Touch and Go Knitting App - Review

I use my iPhone for everything - grocery shopping lists, notes, games, music, social networking - and I love that apps for knitting exist. Through a blog forum on Ravelry I made contact with the creator of a new knitting app, "Touch & Go Knitting" and was granted the opportunity to check it out.

From the Touch & Go Knitting website:
Touch And Go Knitting (TAG) and now Touch and Go Knitting HD overcome knittings biggest headache visually: MATH and it's calculations. Start knitting more useful shapes and let TAG do the math for you. You work with moving images of the shapes you want to knit. No calculator pads! You move the yellow tape and the shape moves to the size you want.

TAG is a brand new iphone and ipad app for knitters. Using it couldn't be simpler! Everything is visual. Touch an arrow, then slide a yellow measuring tape that instantly appears. Watch as the necklines, raglan or scarfs change shape on screen while you dial the tape. You can see what the neckline will look like before you knit.

Lift your thumb …. the Sts/Row and instructions appear as the yellow tape stores itself away. B Created for Knitters of All Skill levels : Beginners, Casual, Skilled or Seat of the Pants. Being all thumbs is a big advantage."

This is a great idea for an app - I am not math-phobic, but more math-lazy. So for me to have the option to input numbers and get the right info for buttons, necklines, cuffs, etc is awesome. I could see how this app would be a real asset in a designer toolbox.
Pros & Things I Like about this app
a. Clean design
b. User friendly
c. Nice big touch spot for the counter.
d. I was pleasantly surprised to see on the swatch page, if you click the 1 in the lower left corner the option to select a needle size, weight of yarn, and yarn brand - so you could save that info with your swatch.


Some points I would like to see improvements made in future upgrades
a. Certainly not every yarn ever made will be able to be listed, but I think there are some others that should be included - Malabrigo! Encore? Caron? Some baby sweaters might be made with that.
b. It would be awesome if someday it could include a sock design option. That is probably a whole other bucket of worms (toe up or cuff down? heel style?)
c. There is a document section that is handy, but needs some work:
c1: The abbreviations are extensive, and have a lot of crochet terms - maybe a page of crochet instructions would be useful for the knitter that doesn't crochet a lot.
c2: The Knitting instructions page is really back to basics - cast on and how to read a pattern. I would think that most users looking to use this app would already know how to read a pattern and cast on.

And this would be a dream upgrade - I would love to be able to take a picture of my knitting swatch and have this program use that to get the gauge / get the math. But this is pretty close :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this application free from Touch & Go Knitting. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”