Filet Crochet Name Pattern Generator

Filet crochet is a grid of double-crochet posts and chain spaces where each square is either filled (a solid block) or open (a mesh). Because the fabric is literally pixels, it is the classic way to crochet a name, a word, or a saying into a baby blanket, a curtain panel, a wall hanging, or a wedding gift. Every letter is drawn on graph paper as filled and open squares, usually on a 5-wide by 7-tall grid for a simple block alphabet, with one open column between letters and two or three between words. A name like EMMA is about 23 squares wide before you add a border.

The names and words in this list are chosen because they chart well: they are short, they avoid too many diagonals (which read poorly in mesh), and they carry the sentiments crocheters actually stitch — baby names, Home Sweet Home, Bless This House, family surnames with an Est. year, and room labels for kitchen and bathroom curtains. Traditional filet motifs (Rose Border, Filet Swan, Filet Angel) are included because a name panel is almost always framed by one.

To turn any name here into a pattern, sketch it on graph paper, count the squares across, then multiply by three (two chains plus one post per mesh) to work out your foundation chain. Add an odd-numbered plain border of at least three meshes so the letters float rather than crowd the edge, and mirror the chart if you're working from the wrong side.