Thun'du Kunaa QR
A QR code woven like a Thun'du Kunaa, the hand-woven mats of the Maldives. The pattern is the code itself: its squares are woven as small diamonds that follow the mat's design.
Try the designs here on a sample code. To weave your own link and download it, sign up: it's free, and your choices will still be here when you come back. A free account includes 10 editable codes.
More options
Show or print the whole picture at least 5 cm (2 in) wide, and scan it with your phone before printing many. Free downloads have a small QR Code Spot badge under the picture; paid plans download it larger, without the badge.
Print it or open it on another screen, scan it with your phone, then tell us. It helps the beta.
How it works
Thun'du Kunaa QR takes its patterns from the Thun'du Kunaa, the hand-woven mats of the Maldives: diamonds, teeth, chains of diamonds, scrolls and the four-diamond lozenge.
Your link is saved as an editable code, and the woven code holds its short qrsx.net link. The design is laid out on the code's own grid. Then the parts of the code the short link doesn't use are chosen so its squares fall where the design is already dark or light. Each square is woven as a small diamond, five stitches across, the way the mats' own dots are.
Before you can download, the code is read by two scanners in eight phone-like tests: small, blurry, with glare and with noise. Then the whole picture is read in one go. If anything misses, the mat is laid a little straighter and tried again, and download stays off until everything passes.
Thun'du Kunaa QR is part of QR Labs, new tools in beta. To turn your own picture into a code, try Photo QR; for a code with your logo and text round it, try QR Studio.
About the Thun'du Kunaa
The Thun'du Kunaa is the most notable of the Maldivian handicrafts: a fine mat woven by hand in the Maldives, used for generations for sitting, sleeping and prayer, and once sent abroad as a royal gift.
It is woven from a local grass called haa, dried in the sun and coloured with natural dyes made from bark and roots: maroon, black and yellow, beside the grass's own pale white. The weaving makes sharp, stepped patterns inside perfectly even edges, a style said to be found nowhere else, and each pattern has its own meaning.
QR Code Spot is a small business based in the Maldives, and Thun'du Kunaa QR is our tribute to this craft. Its patterns are inspired by the mats' motifs and drawn by software; a real Thun'du Kunaa is still woven by hand.
Questions
What is a Thun'du Kunaa?
A fine mat woven by hand in the Maldives from a local grass called haa. It is used for sitting, sleeping and prayer, and was once sent as a royal gift. Its patterns are woven in a few colours: the grass's own pale white, yellow, black and maroon.
Why a Maldivian mat?
QR Code Spot is a small business based in the Maldives, and the Thun'du Kunaa is the country's most notable craft. Thun'du Kunaa QR is our tribute to it, for anyone anywhere to use. The designs here are inspired by the mats' motifs; they are not copies of traditional designs, and the real thing is still woven by hand.
Will a Thun'du Kunaa QR code scan?
Every picture is checked before you can download it: the code is read in eight phone-like tests (small, blurry, glare and noise), and then the whole picture is read in one go. Download stays off until all of it passes. It's still a beta, so scan your own copy with your phone before you print many.
How is the pattern part of the code?
A QR code has room for a fixed amount of data. Whatever your link doesn't use, we choose so the code's squares fall where the mat's pattern is already dark or light. So the pattern you see is the code itself, not a picture laid over it.
Can I change where it goes after printing?
Yes. Every Thun'du Kunaa QR is an editable code: the woven code holds a short qrsx.net link, and you choose where that link opens. Change it any time from My codes, where you also see how often it's scanned. The Free plan includes 10 editable codes, 5 destination changes a month and scan analytics for the last 7 days; paid plans have more.
Why a short link instead of my own?
A short link leaves far more of the code free to follow the mat's pattern, so the design comes out cleaner. It is also what makes the code editable.
Why are the corner squares plain?
Phones find a QR code by its three big corner squares and one small square, so those are woven plain. The pattern is set so a medallion falls on the small one, and the three big ones sit where a mat's corner medallions would be.
How big should I print it?
Print the whole picture at least 5 cm (2 inches) wide, or 6.5 cm (2.6 inches) for the round mat, whose border sits further out, and bigger if it will be scanned from further away. Scan your printed copy before printing many.
Is it free?
Yes, with a free account, while it's in beta. Anyone can try the designs on a sample code; making your own needs an account, and each one counts as one of your editable codes (10 on the Free plan). Free downloads carry a small QR Code Spot badge under the picture; paid plans download a larger file without it.
What do you keep?
Your link, saved as an editable code in your account, so the short link can open it. The picture itself is made in your browser. Scans are counted by country and device type only, never who scanned.