Top 5 Free Knitting Apps

Last Updated on Thursday, 27 January 2011 06:41 Written by Victoria Thursday, 27 January 2011 06:41

1. Knitting Daily

Knitting Daily is a magazine app to help serious knitting fans keep on top of all that’s new in the world of wool-crafts. You’ll find it in the App Store as the most popular free knitting application for iPhone and it has a cute logo with ball of duck egg blue wool with criss-crossed needles.

Basically, this has everything you need for those in-between moments, not enough time to pull out your latest project and work on a few rows, but long enough to check out the three tabs worth of content. The first, latest updates from knitting blogs; the second, video how-tos and tutorials; and the third, an extensive glossary for jogging your memory on those more out of the ordinary techniques. There is also the option to sign up to the Knitting Daily mailing list to receive all this to your inbox, but with it handy on your phone for bus journeys and coffee shop queues, you’ll probably find that this is all you need.

2. Knit Counter Lite/StitchMinder

Counter style apps have been long available in Apple and Android App stores and do the job quite nicely, thank you. However, there are two specific free apps aimed at knitters that you can take a look at and try. Obviously, you’re unlikely to need both, but there are a few handy extras that may swing your attention to one or the other.

Knit Counter Lite is the most popular in terms of number of downloads and although it looks quite simple, it does its job very well. Inside the app, you can create numerous personalised and custom counters to suit your projects, each with specific information that you can keep handy for reference, such as which yarn and needles you’re using. You have the option to link two counters together and the ‘frog’ button help you to get back to where you want to be if you find yourself having to go back to correct an error.

StitchMinder may have a more elaborate design scheme, but actually appears to do less than its competitor, with only four counters available for customisation. Nonetheless, you can still keep a good track of your projects using this app and the user ratings are very positive.

3. Lion Brand Yarn

The Lion Brand Yarn app allows you to search specific criteria to find the right pattern for your project. Once you find the right pattern you can bookmark it, make notes and even use the handy map to see your nearest Lion Brand stockist to get what you need.

4. KnitMinder Lite

My personal favourite app on the list and one that I’ve found myself using at home, KnitMinder Lite allows knitting hoarders like me to audit and organise all of their equipment, patterns and ‘part-way through until I got frustrated and threw it under the bed/on top of the wardrobe’ projects.

Inside the app are four tabs: projects (subdivided into planned, in-progress, finished and on-hold categories), patterns, yarn (arranged by weight, colour or brand) and needles (types and size). This app really helps you to see which projects you can manage with the equipment you’ve got, when you could do with stocking up and when you need to stop starting new projects and finish what you’ve started!

5. Knitted Cam Lite

This is just a fun little app for anyone who enjoys crafts. You’ll find it with the cool retro camera on the logo and once you’ve downloaded it you can have lots of fun turning your photos into images worthy of a Christmas jumper! Just tap the bottom-right corner of the screen when you open the app and choose a picture from your albums, take one or go for a demo shot. Then, the app will manage to transform the image into a knitted swatch while you can tamper with the colour ways to make it look perfect. It’s sometimes a bit hit-and-miss, and pictures that are too light or dark can be tricky to perfect, but this app definitely survived the delete-list just for kitsch value!

About the Author: Victoria Crowdell writes articles on family, home & garden and crafting – her passion is decorative candles.

Featured Artist – Rabbit Hollow Prims

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 November 2009 05:37 Written by Manic Butterfly Tuesday, 10 November 2009 06:00

Rabbit Hollow Prims began a long while ago… 1989 to be exact. I used to make crafts with my mother who sold at shows in Pennsylvania and Ohio and she would pay me for helping her. I stayed away from doll making for a while and now I am back to making dolls from patterns, and recently designing and selling my own dolls that are OOAK (one of a kind). My techniques, style, product and designs have changed a lot over the years, but what has remained ever constant is producing folk-art that is truly unique, original, and sometimes OOAK.

I often use a distressing technique with acrylic paints and then sanding and baking for a truly vintage and worn out look, and rich leathery patina. All dolls are made to last and wear throughout the years to come. My love of antiques & dolls has certainly been a huge influence at Rabbit Hollow Prims over the past 17 years, and I love what I do.

I am a mother of 2 boys who are 3 and 5 yrs old. I have been an artist in the Hope Mills, NC community for 5 years, where I have also been a Science teacher for groups of middle school kids, and a Science lab expert teacher in the after school community school programs for kids ages 11-14.

Find Rabbit Hollow Prims at the following:
Rabbit Hollow Prims.com
Rabbit Hollow Prims at Etsy.
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History of Knitting

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 September 2009 02:24 Written by Manic Butterfly Monday, 28 September 2009 09:00

Submitted by CalcedoniaDesign.

Knitting is not my specialty-my mom can knit up a storm-I would rather crochet. Knitting patterns were a little difficult to read and no matter how hard I tried (sigh) the item always came out wider, then long enough. So it was always rip and redo. When my son was born (many moons ago) I decided to knit him a sweater. I think about it now and still I laugh my head off-you’d have to see this picture in your mind to understand. When my son was young I always had to buy him Sears ‘super super slim’  shirts and pants. The sweater I knitted him turned out to be a midriff, which could have fit a baby elephant. Now I leave the knitted items to my mom who has just turned 86.

Here are some interesting links about how knitting originated, taken from Wikipedia:

• 1 Early origins of knitting
• 2 Early European Knitting
• 3 Importance in Scottish history
• 4 Industrial revolution
• 5 1920s: the Russian Civil Wars and China
• 6 1939-1945: Knitting for Victory
• 7 1950s and 60s: Haute Couture
• 8 1980s: A Decline
• 9 Early 21st Century Revival
• 10 References
• 11 Notes
• 12 See also
• 13 External links