Filet Crochet Terms: A Plain-English Glossary
Written by the Filet Crochet Chart Builder team · Updated
Filet crochet has a small, consistent vocabulary. Once you know a handful of terms, the patterns and charts become easy to read, because every design is built from the same few building blocks described the same way.
Blocks and spaces
A space is an open square of mesh — typically one double crochet, two chains, then two stitches skipped underneath. A block is that same square filled solid, usually with double crochet worked across instead of the chains. The pattern of filled blocks against open spaces is what forms the picture: dark squares on a chart are blocks, light squares are spaces.
Mesh, ground, and motif
Mesh is the open net of spaces that makes up the background, sometimes called the ground. The motif is the design picked out in blocks against that mesh — a heart, a letter, a border. When a pattern says 'work in mesh', it means continue the open net; 'fill' or 'block' means make solid squares to draw the motif.
Lacets and bars
Beyond plain blocks and spaces, traditional filet sometimes uses a lacet — a small V or fancy stitch spanning two squares — and a bar, a long chain that sits above it. These give curved, lacy detail in fine thread work. Most charted filet, and everything in this tool, is built from blocks and spaces alone, which is why it reads so directly from a grid.
Foundation and turning chains
The foundation chain is the starting row of chains the first row is worked into; for filet it is roughly three times the number of squares wide, plus a few extra to turn. The turning chain is the short run of chains at the start of each new row that stands in for the first stitch and sets the row height. Keeping the turning chain consistent keeps the edges straight.
Related patterns
Practice projects
Put this guide to work on a motif chosen to match what you just learned.