About Mantis Craft Notebook

Good patterns deserve a way out of the notebook.

Mantis Craft Notebook is a browser-based workspace for crochet, knitting, and colorwork designers to create charts, develop written instructions, and prepare pattern PDFs.

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$14.99/month after a 14-day free trial. Credit card required.

Why Mantis exists

The gap between a skilled crafter and a published designer shouldn’t be measured in software courses. If you understand the stitches, the tools should help you turn that knowledge into a chart, clear instructions, and a page you can share.

A pattern is also a designer’s work. Ownership and the choice to share belong with the person who created it. Those two ideas are the reason Mantis exists.

What Mantis helps you do

Draw the chart

Create crochet symbol charts, knitting grids, and colorwork designs in dedicated workspaces. Start with the stitches and structure you want to make.

Develop the pattern

In the crochet editor, tag rows and declare how stitches are worked to generate written instructions and check supported stitch counts. Rows that cannot be verified stay visible for your review.

Prepare the page

Export crochet charts as PDF, PNG, or SVG, or arrange your pattern in PDF Studio. Keep reviewing the instructions and working a sample as part of your publishing process.

Tools differ by craft. The help guides explain the workflows and their current limits.

Who it’s for

Crochet designers developing symbol charts and written instructions.
Knitters and colorwork designers planning designs on a grid.
Makers preparing a pattern to share or publish and looking for a clearer workflow.

What matters here

Checks you can understand

Supported count checks use stitch arithmetic and your row declarations. A check is a useful review step; the finished sample still matters.

Familiar notation

Charts use Craft Yarn Council standards for symbols and abbreviations.

The designer stays in charge

Your patterns remain yours. You choose what to export, publish, or share.

The person behind Mantis

Mantis is an independent project created by Shawn Terry. His background spans operations, technology, manufacturing, and running a business; today his work includes digital products, original fiction, immersive websites, and practical AI systems.

Feedback from people using Mantis helps identify what needs improving.

Meet Shawn Terry

How to get started

Create an account, verify your email, and complete card checkout to start your 14-day trial. Then choose the craft workspace for your project.
Build your chart and use the relevant help guide as you work.
Review the output, keep a backup, and test your pattern with a worked sample before publishing.

Use Contact support when signed in, or the form below to ask a question or share feedback.

Mantis at a glance

Name: Mantis Craft Notebook (MCN)
Type: Browser-based craft design software
Crafts: Crochet, knitting, and colorwork
Creator: Shawn Terry
Availability: Live; account and subscription required
Pricing: $14.99/month after a 14-day free trial for new subscribers. Credit card required.
Your work: You retain ownership of your patterns and choose what to share.

Current pricing and terms

Frequently asked questions

Is Mantis free?

New subscribers get 14 days free after completing checkout with a credit card. Then $14.99/month until canceled. Cancel before the trial ends to avoid the first charge.

Do I need to install an app?

Mantis runs in your web browser and requires an account. Use it on a computer or iPad; there is no separate app to install.

Does a successful stitch check mean my pattern is finished?

No. Check uses the supported stitch arithmetic and the information you provide. It does not prove fit, replace a worked sample, or verify every possible stitch arrangement.

Do all three crafts have the same tools?

Each craft has its own workspace. The crochet chart-to-written-pattern workflow and its supported count checks should not be assumed to apply to every knitting or colorwork design.

Who owns the patterns I create?

You do. Mantis does not take ownership of your patterns. You decide what to share, and export and backup tools help you keep copies of your work.

Get in touch

Tell us what’s been difficult in your workflow, or what would make Mantis more useful to you.