Knit & Crochet User Guide

Knit & Crochet helps you organize yarn, manage knitting projects, track progress, design knitting and crochet charts, and read PDF pattern notes. Each tool works independently and can also be attached to the same project.

Quick navigation

• Getting started
• Main navigation
• Yarn library
• Project workspace
• Knitting counter
• Smart Pattern Drafting
• Knitting charts
• Knitting chart area operations
• Crochet charts
• Project Notes
• Other tools
• Import, export, and sync
• Membership
• Settings and help
• FAQ

Getting started

1. Open the built-in tutorial project on Home to see how projects, counters, charts, and notes work together.
2. Add yarn records with photos, specifications, stock, and price information.
3. Create a project and attach the yarn you plan to use.
4. Add counters and link knitting charts, crochet charts, or Project Notes.
5. Return to the current-project card on Home whenever you want to continue.

When the local project library is empty, Knit & Crochet installs one bundled tutorial project. This installation does not require membership and does not use the free personal-project allowance. If you delete it, Knit & Crochet will not recreate it repeatedly.

Main navigation

Home

Home is the project workspace. The header shows the current project and its next action. The project list can be filtered by states such as All, In Progress, Preparing, Completed, and Abandoned.

The Home header first shows card-carousel recommendations curated by an administrator for all users. Swipe or wait for the next image, then tap to preview it, view its Ravelry details, or import it. If no curated set is active, a connected Ravelry account can still provide free-pattern recommendations based on projects stored on this device. The current-project card remains the final fallback when recommendations are unavailable or have no suitable result.

Quick Start groups destinations under Ravelry, Pattern Drafting, Project Notes, Knitting, Crochet, Yarn, Projects, Stitches, and Help. Pattern Drafting, Project Notes, Knitting, and Crochet place Files immediately after New or Import, keep supporting tools in the middle, and move the classic List to the end. Help collects the app guide, knitting chart guide, crochet chart guide, Project Notes guide, Pattern Drafting guide, knitting counter guide, swatch simulator, and feedback; the matching guide is also available inside each supported module. Modules scroll horizontally and reveal their actions in the rounded group below; the top pointer marks the active module. Select it again or use Collapse to hide the group. Knitting also offers 3D Sim and Recent 3D for simulation setup and recently successful combinations.

Discover

Discover presents curated Ravelry patterns and approved community projects. Browse highlights in the banner and three featured recommendations, switch channels for more projects, and pull down to refresh. Tap an image for more photos, or open a card to view public details, favorite it, or like it. Ravelry items can open their source or be imported. Community projects can be imported as new local copies together with the photos, Project Notes, knitting charts, and crochet charts that the publisher explicitly selected.

Use Discover’s upper-right More menu to open Favorites, Likes, and My Submissions, or choose a local project from the existing-project list to publish. The project detail More menu also provides a Publish to Discover shortcut. The editor lists public fields and shareable resources; the first selected photo becomes the cover and up to six photos can be included. A final card preview appears before submission. The publishing entry is available to everyone, while sending a project for review requires membership. It appears in a selected channel only after administrator approval. Selected content is uploaded to the public CloudKit database; counters, yarn inventory, private progress, and pattern drafts are excluded. Browsing Discover does not require Ravelry authorization; the existing connection flow is used only for Ravelry account content or Ravelry imports.

Only on Home’s In Progress state tab, a project card shows a resource shortcut menu in its upper-right corner when it has linked Project Notes, pattern drafts, knitting charts, or crochet charts. The All and other state tabs do not show this shortcut. Project Notes appear as direct actions first; pattern drafts, knitting charts, and crochet charts remain grouped in collapsed submenus. Select a resource name to open it.

Yarn

The Yarn tab is an inventory manager. Its header summarizes yarn count, known remaining weight, low stock, and records that need inventory details. Browse the library by folder, search, and inventory filters.

Tools

Tools contains knitting charts, crochet charts, counters, Project Notes, color tools, symbol libraries, and calculators. Items created here can later be linked to a project.

Settings

Settings contains appearance, language, membership, data sync, release notes, feedback, privacy information, this help center, and About. The Acknowledgments item in About opens the page for the current language.

Yarn library

Create and edit records

• Choose hand-knitting yarn or cone yarn at the top of the specification card for every new or edited record. You can switch directly between them; the matching fields update without immediately erasing values entered for the other mode.
• For hand-knitting yarn, enter the number of balls or skeins, weight and length per package, and a per-package or total price. For cone yarn, enter cone count, per-cone or total weight, Nm count, ply, and price mode.
• Cone-yarn total length is calculated from total weight, Nm, and ply by default. If Nm is unavailable or the actual length differs, enter the total length directly. A manual value takes priority; clear it to restore automatic calculation.
• The specification card previews total weight, total length, and purchase total. Incomplete specifications can still be saved.
• The specification card normalizes a per-ball, per-skein, or per-cone price into a purchase total. A legacy record with only one price is marked as needing confirmation instead of being guessed. It joins confirmed purchase, consumed cost, and remaining stock value statistics only after you explicitly choose per-package or total pricing.
• Attach multiple photos and keep purchasing or usage details. In the shared yarn and project image editor, Replace All selects a new complete set; when images already exist, Add Image opens a menu to add at the end or as the first photo. The first photo is also used for the cover and color sampling.
• Yarn details opens separate editors for product details, material and fiber content, and yarn weight. You can record a brand, product line, colorway, color number, dye lot, weight category, and WPI. The color card combines Hex entry, color extraction from the first photo, and manual selection. The detail summary shows at most two product fields and only the first fiber item; long text keeps a readable size and truncates at the end. A single material with no ratio is shown explicitly as 100%, and a new component can fill the known remainder. The material page estimates fiber density from known components and ratios, with preset and custom overrides. Use the information button beside density to view the exact typical values, ranges, and calculation rules used by the app. Yarn weight is descriptive and never overwrites weight, length, or Nm count.
• Specification Analysis converts a hand-knitting yarn’s package weight and length into length per 100 g, linear density, Nm, and remaining length. For cone yarn it prioritizes a manual total length, otherwise calculating from Nm and ply; weight plus total length can also derive linear density and Nm when the count is unavailable. Yarn weight adds common needle, hook, and stockinette-gauge ranges. Fiber density is used only for a clearly labeled equivalent-solid-diameter estimate, not the real diameter including loft, twist, and air. The swatch simulator remains a separate Knitting Tool.
• Link yarn to projects. Both categories record project usage in grams for cost estimates. When total weight and total length are both available, used and remaining length are estimated proportionally for either category.
• Yarn library cards show only the name, category, primary specification, and remaining inventory. When choosing yarn for a project, the last line shows usage and estimated cost for that project.
• Swipe left on a card in the regular yarn library to move, copy, or delete it. Move opens the searchable half-sheet folder picker. After copying, use the brief Edit Copy action to continue changing the new record. Copy is also available from the detail menu, where you can edit the copy immediately. A copy keeps the full record and photos but starts as new stock without the original yarn’s project links or usage. Swiping from the left edge of the detail page follows the same autosave rules as the back button.
• Use Folder in yarn details to move a record or create a folder. Folder changes follow the same autosave rules as other edits.
• Folder selection uses a searchable, scrollable half sheet, so large folder libraries remain manageable. A completely unchanged new-yarn page closes without creating an empty record.

Find and organize yarn

• All and Uncategorized are fixed destinations and cannot be renamed or deleted. Create, rename, delete, and drag to reorder personal folders. Deleting a folder only moves its yarn to Uncategorized.
• Below search, a persistent row shows the current filter, current sort, and result count. Tap Filter for hand-knitting yarn, cone yarn, low stock, or missing inventory.
• Tap Sort, choose Name, Time, Inventory, or Price, then choose the detailed direction. Sorting supports name, creation date, modification date, known remaining stock, confirmed purchase total, and cost per 100g. Records without a confirmed price or sufficient weight stay at the end. In folder management, touch and hold a personal folder to reorder it.
• Use stock alerts to find yarn that is running low.
• Use the yarn calendar to review added and usage records.

Swatch simulator

Open the swatch simulator from any yarn detail page. Enter stitches, rows, finished size, or gauge information to assist with gauge and target-size conversions.

Project workspace

Create a project

A project can store:

• Craft type, project type, status, and cover information.
• Linked yarn and usage amounts.
• One or more main counters.
• Project Notes, knitting charts, and crochet charts.
• Recommended techniques and symbols actually used by linked charts.

Continue working

Home prioritizes recently updated projects. Project cards use a square 1:1 cover that fills the card; the title, status, and progress are grouped inside a dark gradient overlay at the bottom of the image. The layout adapts to light or dark appearance and iPad orientation. Open a project to continue its main counter or enter its materials, charts, notes, and techniques.

Below search, each status page always shows its current filters, sort, and result count. Combine knitting or crochet, project category, local or Ravelry source, due-within-seven-days or overdue schedule, and the main-tool sizes and forms actually used by projects. Each status page remembers its own choices. Sort by name, update, creation, start, target or completion date, or progress; projects missing the chosen date stay at the end.

Project status

Projects can be Preparing, In Progress, Completed, or Abandoned. Changing status organizes the list and does not delete project content.

Complete project package

Members can export a project together with linked yarn, counters, charts, PDFs, images, and resource relationships as one .lineopus file. Import creates an independent copy and does not overwrite an existing project with the same name.

Time spent

The knitting counter, project notes, knitting chart editor, and crochet chart editor each include a Timer entry. Start it manually. Dismissing the timer sheet does not stop it, while leaving the module or sending the app to the background stops and saves the session. Only one timer can run at a time; starting another ends the previous session first.

When a module is opened from a project, the session is assigned to that project automatically. A resource opened on its own keeps a resource-only history and is not assigned retroactively. In project details, Notes & Time shows the total, module breakdown, and recent sessions; swipe a session to delete an incorrect record. Completed sessions are included in .lineopus exports.

Knitting counter

The counter can be used as a standalone tool or as the main progress tracker inside a project.

Counting

• Track rows/rounds and stitches, or use a single-value counter.
• Configure fixed stitch counts or increase/decrease rules.
• Choose automatic advance, confirmation, or manual completion when a row target is reached.
• Add multiple counter tabs, then rename, reorder, or remove them.
• Use action logs for project analysis.

Knitting plan

Save the current counting rule as a plan task and add later sections. Applying the next section changes the rule without clearing the current values, logs, or linked chart.

Chart modes

Each counter supports three display modes:

• Knitting chart: link an in-app grid chart and optionally follow the current row automatically.
• Project Notes: link a PDF or image note in read-only mode and remember the counter’s current page.
• Text instructions: save written steps and adjust text size.

Smart Pattern Drafting

Open Tools > Pattern Drafting to create or continue a pattern and manage people separately. The project home Quick Start area offers New Pattern, Pattern Files, People, the Pattern Guide, and supporting tools, with the classic pattern list kept last. A pattern can also be linked from Project Resources > Pattern Drafting inside a project.

Creation now begins by choosing a pattern strategy. Built-ins include a basic vest, a complete drop-shoulder long-sleeve pullover, and blank custom pieces. The pullover generates front, back, left and right sleeves plus neckline, hem, cuff, and assembly information. You can create centimeter geometry without gauge, then add stitches and rows per 10 cm from an actual swatch to generate count candidates.

My Pattern Strategies creates restricted copies of built-ins. You can change name, version, dimensions, and a compatible round/V-neck component, then import or export .linepatternstrategy. Packages cannot run scripts or network code and are validated for size, schema, knowledge version, construction graph, and registered factory. Existing projects retain their creation snapshot; upgrades create a copy. CloudKit submission and sharing are not included in this release.

The editor follows the knitting/crochet editors with black top controls, a two-row bottom dock, and a fully black workspace with distinct 1 cm and 5 cm grid lines. Pan empty canvas with one finger, pinch around the gesture center, or double-tap to fit the current piece. The 0.125x–12x canvas redraws geometry and text from mathematical coordinates instead of scaling a bitmap. Interactive swipe-back is disabled inside the editor; use Close. Long-press a tool for its full description.

The first bottom row contains Undo, Redo, Front, Back, Piece, All, and Fit; the second contains Edit, Design, Dimensions, cm Grid, Stitch Grid, Staircase, and Steps. Complete pullovers can switch among body and sleeve pieces. The top plan shortcut and canvas summary open editable candidates; without gauge the project remains explicitly centimeter-only. Design settings replace compatible round/V-neck components transactionally and regenerate only after Save. Rounding, curves, slope shaping, neckline pickup, and assembly remain candidate or manual work and cannot yet publish to the counter. Arbitrary Bezier nodes, other sleeve/yoke families, and knitting/crochet chart placement are not available. People, measurements, strategies, and projects remain on this device and are not exported in .lineopus.

Knitting charts

Free users can create up to 3 knitting charts. After reaching 3, creating or importing another chart requires a subscription; existing charts remain available to open and edit. The existing membership rule for large knitting canvases is unchanged.

The knitting chart editor stores colors and stitch symbols in grid cells. It is suitable for stitch charts, stranded colorwork, cross-stitch, and pixel art.

Draw and edit

• Configure rows, columns, cell size, and reading direction.
• Choose stitches from the system or custom symbol library.
• A custom symbol can be built from symbols, text, or an image. Images support Fit Entire Image or Fill and Crop, and are orientation-normalized and compressed before saving.
• Draw symbols, fill colors, erase, undo, and redo.
• Use area selection for copy, cut, paste, fill, replace, and repeated placement.
• Save reusable colors, templates, and custom symbols.

Area operations

Tap Area Operations in the bottom toolbar, then drag the selection or its four edge handles to set the range. Copy, Cut, and Paste are useful when you want to reuse the same clipboard content. Commands under More Operations—transforms, mirror copy, four-direction fill and repeat counts, 2D Tile, Alternating Mirror, Half-Drop Repeat, and Save as Pattern—use the current selection directly, so you do not need to copy first and your existing clipboard remains unchanged.

• Transform: flip horizontally or vertically, rotate 180°, or create a mirrored copy on either side. With Mirror Stitch Symbols enabled, directional decreases, increases, and cables are changed to their matching mirrored stitches. Neutral, custom, and unmapped stitches remain unchanged.
• Repeat: Fill Left, Fill Right, Fill Up, and Fill Down keep the motif orientation and repeat it to the matching canvas edge. Their repeat-count commands limit the total number of blocks in that direction, including the current selection. 2D Tile repeats the selection to the right and down to the canvas edges. Alternating Mirror alternates the original and horizontally mirrored motifs across columns. Half-Drop Repeat shifts the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and later alternating motif columns down by half the selection height, so the selected height must be even.
• Area editing: Blank Cell Stitches affects only cells in the current selection that do not yet contain a stitch and preserves their backgrounds. With chart rules, flat knitting fills right-side rows with knit stitches and wrong-side rows with purl stitches; knitting in the round fills every row with knit stitches. You can instead choose one single-cell stitch and symbol color. Existing stitches, No Stitch, and cells occupied by multi-cell stitches are not replaced.
• Drawing mirror integration: when Left/Right Mirror or Up/Down Mirror is enabled in the editor, canvas-changing area commands—including Cut, Paste, transforms, repeats, and area edits—also synchronize their final result to the opposite side of the full canvas. The original operation wins where the two ranges overlap, and the whole command still takes one undo step. Mirror Stitch Symbols remains a separate option for horizontal area transforms.
• Patterns and other projects: Save as Pattern stores the selection in My Patterns for reuse on another canvas. Cross-project copy uses a separate shared clipboard. In My Patterns, touch and hold a pattern to move it to another category or delete it.
• Edges and undo: multi-cell stitches must be fully selected, and an incomplete stitch is not written when it cannot fit at a canvas edge. Each area command creates one undo step.

Examples:

1. Select a 4 × 4 motif and choose 2D Tile to fill continuously from the selection’s top-left corner toward the canvas bottom-right.
2. Select a 6-row motif and choose Half-Drop Repeat. The 2nd, 4th, 6th, and later alternating columns are shifted down by 3 rows.
3. Select a motif with left- and right-leaning decreases or cables, enable Mirror Stitch Symbols, and choose Alternating Mirror to alternate both the motif geometry and stitch direction.
4. Select the part of a chart where blank squares represent base stitches, choose Blank Cell Stitches, review the rule and affected count, then fill everything in one undoable command.

Create from an image

The image workspace has two separate paths:

• Regular image: for photos and illustrations. Crop, rotate, change aspect ratio and placement, then reduce the image to pixel colors.
• Grid chart: for pixel images or pattern images/PDFs that already contain cell lines. Calibrate the outer frame and horizontal/vertical spacing before aligning it to the editor grid. Then choose pixel drawing or symbol drawing.

Grid charts can adjust canvas cells, chart scale, and position. Preview before applying so existing canvas content is not replaced unexpectedly.

Color drawing offers Natural, Simplified Blocks, and Monochrome plans. A regular image can use quick preview or open Confirm Drawing Plan to edit settings and color groups; a grid pixel chart samples each calibrated cell before confirmation. You can recolor, locate, merge, split, or ignore groups. Symbol drawing shows grouped recognition results and lets you correct the stitch and cell background. Every path creates a preview first and changes the project only after Apply to Canvas.

Counter mode and export

Link a chart to a project counter to display the current position on a larger canvas and follow rows. In the chart editor’s own counter mode, enable Show Current Row Stitches in common settings to display consecutive stitch runs in actual knitting order, including stitch color, cell background, and direction.

• Flat knitting reads odd rows from right to left and even rows from left to right. Knitting in the round reads every row from right to left. The project’s Knitting Method setting controls this behavior.
• Hiding row markers also hides the current-row strip. When column markers are enabled, the current column is the preferred position; otherwise the strip remembers its reading position.
• Adjacent cells merge only when stitch, symbol color, and background match. Blank cells break a run when their meaning is set to Ignore. No Stitch represents no worked stitch, so it is neither displayed nor counted and does not split matching stitches on its two sides.
• Blank Cell Meaning ignores blank cells by default or maps each one to any symbol already supported by the app. A chart can follow the general setting, explicitly ignore blanks, or choose its own symbol. This changes only the current-row reading and never writes symbols into the chart. Mapped stitches are labeled “Stitch Name (Blank Cells)” and counted separately from stitches drawn on the chart.

Export options include images and editable project files; use project files for continued editing and images for sharing or printing.

Saving

• Timed autosaves are disabled while you edit so saving cannot interrupt canvas interactions. Changes are saved when the app moves to the background, when you open Export, or when you tap Close; Close waits for the save to finish before returning. The top Save button remains available for an immediate manual save.

Crochet charts

Free users can create up to 3 crochet charts. After reaching 3, creating or importing another chart requires a subscription, while existing charts remain available to open and edit.

The crochet editor uses a free canvas and is not restricted to the knitting grid.

• Create a canvas and configure its background and size.
• Use the multilingual system symbol library or maintain custom symbols.
• Move, rotate, scale, copy, delete, and reorder symbols.
• Select multiple symbols for grouping and whole-group transforms.
• Arrange repeated symbols along straight or curved paths and adjust direction, spacing, and start position.
• Use quick fill, default sizing, counters, and canvas guides.
• Save and export crochet charts.

Editing tips

• Search the symbol library by name, abbreviation, or keyword. Recently selected symbols appear first under Used.
• Project settings control the line width and default size of newly added symbols. Turning-chain symbols 2–6 include a curvature handle for bending.
• Layer management shows regular group members recursively. Expand or collapse a group, locate elements, toggle visibility, or lock them.
• In multi-select mode, tap elements to add or remove them, or draw a new selection box to replace the current selection. Drag any selected element to move the selection together without creating a group, and tap empty canvas to exit multi-select.
• Smart Snapping is on by default. The center crosshair always follows the element while dragging; its center can snap to the visible canvas center, and its visual edges or center can align with other visible elements. A successful snap shows a highlighted guide and gives one light haptic response. Turn snapping off under Settings > Editing Aids while keeping the center crosshair.
• Timed autosaves are disabled while you edit so saving cannot interrupt canvas interactions. Changes are saved when the app moves to the background, when you open Export, or when you tap Close; Close waits for the save to finish before returning. The top Save button remains available for an immediate manual save.
• Export supports PNG/PDF, resolution, margins, and background options, plus optional title, notes, symbol legend, author, and copyright information.

Knitting and crochet editors use different data and coordinate models. Create and import files with the matching editor.

Project Notes

Project Notes imports PDF or image patterns and overlays editable page elements without rewriting the original PDF.

• Create notes from Camera, Photos, or Files.
• Zoom, change pages, use thumbnails, and add page tags.
• Add images, text, info markers, rulers, chart links, and grid-segmentation frames.
• Draw with pens, erase strokes, undo, redo, and manage elements.
• Use auxiliary counters inside a note.
• Link notes to a project or counter.

Project Notes has its own detailed guide. Select “Project Notes” in the help center.

Other tools

• Color tools: sample colors from images, create palettes, and save color records.
• Symbol libraries: browse and search knitting or crochet symbols and maintain personal symbols or notes.
• Pattern Drafting: store people and measurements, start from built-in female references or public standards, and inspect body reference, formal body block, and garment pieces separately.
• Calculators: assist with gauge, length, weight, and size calculations.
• Calendars and alerts: review yarn/project records and configure stock-related reminders.

Import, export, and sync

iCloud data sync

Upload and download in Settings operates as a full-library backup. Current backup packages include the database and required PDF/image assets. Download replaces local data with the cloud backup; it is not a record-by-record merge. Check the device and backup time before restoring.

File types

• .lineopus: one complete project and its linked resources.
• .pxproj or knitting-project formats: editable knitting charts.
• PDF/images: sources for Project Notes or sharing output.
• Yarn CSV V2: batch export creates a folder containing a version manifest, yarn table, component table, image table, and image files. Headers include both localized names and stable field IDs, so packages can be edited and imported across languages. Import validates the complete package before writing any records. Legacy line_list.csv files are no longer supported.

A complete project package is not a replacement for a full-library backup, and a full backup is not intended for sharing one project.

Membership

Basic browsing and access to existing content remain available where possible. Batch transfer, complete project packages, higher creation allowances, and some professional editing actions require membership. The message shown at the point of use is the current source of truth.

After changing devices or reinstalling the app, open the membership page in Settings and use Restore Purchases.

Settings and help

• Appearance: major editors support light and dark mode. Use the sun/moon button in the top-right of Settings for a quick toggle, or open Appearance to select a mode.
• Language: Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and French.
• Release notes: review important changes in published versions.
• Feedback: send a problem report, suggestion, and screenshots.
• App Features Guide: opens this page; Quick navigation jumps directly to a module.
• Privacy Policy and Terms: review privacy and service information.
• Diagnostic Information: under Settings → About, retrieve the CloudKit User ID only when needed. The ID is masked by default and can be shown or copied explicitly; the app does not upload, save, or log it automatically.

FAQ

Why did an import create a copy?

Complete project and chart packages import as copies by default to protect existing local work.

Why is a PDF or image missing on another device?

Make sure you used a current backup package that includes assets and allowed upload/download to finish. Copying an older database file alone may omit PDF and image files.

Why does the tutorial not return after I delete it?

The tutorial is installed only during the first empty-library check. Deleting it means it is no longer needed, so Knit & Crochet does not recreate it.

Why does a button open the membership page?

The action is a member feature or its free allowance has been reached. Existing content normally remains viewable or editable as described by the on-screen message.

How should I report a problem?

Open Settings → Feedback. Include the steps, expected result, actual result, and a screenshot for visual or layout issues.

Folders for projects and charts

Projects, Pattern Drafts, knitting charts, crochet charts, and knitting notes each have their own folders. Pattern Draft, crochet, and knitting-note tools keep a dedicated File Management entry as the recommended way to find, organize, and manage content; Records remains available as a secondary classic list. Linking an existing resource to a project, or choosing existing material inside a counter, knitting note, or Pattern Draft, opens the matching file selector. Selection mode keeps folders, search, and sorting, but hides move, delete, and folder-management actions.

Use the management button on the right to create, rename, delete, search, or reorder folders. Deleting a folder moves its items to Unfiled and never deletes the projects or charts. Search file names or summaries; the row below search always shows the current folder, sorting, and result count, and its sorting control changes the order. Swipe a file row left, or long-press it on iPad, to move or permanently delete it; permanent deletion asks for confirmation. The Files page remembers its last folder and sorting. Change a folder from item details; knitting notes use the top-right menu.