Step-by-step guide
Frigella
Draw colourwork, see the planned PDF pages beside your chart, then download a chart and colour legend. Save the editable project for the next revision.
You are planning stranded colourwork (for example Fair Isle or Nordic patterns) and want a clean, printable chart with stitch counts.
The guide and practice files are free to read and download. The complete program is in the paid download; the free practice pack does not include it.
See it in use
Print a chevron chart and legend
A screenshot walkthrough with fictional practice data. Select a step to explore.
1. Start with
Print a chevron chart and legend
The built-in Chevron repeat has 20 stitches, 12 rows and two colours.
Sample files and contents
No file needed: the built-in sample Chevron repeat (raport practice). A saved copy to try with Open... is in examples/frigella/chevron-repeat.frigella.json.
Practice files and guides are free. The complete app is included only where the product page says so.
2. In the app
Try it in three steps
- Load the Chevron repeat in the offline app.
- Check the chart and legend page counts.
- Download the PDF and save the editable chart.
Show every click and setting
- Open app/frigella-standalone.html in desktop Chrome.
- Load Chevron repeat: 20 stitches × 12 rows and two colours.
- Confirm one chart page plus one legend page, then click Download PDF.
- Save as... keeps the editable chart. In PDF settings, fixed 30 pt cells produce two chart pages plus one legend page; compare the supplied tiled PDF.
3. The result
Inspect the result
The default PDF has a chart page and a legend page; the fixed-cell variant uses three pages.
What to check in the practice result
The default chevron-repeat.pdf has two pages: a numbered chart, then a legend with 20 stitches × 12 rows, Moss and Oat. The supplied fixed-cell example has three pages. The saved .frigella.json retains the 240 cells and two colours and can be reopened for editing.
This fictional example is shown in the working interface and in the supplied result. Review the guide before using your own files.
See the workflow at a glance
Choose a short explanation, then follow the worked example below. Check the requirements and compatibility before using your own files.
From a small repeat to a readable knitting chart.
Start with a repeat you can inspect stitch by stitch. Frigella lets you draw colourwork cells, choose colours and repeat a motif, then export a numbered PDF chart with a legend. The built-in Chevron repeat is 20 stitches by 12 rows in two colours, with the chart and legend on separate pages. It runs locally with Node.js and desktop Chrome. This is a chart editor, not a gauge or garment-fit calculator; swatch and assess your own design.
View the illustrated card
Before you start
- Extract the complete Frigella-2026.10.31.zip and open app/frigella-standalone.html with desktop Google Chrome. No account, server, Node installation or runtime network is required.
- Chrome 152 on Linux verified. Native OS file-dialog interaction, other browsers/OS and physical touch devices remain unverified.
- Three built-in charts and an editable Chevron example are included. The optional Node.js 20.12+ loopback launcher is described in INSTALL.txt; it is not needed for the standalone path.
Your first result
Open the local edition
Extract the whole buyer ZIP. Open app/frigella-standalone.html with desktop Chrome. No account, server or Node is needed. Read GUIDE.html in the same folder for the illustrated exercise.
Choose a starting point
The app opens with a sample. Choose Chevron repeat in Load a sample chart, or click New for a blank chart. The strip beside your work shows the chart title, dimensions, palette count and planned PDF pages.
Start a chart
Choose a sample in Load a sample chart... (Nordic star band (flat), Snowflake yoke (in the round) or Chevron repeat (raport practice)), or click New. Under Chart size set Width (stitches) and Height (rows), from 1 to 200, and click Apply size.
Draw stitches
Pick a colour in Palette (keys 1–9 and 0 select the first ten), then use Pencil (P), Line (L), Rectangle (R) or Fill (G) on the chart. Eraser (E) clears and Pick colour (I) copies a colour. Each colour has a Colour name, a Colour and a one-character Symbol that is printed in the cells.
Repeat and transform
Use Select (S) to mark an area, then Transform (Mirror across (H), Mirror down (V), Rotate 90 deg) or Repeat (Mark as repeat, Copies across (total), Copies down (total), Tile whole chart). Reading direction sets flat or in-the-round knitting and where row 1 is.
Check and download the PDF
Click Download PDF to export with the current settings. PDF settings opens paper size, orientation, fit/fixed cell scaling, colour mode, symbols and grid. The page plan updates before download. For black-and-white output, keep symbols enabled; read any blank-cell or suppressed-symbol warning.
Save an editable copy
Use Save or Save as... for a .frigella.json project, then Open... to restore it. Chrome may show a native file dialog; where that API is unavailable, the app downloads the project or opens a regular file chooser. Cancelling is not saving. Browser recovery storage is not a backup.
A worked example
Print the Chevron repeat sample
Input: No file needed: the built-in sample Chevron repeat (raport practice). A saved copy to try with Open... is in examples/frigella/chevron-repeat.frigella.json.
- Open app/frigella-standalone.html in desktop Chrome.
- Load Chevron repeat: 20 stitches × 12 rows and two colours.
- Confirm one chart page plus one legend page, then click Download PDF.
- Save as... keeps the editable chart. In PDF settings, fixed 30 pt cells produce two chart pages plus one legend page; compare the supplied tiled PDF.
Expected result: The default chevron-repeat.pdf has two pages: a numbered chart, then a legend with 20 stitches × 12 rows, Moss and Oat. The supplied fixed-cell example has three pages. The saved .frigella.json retains the 240 cells and two colours and can be reopened for editing.
More application screens
See the chart, the warning and the actual PDF
Actual local-edition screenshots and exported files from the synthetic Chevron exercise.
1. A chart and its print plan together
2. See extra pages before exporting
3. Catch a blank monochrome printout
4. Inspect the real output
Troubleshooting
The status says “Save cancelled”.
The save dialog was closed without saving. Click Save as... again and choose a folder.
Rotate 90 deg is greyed out.
A quarter turn needs a square area. Select a square region with Select (S) first.
The printed chart looks squashed or stretched.
Knitted stitches are usually wider than tall. Set Stitch ratio (width : height) under Stitch proportions; it changes only the drawing, never the stitch count. Print one page and check it before you knit.
My chart was gone after closing the browser.
Browser storage keeps only a crash-recovery draft and is not a backup. Save a .frigella.json file whenever the chart matters.
The Licence panel shows a key field.
No activation key is needed for the included local features. The purchase supplies the downloadable edition, guide and examples; it does not unlock a separate Pro feature set.
The monochrome PDF would have blank cells.
Keep Print symbols in the cells enabled. At very small cell sizes symbols can be suppressed; read the warning and adjust the PDF settings before downloading.
Compatibility & limits
- This is a chart editor, not a garment-fit, yarn-quantity or gauge calculator. Charts are 1–200 stitches wide and 1–200 rows high.
- PDF generation was checked; physical print scale, knitted output and suitability of the reading-direction settings for your knitting method remain unverified. Review your chart and knit a swatch first.
- Chrome 152 on Linux verified offline. Native OS file-dialog interaction, other browsers/OS, physical touch devices and iPad PWA installation are unverified. Narrow viewport checks establish reflow, not full phone editing.
- Save/Open tests exercised the existing browser download/file-input fallback. Browser recovery storage is not a backup; keep your .frigella.json files.
- The complete app is supplied in the paid local download. Its existing development/licence panel has no configured issuer; the included local features need no activation key. No separate Pro unlock or hosted account is promised.
Need a hand?
Tell us the product, host application and version, what you tried, and the exact error. Contact support with a fictional example; keep private customer files and passwords out of your message.