Building in Public | Researching Comparable Apps
- erinvh620
- Nov 6, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Jan 9
Note to Readers: If you're new here, I recommend reading my previous post for background on the app I'm developing.
As much as I'd love to have a portfolio app, I won't release one to the App Store if a similar app already exists. Duplicating something that's already out there does not benefit users, and users come first.
To determine if a similar app already exists, I started with a quick Google search: "knitting calculators." This turned out to be too vague, so I refined the search to "knitting increase calculators." Below, I'll cover the first few results that came up. Next, I searched the App Store on my iPhone. I'll walk through those results below as well.
We're not currently planning an Android app or a web app. If you are interested in helping with that, contact me at erin@thepassionatecoder.com!
Websites
Knitulator
Like:
It's free.
I like the increase-decrease toggle, as it allows this single screen to function as two calculators in one. It keeps the UI minimal by displaying one calculator at a time while providing easy access to switch between them.
The copy, which reads, "I have 52 stitches and want to increase by 8 stitches to give 60 stitches total," is unambiguous. Many other calculators are less clear, so this one stands out to me for that reason.
The calculator provides two solutions: one that uses an m1 (make 1) increase and one that uses a kfb (knit into the front and back) increase. These increases--m1 and kfb--represent two different "classes" of increase stitch. The make1 stitch creates a new stitch in between stitches. It is not worked into an existing stitch. The kfb, on the other hand, makes two stitches from one stitch. In other words, you work into the stitch below twice rather than once.
The "Handy info & FAQ" dropdown provides helpful information:
It discusses whether you can substitute other types of increases for the m1 and kfb.
It discusses if there is a limit to the number of increases you can make.
Dislike:
The lack of a visual aid.
I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I don't find the layout of the query or the two solutions aesthetically pleasing. Maybe it's that there's not much distinction between the query and the solutions?
There is no reassurance that this solution will work for both knitting flat and knitting in the round.
This doesn't seem like a good solution if the user is knitting in the round: there will be 10 stitches between two of the increases (5 stitches at the start of the round and 5 stitches at the end of the round), but only 6 stitches between all the other increases. This solution would only provide evenly spaced increases if the user is knitting flat. Yet, that isn't explicitly stated anywhere.
A better solution for knitting in the round would be k3, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k3 (which could work for both knitting in the round and knitting flat) but this solution is not given.
There is no advice on which solution (m1 or kfb) is best for different scenarios. And no indication of what the end result will look like, for instance, how visible the increases will be and what they will look like. Basically, there is no help for deciding which of the two solutions to use. So the user still has to go off and further research the visual and practical differences between m1 and kfb.
The calculator assumes we are working in stockinette.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
WorldKnits
Like:
It's free.
They clarify that this solution will work for knitting flat and knitting in the round. (Specifically, the bit that says "across your row or round of knitting"). I suppose this could be much more clear though - as it is now, it's an easily missed detail.
I like the way they've written out the solution very clearly, spelling out the word "times" instead of using abbreviations and symbols. To me, this feels more readable than the solutions given by Knitulator.
Dislike:
It's not clear to me whether I need to type 8 or 60 in the second box. Knitulator handled this better.
What does "balanced increase" mean? It's not clear to me.
They only offer one solution: a solution using m1. No kfb solution. This seems incomplete.
The above solution does not seem like the best. Here's a visual representation showing the above solution:
It is "balanced" I suppose . . . but I think a better solution would be k3, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k3 (which could work for both knitting in the round and knitting flat) as shown above.
The UI is not aesthetically pleasing (though, not being a designer, it's hard for me to articulate why I feel this way).
The calculator assumes the user is working in stockinette.
Additional Notes
The decrease calculator is completely separate rather than a toggle. I feel like this is a waste of screen "real estate."
They also offer a sleeve taper calculator. That's a feature we might want to keep in mind for later.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
YARNSUB
Like:
I LOVE that you can choose the type of increase. Here's a screenshot of the dropdown.
It even includes a crochet increase! However, what about users working with a pattern that doesn't specify the type of increase to use? How do they know which type to choose from the drop-down?
I love that there is a visual aid. I'm not sure this is the best visual aid, but it still improves my experience.
I like the "Print these instructions" feature. I can see how that would be useful. You can print out your solution and stick it in your project bag along with the pattern.
I like that the UI reassures the user that the final stitch count is 60.
Dislike:
The solutions are sometimes questionable. Take this example:
This does not seem like the best solution to me. A better solution would be k3, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k3 (as discussed previously)
What is SC? Stitch count? There's no way for me to know.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Knitgrammer
Like:
This is the most aesthetically pleasing calculator I've seen thus far. I like the light grey box delineating the prompt. It makes the screen easier to mentally parse and digest quickly.
I like that there are explanations of the abbreviations.
I like that she specifies one solution for knitting flat and one for knitting in the round. (Less ambiguity than some of the other calculators)
I like that the text for the "calculate" button is "Do the math!" It's cute and fun.
I love that the woman who created this site is an engineer from Finland! She provides tons of other very cool knitting calculators! (Knitting + Programmer = Knitgrammer -- I love it!)
Dislike:
I would have been unsure whether to type 8 or 60 into the second box - although the calculator is set to a default, which helps the user know how to use it . . . I guess that's a good approach.
What does "balanced increase" mean? Is this a special knitting term? I don't know it. Why is the in-the-round solution not labelled as a "balanced increase"? (Maybe I should write her a message asking!)
I wish there was a visual representation of both solutions.
I don't agree that the first solution is the best solution for knitting in the round. Here's a visual representation of that solution to help me explain what I mean:
A better solution would be: k3, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k3 (which I shared a diagram of above, but will include here again to save you from having to scroll)
I don't agree that the second solution is the best solution for knitting flat. Here's a visual representation of her solution:
I feel some better solutions for knitting flat are: k3, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k6, m1, k7, m1, k3
k5, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k6, m1, k5
I suppose her suggestion isn't wrong, and maybe not as terrible as I first thought, before creating the visuals. But still, it's not symmetric (4 stitches on one end and 3 on the other). I see no reason for to use a non-symmetric solution when there are plenty of symmetric solutions available.
The calculator only offers m1 solutions. No kfb solutions. This seems incomplete.
The calculator assumes the user is working in stockinette.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Hobby Hygge
Like:
The prompt is very straightforward and clear. I like that. It mentions "increase and decrease", "evenly", "row or round", and "beginners and experienced knitters": lots of reassurance for the user.
I like the layout and the clean user interface.
Like:
I think these are by far the clearest instructions I've seen so far. I love that they are step-by-step, with each step on its own line.
I love the "Need help counting?" feature that highlights which line you are on.
I like the "Copy Link" feature (you could paste the link into your Ravelry notes!).
I like the "Print" feature.
I love the section below the solutions called "Would you rather do the calculation on your own?"
Dislike:
The solution only seems to cover m1 increases, not kfb increases. This feels incomplete.
Unless the user is knitting in the round, I'm not sure how they are going to increase at the end of a row. I think they'd have to use a cable cast-on for this, or a backwards loop cast-on.
Conclusion
I like this calculator a lot. I think it's much more helpful than the other ones I've found on the web so far. That being said, I feel there is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
iOS Apps
KnitCompanion
This app is much more than a knitting calculator, but it contains knitting calculators. However, it took me quite a while to find them.
I had to watch this YouTube video to figure out how to create a project in the app, as I couldn't figure it out solely based on the UI. I had to:
Log in to my Ravelry account in the app.
Download a pattern from my Ravelry library.
Go to a different tab to see a list of my downloaded patterns.
Tap the pattern list item.
Only then was there a "Start Project" button.
Now that I have created a project, I should be able to access the knitting calculators, but they require a subscription. Luckily, there is a free 1-week trial.
Here's a flow diagram of the screens for the knitting calculator(s):
Like:
I like the toggle for flat vs in-the-round.
I think the phrasing "increase by" makes it very clear that I should enter 8 (rather than 60) in the second box.
I like the "Copy to Project Info" feature - this is definitely something I would use to copy my solution into my project notes on Ravelry.
Dislike:
Access to the calculators requires a subscription (£29.99 per year).
It seems silly for the list of calculators to be cut off and scrollable when there is plenty of screen space available.
The solution presentation is not aesthetically pleasing.
No visual aid.
The calculator only offers a make1 solution, no kfb solution.
This does not seem like the best solution for knitting flat - why do we have 9 stitches on one end and 8 on the other end, but only 5 stitches between increases? Seems like such an odd way to distribute the increases.
Here's what the in-the-round solution looks like:
Again, this does not seem like the best solution for knitting in the round. . . one interval of 10 stitches, while all the other increases have only 6 stitches in between them . . .
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Knitting Calculator
This app costs £2.99 to download. I will skip downloading this and assess it from the screenshots in the App Store.
Like:
I like the increase-decrease toggle. Good use of screen space, and it's a very intuitive UI element.
Aesthetically pleasing UI.
I like that there is a "Clear" button. Though . . . I wonder how much use it actually gets.
Dislike:
Ambiguity: I would be unsure of whether to type 7 or 52 in the second box.
The layout of the solution text is ugly.
There's no clarity on whether the solution is for knitting flat, knitting in the round, or both.
No visual aid.
Incomplete: There's only a m1 solution. No kfb solution.
Additional Notes
There are no ratings and reviews on the App Store, which basically means barely anyone has downloaded this app. I'm guessing that has to do with the £2.99 price because when I type "knitting calculator" in the App Store, this is the first app that comes up--so it probably gets a decent amount of exposure to potential users.
The app was released about seven years ago and has only had four updates. The most recent update was 3 years ago. In other words, there's no active development on this app.
Conclusion
There is most definitely still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Knit Tools
I'm not too fond of this logo. I don't find it aesthetically pleasing.
The app contains knitting calculators, but when I tap "Calculate", I get a pop-up saying I need to purchase a subscription. Fat chance!
I especially dislike that the app doesn't tell me I need a subscription until after I've entered my stitch count and increase amount! Rude!
Curiosity got the better of me and I ended up paying £0.99 for the 30-day subscription. Here's what the calculator's solution looks like:
Like:
Nothing.
Dislike:
Everything. Terrible UI, wrong solution, assumes stockinette, only provides m1 solution (no kfb solution), no visual aid.
Additional Notes
It has three ratings, all from 8-9 years ago and all 1-star ratings. All three reviews say the app won't open. The last update was after that (7 years ago) and must have fixed that issue because I can open the app on my phone. I'm impressed that the app works on iOS 17 (the iOS version currently running on my phone) if it hasn't been updated for 7 years.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Knit & Note
This app has a prettier icon and UI than the other apps I've looked at. Here are some screenshots of the knitting increase calculator included in this app:
Like:
The UI is lovely and aesthetically pleasing. Pleasant colours.
I like the increase-decrease toggle.
I like the heads up that this is a new feature and the invitation for feedback:
However, it's not clear to me how to reach out if I see something that isn't right.
Dislike:
Requires account creation + login before you can do anything (high bar to entry).
Account creation requires an email address but doesn't tell me what it will be used for.
I'm not too fond of the layout of the solution.
No visual aid.
Assumes stockinette, only gives a make1 solution, and it's not even the best solution.
Conclusion
There is still room in the world for another knitting increase calculator.
Summary
While some apps and websites offer knitting increase calculators, competition is limited, leaving plenty of room to create something better. Moving forward with building my own knitting calculator app still feels worthwhile.
Staying on Top of Comparable Apps
This research has been invaluable for identifying what to include and avoid in our own app. But how will I keep up with "the competition" moving forward? Should I plan to repeat this research every six months? Quarterly? Annually? I think I'll put a calendar event in for every six months.
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