How to read a C2C crochet graph

What a C2C graph is

A corner to corner (C2C) graph looks like a cross stitch chart or a piece of pixel art: a grid of colored squares. The difference is what a square stands for. On a C2C graph, one square is one tile, a little block made of several stitches, not a single stitch.

So a graph 50 squares wide and 60 tall is 3,000 tiles, and each of those tiles covers a lot more fabric than a single crochet stitch would.

C2C tiles come out close to square, so C2C graphs are drawn on a plain square grid. Single crochet is different: its stitches are usually a little wider than they are tall, which matters if you ever borrow a chart from one for the other.

The tile

In US terms, the classic tile is a chain 3 plus 3 double crochet.

The very first tile: chain 6, then work a double crochet in the 4th chain from the hook and in each of the next 2 chains. The 3 skipped chains act as the chain-3 space.

Every later tile is joined to a tile in the row before: slip stitch into that tile's chain-3 space, chain 3, and work 3 double crochet into the same space. Hooking each new tile onto one from the previous row is what builds the diagonal.

US and UK terms

The UK names stitches one step up from the US. A US double crochet is a UK treble, so in UK terms the same tile is a chain 3 plus 3 treble. When a UK pattern says "dc", it means what a US pattern calls single crochet. Check which terms your pattern uses before you start.

There are variations, too. "Mini C2C" works the same diagonal method in half double crochet, which makes smaller tiles and a finer picture. The graph reads the same way; only the tile changes.

Diagonal rows

You never work straight across a C2C graph. You work diagonals.

Row 1 is a single tile in the starting corner. Row 2 is two tiles, row 3 is three, and so on, each diagonal one tile longer than the last while the piece is growing. You turn at the end of every row, so each diagonal runs the opposite way along the graph from the one before.

To find the number of diagonal rows, add the graph's width and height in tiles and subtract one. The 50 by 60 example works out to 109 rows.

Which corner to start in

Most patterns start at the bottom right corner of the graph, and you finish at the top left. If your pattern starts somewhere else, it will say. Either way, start where the designer says: the row numbers and any written counts assume that corner.

Reading one diagonal

Find the diagonal you're on and read it in the direction you're working, counting the squares of each color. Writing it out helps: "row 23: 8 white, 3 navy, 12 white". A ruler or a strip of paper laid along the diagonal keeps your eye on the right squares, and highlighting each finished diagonal on a printed copy saves a lot of recounting.

Increasing and decreasing

The shape of a C2C piece comes from when you add and remove tiles.

To increase, start the row with a new beginning tile: chain 6, then 3 double crochet into the 4th, 5th and 6th chains from the hook, exactly like the very first tile. Continue across, and work the last tile of the row into the last chain-3 space. The row ends up one tile longer than the one before.

To decrease at the start of a row, skip the chain 6. Instead, slip stitch across the 3 double crochet of the last tile you made and into its chain-3 space, then chain 3 and work 3 double crochet there. To decrease at the end of a row, don't make a tile in the last chain-3 space. Slip stitch into it to join, then turn.

Squares and rectangles

For a square graph, increase until a diagonal reaches both edges at once, then decrease at both ends of every row until you're back to one tile.

A rectangle has a middle stage. On the 50 by 60 graph:

The middle rows hold steady because you add a tile at one end and lose one at the other. Each stage changes when the diagonal runs into an edge of the graph it can't go past. Starting from the bottom right of the 50 by 60 graph, that's the left edge after row 50 and the top edge after row 60.

Color changes

Change color on the last stitch before the new color starts. Work the last double crochet in the old color until two loops are left on the hook, then finish it by pulling the new color through. In C2C that's usually the third double crochet of the tile before the color change.

A picture graph usually has patches of color scattered across it, so you'll need a separate supply of yarn for each patch, much like intarsia knitting. Small bobbins stop the strands from tangling. If the same color comes back within a tile or two, you can carry it instead of cutting it, as long as it only runs alongside tiles of that same color. Otherwise it shows.

A colorful C2C graph leaves a lot of ends. Weaving in a few every session is far less grim than facing all of them at the end.

Written instructions vs the graph

Many C2C patterns come with written row-by-row counts as well as the graph, something like "Row 31: 4 white, 2 red, 9 white".

The written counts save you from counting along diagonals, which is the easiest place to slip up. But a list of numbers doesn't show you the picture, so a miscount can go unnoticed for several rows.

The graph shows the picture, so you can glance at your blanket, glance at the graph, and see right away that the cat's ear is one tile too far left. Many people work from the written counts and check against the graph every few rows. If your pattern only has a graph, writing out the next few diagonals before each session gets you most of the benefit.

Check the size first

Tile size depends on your yarn, hook and tension. Before you commit to 3,000 tiles, crochet a small square, say 10 tiles by 10 (that's 19 rows), and measure it. If 10 tiles come to 9 inches, your 50-tile-wide graph will be about 45 inches wide. You can also count tiles per 4 inches in each direction and enter them as stitches and rows in the gauge calculator.

Making your own C2C graph

Because tiles are close to square, any square grid works. The cross stitch graph paper tool prints one for free, no account needed. In Craft Studio's crochet colorwork editor (free, with an account), C2C uses square cells, one per tile. Be careful with charts made for single crochet: the photo to crochet pattern converter shapes its cells like single crochet stitches, wider than tall, so a graph from it would come out about 25% too tall in C2C.

If the stitches themselves are still new to you, start with crochet for beginners.