Whimsy: a charted design for any craft

The random number generator picked Whimsy from the suggestions for this post, suggested by Kate, one of my Patreon supporters.

I developed a lace stitch pattern for Whimsy, but I also like to provide a basic chart for any craft that’s worked on a grid: beads, cross stitch, whatever. I try to provide at least some digital art of the pattern repeated all over not as a chart. It doesn’t necessarily look like a finished object for any particular craft, but I want to give a sense of it in use. (I try to make it look like knitting when it’s got floats short enough for easy stranded knitting.)

How the whimsy charted design might look as  stranded knitting. It's an abstract design with mirrored C-shapes in columns with speckles and vertical short lines in between the columns.
chart showing how to work the Whimsy charted design by means of dark and light squares. Written instructions in blog post.
click chart to enlarge
  • Whimsy has a repeat of 18 + 1 columns and 8 + 1 rows.
  • In the written instructions, color A is the light squares above, and color B is the dark.
  • The written instructions below are formatted for stranded knitting in the round, but it is my hope that they could be translated into instructions for other crafts. For instance, if working filet crochet, 1A could be one open square and 2B could be two filled-in squares.
  • Designers, please feel free to use this in your patterns (no need to ask). I’d like credit but won’t be offended if people don’t give it.
  • My blog posts and stitch patterns are supported by subscriptions on Patreon or donations to my Paypal tip jar in the sidebar. If you appreciate my work, please consider helping out. Thanks!

Round 1: work knit as follows; 1A, *2A, 3B, 1A, 1B, 3A, 1B, 1A, 3B, 3A; work from *. (19 sts)

Round 2: work knit as follows; 1A, *1A, 1B, (3A, 2B) × 2, 3A, 1B, 2A; work from *.

Round 3: work knit as follows; 1A, *1B, 2A, 2B, 7A, 2B, 2A, 1B, 1A; work from *.

Round 4: work knit as follows; 1B, *1A, 2B, 3A, (1B, 1A) × 2, 1B, 3A, 2B, 1A, 1B; work from *.

Round 5: work knit as follows; 1B, *3A, (1B, 4A) × 2, 1B, 3A, 1B; work from *.

Round 6: work knit as follows; 1B, *1A, 2B, 3A, (1B, 1A) × 2, 1B, 3A, 2B, 1A, 1B; work from *.

Round 7: work knit as follows; 1A, *1B, 2A, 2B, 7A, 2B, 2A, 1B, 1A; work from *.

Round 8: work knit as follows; 1A, *1A, 1B, (3A, 2B) × 2, 3A, 1B, 2A; work from *.

Work rounds 1-8 as desired, ending with row 9:

Round 9: work knit as follows; 1A, *2A, 3B, 1A, 1B, 3A, 1B, 1A, 3B, 3A; work from *.