Knitting Chart App for Android: Compare Tools

Stitch Fiddle: draw and move between devices

Stitch Fiddle’s Android and iOS help page describes a browser tool that runs without installation and synchronizes charts through your account. Its drawing help covers editing individual squares; its Import picture guide documents converting pictures into knitting colourwork charts. Consider it when you want to design on one device and open the chart on another.

Its Progress tracker help describes row highlighting, while Download & Print documents PDF, PNG and SVG exports. Free basic tools are available; Premium access lasts for a chosen term and does not renew automatically. Check the current feature comparison for the export and editing options you need. The picture-import guide warns that some advanced settings are unavailable on small phone screens, so try your actual workflow before choosing it.

Chart Minder: compare a grid with stitch shapes

Chart Minder’s homepage describes a free online editor with stitch-by-stitch drawing, image-to-chart conversion, gauge-based measurements, an image download and progress tracking. Its Stitch/Grid view help explains how to switch between boxes and knitted stitch shapes. Consider it when seeing the motif as stitches matters alongside editing the grid.

That stitch-shaped view is a useful comparison point for Purlgrid’s textured yarn preview. Neither view replaces a knitted sample. Before relying on Chart Minder on an Android phone, check touch editing, saving and the downloaded chart in your browser; the sources reviewed here do not establish every Android browser’s behavior or offline support.

knitCompanion: follow a chart you already have

The knitCompanion Google Play listing describes an Android pattern tracker that accepts PDFs. Free Basics includes row tracking, progress along a row and project counters. The paid Setup+Essentials tools include a one-tap marker and Magic Markers for counting, highlighting and coloring stitches; the official site identifies this upgrade as an annual subscription.

Choose it when your starting point is an existing pattern PDF and your main task is keeping your place. Its documented PDF tracking tools suit that job better than Purlgrid’s manually entered project progress. If your priority is drawing a new colourwork motif, compare the grid editors above and below first.

Purlgrid: draw with textured yarn previews

On Purlgrid’s Knitting Chart Maker page, select “Open the chart maker” to enter the web editor. In “My designs”, choose “New blank design”, set “Stitches” and “Rows” under “Size”, and use “Paint” with “Your palette”. The editor previews the design using library yarn textures. Under “View”, “Colour test” offers “Greyscale (contrast)”; “Back” shows floats and catch points.

Use this workflow to compare a drawn motif with a textured preview and inspect its reverse. The preview keeps a fixed stitch proportion even when you enter your own gauge, so it cannot predict your motif’s exact shape in your fabric. Purlgrid’s chart maker also does not provide knitCompanion-style PDF row markers or lace and cable stitch-symbol editing.

Check Purlgrid’s exports and saving limits

In the editor, “Download image” saves a PNG of the displayed fabric preview. “Chart table (CSV)” and “Written instructions (TXT)” export the base chart with repeat notes. For a numbered chart image or browser printing, the separate Knitting Chart Checker offers “Download PNG” and “Print or save as PDF”. Its inputs accept painted cells or “Paste a chart as text”; do not assume it imports your editor file. It checks floats, colours per row and repeat fit for the selected settings.

The Checker’s grid is limited to 80 stitches by 80 rows. Saved editor designs stay in “My designs” in that browser. “Save to My projects” creates a separate project record; in My projects, enter “Completed steps / rows” manually and select “Save project details”. These are local records, without automatic account synchronization between devices. Keep a backup or a design “Share” link before changing devices.

Try the same small chart before committing

For each drawing tool, make a chart 12 stitches wide and 8 rows high, then paint a centered rectangle 2 stitches wide and 4 rows high in an accent colour. The calculated total is 96 stitch positions: 8 accent stitches and 88 background stitches. This gives you a repeatable test without copying someone else’s motif.

Change the accent colour, undo an edit, save, close and reopen the chart, then inspect the file you need. Check that row numbers and yarns are distinguishable on your phone. For a PDF tracker, follow a numbered PDF of that sample and check that it remembers your place. Choose the tool that completes your required steps.

Before you continue

1. Choose your main task: drawing, previewing, checking or following a PDF.
2. Try touch editing and readable zoom on your own phone.
3. Confirm the required features belong to the plan you intend to use.
4. Reopen a saved sample and inspect the required export.
5. Check whether saved work stays local or synchronizes through an account.