An MCP server could give AI assistants reliable access to my knitting calculator, but only if knitters connect to it first. Could public, natural-language instructions reach more people instead?

I want my knitting calculator to work across apps, websites, servers, and command-line tools. I compare Swift with Kotlin Multiplatform, consider where each creates friction, and explain why I am choosing an unfamiliar language to build the calculator.

What started as a question about AI assistants led me back to a mobile architecture idea I already loved. Here’s why I’m building my knitting calculator as a standalone library, with a command-line tool as its first interface.

Nearly two years after my first round of market research, I’m revisiting the knitting increase/decrease calculators available on the App Store and web. There are far more options now, some polished and some distinctly AI-ish. Do any of them fill the gap I hoped to address, or is there still room for the thoughtful, human-made calculator I want to build?

As much as I'd like a portfolio app, I won't release something if a solid app that does the same thing already exists.

For years, I've wanted to create my own iOS app and get it on the App Store. After 12 years as an iOS developer, I'm finally doing it!