You can create beading patterns in Microsoft Excel for Windows or Microsoft Excel for Macintosh by using the Microsoft Excel graph paper template. This template comes pre-installed with the standard installation of Microsoft Office 2008 for Macintosh, or Excel 2007 can download it from the Microsoft Office online template library that installs templates into Excel on an as-needed basis rather than storing all templates locally. Templates can also be downloaded with your web browser from the template library at Microsoft.com, and these are compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
Step
Open Microsoft Excel and choose "Project Gallery" from the File menu (Excel 2008) or choose "New" from the Office menu (Excel 2007).
Step
Click "New" then "Home Essentials," "Graph Paper" and the "Open" button in Excel 2008 to load the graph paper template to the screen. In Excel 2007, type "Graph Paper" into the Search box at the top of the new document screen, click the arrow to the right to bring up the template selection, and double-click the icon for standard graph paper to download it to your computer and open it on the screen.
Step
Click the mouse to highlight a square (or cell) on the graph paper template. Each cell corresponds to a bead in your pattern.
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Step
Click the "Fill Color" icon on the toolbar at the top of the screen to color the cell. This icon looks like a paint bucket spilling paint. If you hold the mouse button down on the tiny triangle to the right of the Fill Color icon, you can access the fill color palette and choose different colors.
Step
Fill the cells with colors in the pattern you want for your bead design.
Step
Use the "Print" command under the File menu (Excel 2008) or the "Print" command under the Office menu (Excel 2007) to print your chart to begin your beading project.
