Mosaic Crochet Chart Creator Template for Excel
Quick Overview:
📋 This is an informational page about my Mosaic Crochet Chart Creator template for Excel, where I will go over the functions and chart sizes available in this template. There is also a link below where you can download a sample template to be able to test it on your version of Excel, and be assured that it's compatible for your computer before purchasing the full version from my Etsy shop.
Full Tour & How to Use Template:
While there are many chart creator apps out there, I couldn't find one that created this particular style of crochet - Overlay Mosaic - so I used Excel to make my own designs, and bit by bit was able to automate much of my design process using the magic of Excel's formulas & macros*. I then realized that others might be interested in this type of template for designing their own mosaic charts, so I fine tuned, tested, modified a bit more, and now I think this final version should be a helpful & fun tool for anyone who wants to design their own overlay mosaic charts!
The charts are color coded for both the A & B rows, and there are buttons that will instantly add all of the X's for you (which indicate a fldc stitch), and warn you when you need to modify your chart to meet the overlay mosaic "rules". Each chart has buttons to add & remove the X's, as well as print the chart straight to your default printer, or save the chart as a PDF document. You can also clear the chart to start a new design. There is a Help section as well that you can refer to.
UPDATE: Version 2.0 now includes a button to generate your row-by-row instructions!
The template included 8 different chart sizes, including the following:
- Large Square (51 stitches x 45 rows)
- Small Square (25 stitches x 21 rows)
- Horizonal Banner (51 stitches x 21 rows)
- Vertical Column (25 stitches x 45 rows)
- Large Vertical Rectangle (39 stitches x 45 rows)
- Large Horizonal Rectangle (51 stitches x 33 rows)
- Small Vertical Rectangle (19 stitches x 23 rows)
- Small Horizontal Rectangle (25 stitches x 17 rows)
This template is also safeguarded so that you can't accidentally delete anything important! (formulas, chart layout, etc) The charts are also re-usable as you can save each design to an individual file by pressing the "Save to PDF" button & generate your row instructions to a txt file to copy/paste into your word processing app of choice, and then hit the Clear chart button to start fresh for the next design.
Check out a quick tour of Version 2.0! (beta)
💻Technology Requirements:
You will need a computer or other device with Microsoft Excel installed. Please note that this may not work as well with older computers or older versions of Excel. You can download the sample template below to check compatibility before purchasing the full version.
*A note about Macros
A macro is a container for VBA code that runs in the background of most Microsoft Office programs. People can create their own code to automate certain tasks as well, which is what I've done with this template. While some hackers use macros to do harm to unsuspecting computer users by adding their own phishing code or other malware, please know that the macros in my template are strictly to help in chart design. I created some of these macros by simple step-by-step recording, such as the Clear button - that macro contains all the steps to select the chart area, clear it out, and then re-color the A & B rows with their appropriate colors. This would normally take a few minutes to do it manually, but by recording these steps into a macro, it's now as simple as just clicking a button! The template has all the work pre-recorded into macros to help you easily design your charts - Macros can be very helpful tools in automating processes, which is how they are being used here.
A macro is a container for VBA code that runs in the background of most Microsoft Office programs. People can create their own code to automate certain tasks as well, which is what I've done with this template. While some hackers use macros to do harm to unsuspecting computer users by adding their own phishing code or other malware, please know that the macros in my template are strictly to help in chart design. I created some of these macros by simple step-by-step recording, such as the Clear button - that macro contains all the steps to select the chart area, clear it out, and then re-color the A & B rows with their appropriate colors. This would normally take a few minutes to do it manually, but by recording these steps into a macro, it's now as simple as just clicking a button! The template has all the work pre-recorded into macros to help you easily design your charts - Macros can be very helpful tools in automating processes, which is how they are being used here.
Therefore, when opening this template, if you get a pop-up window asking if you want to allow macros or not, please DO allow them to run so that the template has full functionality.
FREE SAMPLE VERSIONS
<<ZIPPED FOLDER OF ALL SAMPLE TEMPLATES - DOWNLOAD>>
this contains all 3 files but will need to be extracted first
<<NEW 2.0 VERSION - SAMPLE TEMPLATE DOWNLOAD (BETA)>>
this includes written row instruction button! (works on both pc & mac)
this includes written row instruction button! (works on both pc & mac)
Download the sample templates by clicking the links above, which will save to your computer. Open it in Excel, and when prompted, hit the Enable Editing or Enable Content button in the yellow bar at the top (if it appears), and Allow Macros to run if that popup window appears.
To use the template, simply click on the squares in the chart to create a design, test out the buttons to the right, and verify that this template is compatible with your computer.
If for some reason you can't get it to work, it could be due to some operating systems stripping out the code when downloading. Please download the Zipped Folder version at the top of the downloads, which may bypass any code blocking your device is doing to your downloads. Be sure to EXTRACT the files from the folder first, before opening them. (right click folder on a PC & select Extract)
Please do not share copies of the sample template, but instead I'd really appreciate it if you refer anyone interested to this page. However, the designs you create can be shared by saving to a PDF & then sharing the PDF file. 😁
The FULL VERSION is available in my Etsy shop!
Comments
Thanks Zoe
And thanks for the feedback of trying it in Google Sheets. I had suspected that it would not be able to read the VBA code, so it's good to get some confirmation on that.
I will also add a picture of what the X's look like on a design so you can see what it SHOULD look like if the mosaic "rules" are met. :)
I'm very interesting for buying your mosaic software for excell.
I tried to download your template but it doesn't work.
And I had so much trouble to get out of that page of sample.
So I'm confused. I'm welling to buy it but If it doesn't work I want to be sure that you will refund it.
Thank you for your answer.
Michelyne
mlemay@flashsolutions.ca
On another topic, if you are open to suggestions of *new features*, there's a variation of mosaic crochet that turns it into a reversible pattern (you can see an explanation here: https://youtu.be/p7ljkNKZ0cY?si=Zw75r88e6v8yG7RZ), and it's a fairly simple macro (I think): If there's a sc above an X, you do a "negative DC".
I don't have any project aligned to do a mosaic crochet, but when I do I will check on your creator template!