of a tr, 2 ch, 1 tr.
They are either worked over 4 chains of the foundation row or over another open or a solid block.

What are Solid blocks?

A solid block is composed of 4 tr.
They are either worked on 4 chains of the foundation row or another solid block or an open block.

What does this chart mean?

This chart has 2 rows.
The bottom row is the first row - it is read from right to left as
Row 1: [1 solid block, 1 open block] 3 times, 1 solid block.
In a crochet chart, the first row will be represented as

In words, the instructions are written as
Row 1: 1 tr into the 4th chain from hook, 2 tr into each of next 2 ch below, * 2 ch, skip 2 ch, 1 tr into each of the next 4 ch below, rep from * 2 times more.

Similarly row 2 is read from left to right as
Row 2: [1open block, 1 solid block] 3 times, 1 open block.
In a crochet chart, it will be represented as

In words, the instructions are written as
Row 2: 5 chains, * skip 2 tr, 1 tr into next tr, 1 tr into each of next 2 ch, 1 tr into next tr,
2 ch, rep from * 2 times more, 2 ch, skip 2 tr, 1 tr into the last ch of the turning chain.

Note: When you complete 1 row and commence the next, the first stitch of the row is always composed of chains – these chains are called turning chains - 3 chains are used instead of the first treble.

How to calculate the number of foundation chains required

• Closely observe the crochet charts for rows 1 and 2. See what happens when you combine 2 blocks – be it any combination.
• You will find that the tr that ends the first block is the first tr of the next block.
• In effect each block is made of 3 stitches - you need one extra stitch (tr) to close the last block.
• Therefore, the number of foundation chains required = (Number of blocks x 3) + 1
• If the first block of the first row is an open block, then the number of chains required = (Number of blocks x 3 ) + 1( for the closing stitch) + 3 (turning chain) + 2 ( 2 ch, skip 2 chain) = (No. of blocks x 3) + 6
• If the first block of the first row is a solid block, then the number of chains required = (No. of blocks x 3) + 4

In the first row, we have 7 blocks and the first block is a solid block. No. Of chains = (7 x 3) + 4 = 25 chains.

This is what the 2 rows together will look like

A clear understanding of the basics will help you convert any single coloured cross-stitch chart into a filet crochet chart.

Tags: blocks, crochet, crochet pattern, crocheting, filet crochet, open block, solid block, treble crochet