Knitting guide
How to Turn a Photo into a Crochet Pattern: C2C Graphs, Tapestry Charts and Written Rows
Make a C2C blanket graph or tapestry chart from a photo, then follow the row-by-row written pattern for color order, increases and decreases.
The crochet pattern generator turns a photo into a color graph and writes out every row in the order you work it, like “3 white, 2 blue”. Use C2C (corner to corner) for big pictures such as blankets, or tapestry crochet (single crochet colorwork) for dense designs on bags and hats. Your photo is processed in your browser, and the file is never uploaded.
C2C or tapestry crochet?
| C2C (corner to corner) | Tapestry (single crochet) | |
|---|---|---|
| One square of the graph | 1 tile (ch 3 + 3 dc) | 1 single crochet |
| Worked | In diagonal rows | In horizontal rows (flat or in the round) |
| Best for | Blankets, rugs, pillows | Bags, pouches, hats |
| Color changes | A separate bobbin for each color area | Unused yarn carried inside the stitches |
A C2C tile is about 1 inch, so a blanket grows fast, but small details get lost. Tapestry stitches are small, so detailed pictures come out well, but the same size takes longer. In the tool you can switch Technique and compare both versions of the same photo instantly.
Set the size with your gauge
Crochet a small swatch with the yarn and hook you will actually use. For C2C, count tiles across and up in 4 inches; for tapestry, count single crochet stitches and rows in 4 inches. With your gauge, the tool shapes each cell like your real stitches and shows the finished size. See how to convert a pattern to your gauge for measuring tips.
With worsted weight yarn and a 5 mm (H) hook, one C2C tile is about 1 inch. Common blanket sizes then look like this:
| Blanket | Finished size | Tiles (1 inch each) | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baby blanket | about 30 × 36 in | 30 × 36 | 65 |
| Lapghan | about 40 × 50 in | 40 × 50 | 89 |
| Throw | about 50 × 60 in | 50 × 60 | 109 |
A C2C graph has tiles across + tiles up − 1 rows. More rows take longer, so a baby blanket is a good first project.
Number of colors and cleanup
A photo has thousands of colors, so the tool reduces it to 2–12. Four to eight colors usually keep a C2C picture recognizable without constant yarn changes. Clean up specks merges one- or two-square color patches into the surrounding color, so there are fewer color changes and fewer ends to weave in.
Tap a color in the palette to highlight it, then change it to the yarn you own and give it a name (for example, a brand color number). The names appear in the PDF color key and the written pattern.
How to read a C2C written pattern
Row 1 is the single tile in the bottom-right corner. From there you work one diagonal row at a time.
- ↗ rows (odd) go from lower left to upper right.
- ↙ rows (even) go from upper right to lower left.
- “3 A, 2 B” means 3 tiles in color A, then 2 tiles in color B.
Each row starts where the previous row ended, so the direction alternates. Tap a row on screen and it is outlined in red on the chart; the red dot is the tile where that row starts, which is the easiest way to stay oriented.
Increases and decreases
In C2C you increase at each end of a row until it reaches the edge of the graph, then decrease. Every row of the written pattern tells you what to do:
- Increase at start: ch 6, then dc in the 4th ch from the hook and the next 2 ch to make a new tile.
- Decrease at start: slip stitch across the 3 dc of the last tile into its ch-3 space and begin the row there.
- Increase at end: work a tile in the last ch-3 space as usual.
- Decrease at end: slip stitch into the last ch-3 space and turn without making a tile.
A rectangle goes through “increase both ends”, then a stretch where one side increases and the other decreases, then “decrease both ends”. The tool writes the right shaping for each row, so just follow along.
Changing colors
On the last dc of the tile before a color change, finish the final yarn over with the new color and pull it through the last 2 loops. The next tile then starts cleanly in the new color. Wind a small bobbin for each color area to keep the yarn from tangling; the Pattern check shows the most bobbins you need in one row.
How to read a tapestry crochet chart
Row 1 is at the bottom.
- Flat: odd rows (←) go right to left and even rows (→) go left to right.
- In the round (spiral): every round goes right to left. Use this for bags and hats worked as a tube.
Lay the unused yarn over the previous row and work your single crochet around it. Tapestry crochet looks most even with 2 colors per row; carrying 3 or more makes the fabric thick and lets colors peek through. The Pattern check counts rows carrying 3 or more colors. If there are many, try fewer colors or more cleanup.
Directions are written for right-handed crocheters. If you are left-handed, flip your photo horizontally before uploading; you can then follow the written rows exactly and the picture comes out the right way around.
Estimating yarn
Enter your swatch size (tiles across and up for C2C, stitches and rows for tapestry) and its weight. The tool works out the weight of one tile or stitch, multiplies it by the count for each color and adds 10% extra. Add your skein weight to see how many skeins to buy.
C2C leaves a tail at every color change, and tapestry crochet carries unused yarn inside the stitches, so both use more than the estimate. Buy extra from the same dye lot.
Tracking progress and the PDF
In the on-screen written pattern, tick the box next to a row or press Next row done to mark everything up to that row as finished. Progress is saved in the file you get from Save project, so you can open it later and carry on.
The pattern PDF prints on A4 or Letter: a cover, the color key, the written pattern with a checkbox for every row, and the symbol chart. The chart has bold lines every 10 squares and is numbered from the bottom right.
For knitted colorwork, see how to turn a photo into a knitting colorwork chart.