This is a perennial question for me. How do I stop myself from getting lost in a pattern or getting the sizing all wrong? There are loads of different ways and it will depend on the project you are completing and your own personal preference which will be best for each project.
So, here goes with some of my favourites. Please comment below if I have missed your favourite go-to method.
Using an app.
There are loads of free row counters out there for Android and iPhone. I am an Android girl and currently use Row Counter by Knitting Mushroom.
You can link to your Ravelry patterns, import PDFs and view your patterns from the app. It can cope with multiple projects at once and I have found that it keeps the screen open so so just tap it as you get to the end of a row, no endless unlocking of screens. It also works well with other apps running in the background so you can listen to a podcast and knit at the same time.
Use stitch markers
This method is great if you have a lot of rows to do. I use this on socks. Every now and then you count 10 or 25 (or whatever you want) up from the last stitch marker and hook one in. I can see very clearly in the picture below that I have knitted 25 and then 10 and probably about 10 more. I knitted another few and then put in a stitch marker at 50 rows. I also use the cat marker, no hook just a loop, to tell me when I have done a round.
Keep a tally in a notebook.
This is my favourite for complicated patterns. Below is part of a hat pattern. It is for the cabled bottom part of a hat. It is an 8 row repeat that needed to be 55cm long.
I've made a note of each row's pattern so I don't have to keep looking at the main pattern and each time I complete a row I fill in a square. I also have a quick reminder k for knit the whole row, p for purl the row etc, at the start of the squares. You can also see where I messed up and had to frog back. The measurement notes also help me to adjust my gauge and lets me know how many rows I need without having to measure all the time.
I hope this has helped. Please comment below with your favorite row-counting apps and methods.
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