Charting with Excel - Part 2: Colour Charts

• Open a new Excel file

• You'll notice that the default size of each cell is a fairly wide rectangle. We want to change these cells to be much more square. In order to do that, hold your mouse over the square immediately to the left of column A and immediately above row 1 and click once. This will highlight the entire worksheet, and you do this when you want to make a universal change to the entire worksheet (such as formatting, font, or cell size). Your worksheet should now look something like this:

• Now hold your mouse on the vertical line that separated the column heading A and the column heading B. You cursor should change from a cross shape, to a black vertical line bissected with a black horizontal line with arrows at either end. Click and hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor to the left until the number of pixels reads 24. Release the mouse button and your spreadsheet should look like this.

• The next thing I like to do is block out the area (stitches and rows) that I want to chart. If we think of this sample as a small "swatch", then let's draw a square or border around an area 20 stitches (or cells) wide and 20 rows tall. To do this, "select" cells by clicking once on cell F6. Notice that there is a bold line around this cell. This isn't permanent, it is just an indicator of what cell you have selected. Hold down your left mouse button and move your mouse horizontally across the spreadsheet until you have 20 cells highlighted, and then continuing to hold the left mouse button down, move the mouse vertically so that you can select 20 rows down as well. You can tell the number of rows and columns you have selected by looking in the area just above the column headers - 20 R x 20 C.

• When you release the button, your spreadsheet should look like this.

• Now we need to draw a permanent border around this square. In the menu area, just to the left of the paint can, is an image of a small block of four squares with a line drawn across the two bottom squares.

• Click on the tiny triangle just to the right of that to bring down a drop down menu of types of borders, and choose the "thick box border" (eighth one down).

• Your spreadsheet should now look like this.

• Now we want to incorporate a simple colour pattern by colouring the squares. To do this, select cell I23, and then click on the small triangle to the right of the paint can (see earlier screen shot) to bring up a pallet of available colours. If this selection isn't enough colours to choose from, have some fun clicking on "more colours" and have a look at both the standard and custom tabs!

• For our tutorial, let's just click on basic red. This is what you should now have.

• Now you can chart a simple design by either (a) copying and pasting this square to other squares, or (b) selecting other squares and clicking once on the paint box (which will show red). You can make any design you wish, or try your hand at the following design.

• You are of course not limited to one colour, nor do you need to be limited to a 20 x 20 space. Feel free to experiment. Perhaps try your hand at charting out a picture, or a fairisle design. Most importantly, though, have some fun and play a little!

I hope that this has been helpful. Please feel free to post comments! Next time: charting crochet stitches.