So, a couple weeks ago I showed a glimpse of the knitting chart I was working on. I finally took the time to make a little tutorial and explain the way I did it. I hope it’s clear enough, or feel free to ask your questions ! (Click for larger pics !!)

This one will be the lace pattern used in the Isabeau purse pattern.

I start with creating a table in an Excell-type software (Im using the freeware OpenOffice Calc, here with a french version).
First, select all the area of your future chart, go to format/columns/width and decrease the witdth of the columns (I chose 0,53 cm) to create nearly-square cells.
Select the area of your future chart, color it in a light color of you choice. Then one by one, color every second row in a slightly different color: this will help differentiate the Right side and wrong side rows. That’s especially usefull when for some lace patterns where the WS rows are simply purled.
Number the rows and stitches, starting at bottom right corner of chart. One tip to avoid writing the numbers one by one: write the first 2 numbers on left side of row, select those 2 cells and stretch until right end of row: all the following numbers will magically appear… :-)

Then the “real work” starts. I like to enlarge one of the columns on the right, to write down the legend (at least so I don’t make mistakes while writing the chart).
I’m using the basic keys to make my symbols: slash/ anti-slash, “o” (the letter works better than the number for me), -, etc… On other charts, I added a few abbreviations when I needed special symbols (like d2 for a double decrease..) and I figure that if needed I could replace those with custom symbols during the last stage of the process.
Then I copy the “repeat” of my lace pattern below, in another colored area. This is especially usefull when I’m using several lace patterns. This way I can just copy and paste each in its right place.
Copy/paste, copy/paste, copy/paste… Fill in your chart.

The chart is nearly ready. I “center” the content in each cell of the chart. You can also select all the chart and go back to a white background if you wish a “cleaner” look.

Finally, take a screenshot (there should be a special key for that on your keyboard) and paste in a picture editing software (photoshop, Fireworks..).

You can now cut exactly the size of your chart, and turn it into a nice .jpg format, which can then be inserted in your pdf patterns…
At this stage, it would be easy to replace any abbreviation in your chart by a custom little symbol if you wish (not shown)… :-D