How to Filet Crochet

What filet crochet is

Filet crochet imitates filet lace: a square net where some squares are solid and the solid squares form a picture. In crochet, the net is built from chains and double crochet (US terms — a UK pattern calls the same stitch a treble). Because the design lives in the grid, not in fancy stitches, filet is one of the friendliest lace techniques there is: the hands do something simple over and over, while the chart carries all the complexity.

Traditionally filet was worked in fine cotton thread for curtains, table runners, chair backs and edgings — the 1914 book our pattern library comes from is full of exactly that. Worked in modern yarn instead of thread, the same charts make airy blankets and market bags.

The two meshes

1. Open mesh: dc in the stitch, ch 2, skip 2 stitches, dc in the next stitch. That dc-ch2-dc frame makes one empty window.
2. Filled mesh: 3 dc. Instead of the ch-2 gap, you fill the window with two more double crochets. Side-by-side meshes share their edge dc, so a filled mesh next to another mesh adds 3 stitches, not 4.

That is genuinely all. Every pattern in our library — birds, cherubs, whole garden scenes — is these two meshes arranged on a grid.

Starting a real chart

The counting rule our patterns use (the standard modern convention): base chain = 3 × meshes + 1. Then, for the first mesh of row 1: if it is filled, add ch 3 and dc in the 4th ch from hook; if open, add ch 5 and dc in the 8th ch from hook. Every later row begins ch 3 if its first mesh is filled, ch 5 if open. Our written patterns and the chart maker print these numbers for you, so in practice you chain the number on the page and go.

Rows are worked bottom-up from the chart, odd rows read right to left — the full logic is in how to read filet crochet charts.

Thread, hook, and the shape of your squares

Classic pairings, as a starting point rather than a rule: size 10 crochet cotton with a 1.5–1.75 mm steel hook for heirloom-weight lace; size 3 or 5 cotton with a 2–2.5 mm hook for faster, bolder pieces; DK yarn with a 4 mm hook for blanket-scale filet. Whatever you pick, swatch a small grid first — say 10 × 10 meshes.

The swatch answers the question that decides how your finished piece looks: are your meshes square? They often are not — many crocheters find the width of 3 dc slightly greater than the height of a dc row, so motifs come out a touch wide and squat. Tension, thread and blocking all move this, which is why no honest pattern promises an exact finished size. If your squares run wide, the usual fixes are working your dc a little taller, trying a hook half a size different, or blocking the finished piece firmly to shape. Blocking — wetting the piece and pinning it out square to dry — transforms filet lace generally; the difference before and after is dramatic.

Reading trouble, and how to catch it early

1. Count at row ends. Each written row states its meshes; verify before turning. One-row mistakes are cheap.
2. Watch the turning chain. Starting ch 3 where the row needs ch 5 (or the reverse) shifts your whole row half a mesh — the most common filet error there is.
3. Shaped charts step at the edges. Some vintage designs are not rectangles; their edges grow and shrink. Our patterns flag these, and the chart shows where each step happens — follow it visually.

Good first projects

Start small and rectangular: a bookmark, a coaster-sized motif, or a short edging strip. In the library, filter for Beginner — the small geometric corners and border strips from the 1914 collection are exactly what they used to teach with. A 20 × 20 chart finishes in an evening or two and teaches you chart-reading on something that does not punish a miscount.

When you want a piece that is yours alone, type a name into the letter chart maker — a charted monogram bookmark is a classic first custom project.

Keep going

About these patterns. Crochetpatternmaker.com is an independent site. The vintage charts in our library are restored from The Priscilla Filet Crochet Book, No. 2 (Priscilla Publishing Company, Boston, 1914), a work in the public domain; we re-charted each design from the original plates and cross-checked it against the printed mesh counts. We are not affiliated with any past or present publisher. The chart maker runs entirely in your browser — images you upload never leave your device. Finished sizes are estimates: filet gauge depends on your thread, hook and tension, so work a small swatch first.