Constellations: a charted design for any craft

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I’ve seen this motif in a couple of my other charted designs, and I liked it so much that I decided to pull it out by myself. The stitch repeat is not the same, but you can see it in Starry Meadows.

It’s really a lot more regular than any real constellation, but it did make me think of groups of stars in the sky, so here we are.

I drew the chart so there would be a whole motif in the center of the illustration; this meant that round 1 starts with a half motif. If you want your first round of the pattern to start with a whole motif, start with a round 9.

An illustration of how the Constellations charted design might look as stranded knitting: a circle of individual white flecks on a blue background, with a four petaled white flower in the middle.
Chart showing how to work the Constellations design by means of dark and light squares. Written instructions in blog post.
Click chart to enlarge
  • Constellations has a repeat of 8 + 1 columns and 16 + 1 rounds. (End after round 9 or 17.)
  • 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, 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.
  • This pattern is written in rounds, but because each row has mirror symmetry, the colors can be read in flat rows as written. If knitting, just work purl stitches on alternating rows instead of knit.
  • 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: using B, knit.

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

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

Round 4: work knit as follows; 1A, *7B, 1A; work from *.

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

Round 6: work knit as follows; 1A, *7B, 1A; work from *.

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

Round 8: work knit as follows; 1A, *7B, 1A; work from *.

Round 9: using B, knit.

Round 10: work knit as follows; 1B, *3B, 1A, 4B; work from *.

Round 11: work knit as follows; 1B, *1B, 1A, 3B, 1A, 2B; work from *.

Round 12: work knit as follows; 1B, *3B, 1A, 4B; work from *.

Round 13: work knit as follows; 1B, *(1A, 1B) × 4; work from *.

Round 14: work knit as follows; 1B, *3B, 1A, 4B; work from *.

Round 15: work knit as follows; 1B, *1B, 1A, 3B, 1A, 2B; work from *.

Round 16: work knit as follows; 1B, *3B, 1A, 4B; work from *.

Repeat rounds 1-16 as desired, ending on either round 9 or 17.

Round 17: using B, knit.