Count increases and decreases without a second tally
“Increase every 6th row, 8 times” is two counts at once: the rows in between, and the increases so far. Give Rowpip those two numbers as a pattern repeat, and the counter keeps both, in a line under the row you're on.
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How counting increases and decreases works
Shaping instructions are repeats in disguise: a few plain rows, then one row where the stitch count changes. Rowpip follows the repeat while you watch your stitches.
Set the repeat once
From the menu, enter the rows in one repeat and how many times to work it: 6 and 8 for “every 6th row, 8 times”. Decreases are no different, and a hat crown decreased every other round is a repeat of 2. Already partway through? Say how many of those rows you've knitted, and Rowpip carries on from there.
Know the shaping row before you knit it
The line under the number names the row you're about to knit. Make the last row of each repeat your shaping row, and “row 6 of 6” in that line means the increase comes next. Count it, and your phone or watch answers with a different buzz from the usual one, because a repeat has finished.
Stop on the right row
Shaping often ends with “work even until” some length or row. Set that row as your finish target, 120 for instance, and the counter shows “of 120” with a progress line, then marks the moment you arrive.
Set it up on your phone, follow it on your watch
You set up a repeat or a finish target in the phone app, on iPhone or Android. A paired Apple Watch or Wear OS watch then shows them small under the row number, so a glance at your wrist tells you whether the next row is a plain one. The target is there too, in short form, as in “84/120”.
Why let the counter track your shaping
Two counts in one line
The repeat line holds what you'd otherwise keep in your head or on a second clicker: the row within the repeat, and the number of the repeat. With the shaping row last in each repeat, “repeat 3 of 8” means two increases made and six still to work.
It says when you're done
After the last repeat the line changes to “All 8 repeats done”, so you don't work a ninth increase by mistake.
Ripping back keeps it honest
Take rows off with −1, or set the count from the menu, and the repeat line moves back with them. Rowpip works it out from the row you're on each time, so it can't drift out of step with your count.
Questions about increases and decreases
How do I set up “increase every 6th row, 8 times”?
Open the menu, choose Pattern repeat, and enter 6 rows per repeat, worked 8 times. Set at row 10, the counter at row 21 reads “Next: row 6 of 6 · repeat 2 of 8”: the row you're about to knit is the sixth of the second repeat.
What if my pattern says to decrease until a certain number of stitches remain?
Leave the number of times open-ended. Rowpip then counts repeats for as long as you keep going, and the line shows the repeat's number without a total, as in “Next: row 2 of 6 · repeat 3”. When you have the stitches you need, clear the repeat.
Does Rowpip keep track of my stitch count as it changes?
Not when you count by hand. Rowpip counts rows, and the repeat line tells you when a shaping row is due; checking the stitches on your needle is still up to you.
Auto-count, an experimental feature that runs on a watch, does keep a number of stitches per row. After an increase or a decrease you give it the new number, with a plus and minus stepper, or you let it learn your row again. It never changes that number for you, and like the rest of auto-count it is experimental: it suits some ways of knitting and not others.
What happens to my repeat when I reset the counter?
A reset puts the count back to zero and clears the pattern repeat, because a repeat belongs to one place in your work. Your finish target stays. Reset can be undone: a toast offers Undo right after it, and that brings the repeat back too.
When can I get Rowpip?
Soon. Rowpip is coming to the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch, and to Google Play for Android phones and Wear OS watches.
More ways to keep count
Rowpip is one counter with more than one use. Each of the others has a page of its own.
Crochet row counter
Count crochet rows and rounds with a tap, hook still in hand.
Counter for knitting in the round
Tap as you pass your marker, and let the counter remember which round you're on.
Hands-free row counter
Count a row without putting your needles down: a pinch, a turn or a key press.
Want the whole picture? See what Rowpip does
Shape your sleeves, keep your count
Rowpip is free, and it comes with no ads and no account.
Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play