Filet crochet makes pictures and lettering out of a simple grid. It was hugely popular in the 1910s, when pattern books like the 1911 Priscilla Filet Crochet Book filled homes with filet towels, pillows and table runners. The good news: once you can read the grid, every antique filet chart is open to you.
Blocks and spaces
A filet chart is a grid of squares. Each square is either empty or filled:
- Empty square = space (open mesh). Usually worked in US terms as a double crochet, chain 2, skip 2.
- Filled square = block (solid mesh). Usually worked as double crochets that fill the same width.
Each square shares its edge stitch with the next one, so a row of squares is not simply "three stitches per square". The guide at the front of each book explains the exact count it uses, and stitch counts can vary slightly between publishers.
How to read the chart
- Count the squares across the first row to work out your foundation chain.
- Read right to left on the first row and left to right on the next, following your work back and forth.
- Mark your place. A ruler or sticky note under the current row helps a lot on dense charts.
- Keep it square. Filet looks best when each mesh is close to square, so adjust your hook size if your work stretches tall or wide.
Charts for more than crochet
Because a filet chart is just a grid, the same designs work for cross stitch, knitting colourwork and beadwork. The 1912 New Filet Crochet Book says as much, and many of its alphabets are lovely for cross stitch samplers.
Good first projects
- A narrow border or insertion for a towel
- A single initial from an alphabet chart
- A small square motif made into a coaster or sachet
Ready to turn a chart into a longer project? See our guide to vintage crochet table runner patterns, where filet borders become full runners.
Explore both Priscilla filet books in the Priscilla Filet Crochet Bundle, or browse all filet crochet patterns.