iCrochet

Ever since I got my iPhone it seems I spend less time talking on it and more time using it as a utility (yes, playing Distant Shore is a utility). But the amazing thing is how much I use it when I crochet.

I thought you might be interested in the five top applications I use during a crochet project (all of these can be downloaded at the iTunes application store).

Top Five Crochet/Knit Friendly Applications

1. colorSutra – I use colorSutra when I need help coordinating colors of a particular item, such as a chair or jacket. colorSutra allows you to pull a photo from your iPhone library and touch-pick a color in the photo. It will then show you complementary, adjacent, tetradic and triadic color schemes for that main color choice. Very, very cool. ($1.99 on iTunes)

2. Stich Minder – Stitch Minder is the ultimate Crocheter’s and Knitter’s friend. With just a tap, it helps you keep track of rows seven types of repeating stitches or rows such as Rows Completed, or Decrease Repeat. It defaults to increasing the numbers each time you tap, but you can set it to decrease them if you are counting down. I love it because all five counters can be edited, so I can keep track to two separate projects at the same time. (Free on iTunes)

3. Knit Gauge – It’s as simple as it sounds. Knit Gauge is a very cool application for checking the gauge of your stitches to one hundredth of an inch or centimeter (how’s that for being anal). ($0.99 on iTunes).

4. Ambiance – I downloaded Ambiance when it first came out and liked it. With the new updated version I absolutely love it. Ambiance is an environmental sound player. It’s perfect for those times that you want sound around you, but don’t want lyrics to get in the way of your stitch counting. I use sounds like Large Wind Chimes or Ocean Waves Against Rocks while I’m working on a project to keep me calm and focused. But you might like the comfort factor of Womb or the urban sound of Leaf Blower. ($2.99 on iTunes. There is also Ambiance Classic that is free with fewer sound choices)

5. Reading pdf patterns – I’m sure that there are plenty of apps out there that you can purchase to save and read Adobe pdfs on your iPhone. But one FREE trick I use is to just email a pdf pattern to myself on my home computer. The iPhone is enabled to read pdfs already, so when I need to see a pattern on the go, I just go to my email program on the iPhone and read it right from the email I sent myself. Keep an email folder just for patterns and you are set anytime you need to see any pdf pattern you have.

Have fun!!