More Fun with Stitch Fiddle: Repeating Patterns

I recently came across this fun blog post about repeating patterns. Anyone can make a repeating pattern by following the simple directions. How neat! I couldn't resist doing some experimentation since repeating patterns have obvious crochet applications. Stitch Fiddle provided the perfect starting tool. Here's the original design I came up with. It could potentially be used as a tile, but I wanted to see what would happen if I followed the repeating pattern instructions. Imagine each box as a single stitch of a crochet color chart.

I took a screen shot (command+shift+3 on a Mac and the Print Screen key on a PC) and then edited it down to just the design. Next, I opened a blank document and copy-pasted the left side to the right and the right side to the left. It looked like this:

Tip: You can see the change in position by following shift of the black highlight box. I zoomed in as close as possible and then took another screen shot. Finally, I took the top half and moved it to the bottom using the same procedure as before to produce my tile. I finished it off by changing the center stitches to black.

Now that I have a repeatable tile I can arrange it against itself as many times as I like to make a design.

This process could be used to create some super interesting crochet colorwork, don't you think? Here's another design process using an asymmetrical picture to start.

I am having WAY too much fun with this... Be sure to try it out!

Creating Crochet Charts in Stitch Fiddle

Have you heard of Stitch Fiddle? It's a free new stitch charting tool from the Netherlands that serves knitters, embroiderers/cross stitchers, and crocheters! You can use it to make traditional stitch charts, filet charts, and color charts. It seems really versatile. I played around with it a bit recently and have decided that, for me, it is probably most useful for its ability to make color charts. You can even set the gauge for your chart, as well as the dimensions. Here are a few screenshots of my experimentation. Be sure to try it out for yourself, and thanks to Toni for introducing me to it!