Chart editor

Saving, switching devices and recovery

Use Save to keep your crochet chart, then check the account-save indicator at the bottom right. Knit and colorwork save their current workspace automatically. Wait for “Saved to this account” before continuing on another device. Each craft has its own workspace.

If two devices change the same workspace, saving pauses and asks which version to use. Download a backup first if you want to inspect your work. Both versions are preserved in Recovery copies before a choice replaces either copy. You can also restore a downloaded workspace backup from that panel.

One tab per craft can save at a time. Opening a newer tab pauses the older one; its recovery button can download an unsaved crochet canvas while you remain signed in to the same account. Earlier browser work without an account label stays separate until you confirm it is yours. Keep browser storage until recovery is complete.

The stitch palette

The left panel lists every available stitch symbol, grouped by CYC category. Click a stitch name to select it — it highlights in the palette. Then click the canvas to place one copy.

The palette covers dozens of symbols, grouped as:

• Basic — ch, sl st, sc, hdc, dc, tr, dtr, trtr
• Increases — 2sc in 1, 2dc in 1 (V-shape glyphs)
• Decreases — sc2tog through dc3tog (inverted-V glyphs)
• Post stitches — fpdc, bpdc, fptr, bptr (U-bracket at base)
• Clusters / Special — V-stitch, shell 3dc/5dc/7dc, bobble, puff, popcorn, picot, ch-space
• Cables — crossed post-stitch cables (left / right cross)
• Special — magic ring for working in the round
• Utility — skip (faint dot, empty column marker)

Placing and moving stitches

Snap cycles through On, Fine and Off in the toolbar. On uses a 9px sub-grid; Fine uses 3px. Major grid intervals are 36px.

Moving: click to select (blue handles appear), then drag. Multiple stitches: draw a selection rectangle around them, then drag the group. Or hold Shift and click to add to the selection.

Rotating: select a stitch or group, then use the rotate handle (the circle above the selection) or theRotate… button for an exact angle. With multiple stitches selected, choose whether to rotate them together as a block or spin each stitch in place.

Groups

Select multiple stitches and click Group in the toolbar to lock them together as a single object. Grouped stitches move, copy, and rotate as one unit. Click Ungroup to break them apart for individual editing.

Groups are the right tool for building a stitch repeat motif (e.g. a shell cluster) and then placing it multiple times across a row. Build once, group, copy-paste, distribute.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd+Z — undo
• Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z or Ctrl/Cmd+Y — redo
• Ctrl/Cmd+C — copy selected
• Ctrl/Cmd+V — paste
• Ctrl/Cmd+A — select editable stitches, excluding locked or hidden layers
• Ctrl/Cmd+S — save your chart
• Ctrl/Cmd+K — find a toolbar tool; use the palette search for stitches
• V — return to Select
• Enter / Esc — apply or cancel an Arc, Adjust, Mirror or Align preview
• Delete / Backspace — delete selected
• Arrow keys — nudge selected object by one snap unit
• Shift+Arrow — nudge by one grid unit

Starter charts and My Charts

Open the library modal from the toolbar to find the 🏠 Mantis Starters tab — hand-built example charts you can drop on the canvas as a starting point: a flat mesh market-bag panel and an in-the-round sunburst doily.

Place one on the canvas as individual, editable stitches, then extend it, modify it, or pull it apart to see how it’s built. Your own saved charts live in 📂 My Charts, stored in your browser and synced to your account.

Export and print

Click the SVG, PNG or JPG button in the toolbar to export your chart:

• SVG — resolution-independent vector file. Best for inserting into pattern PDFs, word processors, or design tools.
• PNG — raster image with transparent background. Good for web sharing and social media.
• JPG — raster with white background. Smaller file size than PNG.

For a finished, publish-ready document, open 📄 PDF Studio — a freeform page-layout designer where you can place the chart, written pattern, stitch key, cover photo, and materials, then export the whole thing as a PDF.

Use Print Area to show or hide the chart boundary. Resize that box with its handles to frame the exported chart. Print the finished PDF from your PDF viewer.

From chart to a written, cookable pattern

The chart editor isn’t just for drawing — it can produce a complete written pattern from the chart you built. The path:

• ≡ Rows — tag which stitches belong to each row
• 📝 Pattern — turn the tagged chart into written text you can edit and save
• ✓ Check — run Pattern Check over the row structure and stitch counts
• 🍳 Cook — follow the pattern stitch-by-stitch on the canvas
• 📄 PDF Studio — lay out the chart, text, and stitch key into a publish-ready PDF

So you can start by freehand-sketching a chart and finish with a written pattern, a check, and an export — all in one place.

Troubleshooting

Placed stitch is in the wrong position and won’t align. Click the stitch to select it, then use the arrow keys to nudge it one snap unit at a time until it lines up. Shift+Arrow nudges by a full grid unit.

Export produces a blurry image. Use SVG export instead of PNG/JPG — SVG is resolution-independent and will be sharp at any size. If you need a raster format, the PNG export renders at a fixed high resolution; confirm you’re not scaling it up beyond that in your document.

The library modal is empty or a starter won’t load. Reload the page and open it again.

Undo went too far and I can’t get back. Mantis keeps a 50-step undo history per session. If you’ve gone past it, Ctrl/Cmd+Y (redo) steps back forward.