Knitting Patterns Database (KPD) is a free Android App to categorise Adobe Acrobat (PDF) knitting patterns with Ad support.
Pro Knitting Patterns Database (KPD Pro) is a paid version of KPD without Adverts.
As from Mid April 2013 all major upgrades, features and new facilities will only be released to the paid version.
As well as many other features like handy knitting calculators the main feature is an automated import of pattern files into a database which then enables you to categorise them by:
Pattern Name
Pattern Type, Knitting, Crochet or Machine
Gender, Men, Women, Child etc
Garment Type, Jumper, Cardigan, Waistcoat etc
Yarn, 4Ply, Aran, Chunky etc
Yarn Weight or Length, 150 grams
Needle Size, 3mm | UK 11 | US 2 etc
Gauge/Tension
Star Rating
Notes
The edit field 'Weight or Length' is not fixed to any particular format, it can be a weight like ounces or grams or a length like yards or metres. Just ensure that you use the same measurement type for every record and throughout the App. For example if you prefer to work in grams, then always enter a value in this field that represents the grams value for the pattern. This will ensure that when filtering or matching 'my yarns' to patterns the compared results are accurate.
When categorised you can then Filter the results which can be displayed as a list or in a gallery of pattern pictures.
The following instructions have been written to try and help users who are relatively new to Android devices, most of you will know much of what is mentioned below however it does provide an overview of the process required to use the KPD App.
Overview of how to get patterns into the App
Getting Patterns
Putting Patterns into the "knitting" Folder
About your Device Storage
Adding the Patterns into the Database
Editing Patterns and updating the database fields
Auto Complete
Customise Auto Complete
Add / Edit Categories
Backup & Restore
Gallery View
Extract Gallery Images
Set / Change Pattern Folder Location
My Needles
My Yarns
KPD Forum
Row Counter
Updating Pro KPD from Ad supported version
Overview of how to get patterns into the App
That's it!
When the PDF pattern file is imported the original pattern file-name is used as the name for the pattern in the database and is prefixed with an (*) asterisk so that the new patterns will be identifiable and shown at the top of the patterns list.
You can then press the "My Patterns" button to list the patterns. From the list, when you press a pattern you get options to View the PDF Pattern, Edit the database entry, Delete the pattern from the database and external storage, mark the pattern as In-Use, open the 'Row Counter with Pattern' and 'Match My Yarns'.
When you select Edit you can change the database fields:
Pattern name, Gender, Garment Type, Yarn Type, Yarn Weight or Length, Knitting Needles, Star Rating, Gauge and Notes.
Once you have updated a few patterns you will be able to use the Filter option to filter the patterns by those fields.
For example, if you wanted to knit a JUMPER for a BABY and you only had 150 grams of 4Ply WOOL and size 11 NEEDLES then you can use Filter to only show you the PDF patterns that meet those requirements. In addition you will also be able to list 'My Yarns' that are suitable for a particular pattern.
Getting Patterns
Most Internet knitting patterns are already in PDF format but for those that are not you can use the 'Page2PDF' option within the KPD browser to convert and download html web pages into PDF files.
Putting Patterns into the "knitting" Folder (When not using the built in KPD pattern download browser)
The App only recognises pattern files in PDF format (i.e. have the file extension .pdf) which have been placed into the "knitting" folder as created by the App. Do not create your own knitting folder as this will not be recognised.
Any pdf files added to this folder will be imported into the database when pressing 'Import Patterns'. You can add pdf pattern files from any source, a home computer, the internet, an email attachment etc.
If you are NOT using the KPD built in web browser to dowload your patterns you will have to move any downloaded patterns from your devices download folder into the KPD knitting folder using a file browser App like 'ES-File Explorer' or connect your Android device to a computer.
Most users use a free App like "ES File Explorer" or "Astro File Manager" both available for free from Google Play Store.
These Apps are very much like "Windows Explorer" which allow you to view the contents of the Android file system to copy and move files. Some device manufactures supply File Explorer Managers with their devices.
Example Process (Not using the KPD Browser)
From your Android phone or tablet find patterns on the internet using the devices built in Web Browser.
From the web browser download the PDF patterns. Typically these end up being downloaded into a folder called "downloads" in your device.
Next using the Android File Explorer App, navigate to the "downloads" folder and move the pattern files to the folder called "knitting".
Adding the Patterns into the Database
Open KPD and press the "Import Patterns" button. The App then looks in the "knitting" folder for patterns to add to the database and imports them at the same time extracting the main pattern image from the PDF into the gallery.
Editing Patterns and updating the database fields
Press the "My Patterns" button to list all the patterns that have been imported. Note that the new patterns are prefixed with an asterisk to identify them as new and not edited. Press a pattern name from the list to bring up a dialog where you can choose to either View, Edit, Delete, open the 'Row Counter' and 'Match My Yarns'.
Weight / Length
The Weight/Length field is used to enter the amount of yarn required to complete the pattern. This field is not tied to any specific measurement, so can be used as a weight or a length. Just use your preferred measurement for all the database pattern entries. For example if you prefer to work with grams then enter values in the Weight/Length field that represent the grams value. Then when you filter patters and enter a value of 200, only patterns that require 200 or less would be listed. (200 could mean feet, yards, grams, ounces metres etc.)
Ounces to Grams button
As the majority of patterns, list yarn weights in grams you can press the "Ounces to Grams" button to convert an ounces value into grams. For example, input the ounces value from the pattern into the Weight/Length field then press the button which converts the value into grams. This will only be useful if your preferred measurement quantity is grams. (see Weight/Length above)
Below the edit button is a check-box and the text, "Enable auto complete". When checked and as you press the edit button the App automatically completes some of the edit fields for you. It does this by reading the PDF file to match specific words and phrases. There may be a small delay in opening the editor but this should save significant time instead of having to read the pattern manually to complete the editor fields. When auto complete is unchecked the editor will open without reading the PDF pattern.
Note the "auto complete" action only executes when opening the editor when the pattern is new (prefixed with a asterisk). Once the pattern name is saved without an asterisk "auto complete" does not execute again to prevent overwriting your selections.
Customise Auto Complete
You can customise the words used to match pattern text used by "auto complete" by adding and editing key words in the "auto complete settings" section accessed from within "categories".
When adding new "auto complete" words, avoid using short words like "top" or "men" as these will match other words in the pattern file which in turn will select the wrong category. For shorter words try prefixing or suffixing the word with a space character, that way the word " men " would not match the word "women" accidently. The matching words and phrases are case insensitive, so the word "JUMPER" would match "jumper" in the PDF pattern.
If you decide to edit the needles categories then ensure you use the keyboard (|) pipe separator character as a delimiter between needles of different measurement equivalents.
i.e. "2.0 mm | UK 14 | US 0"
Add / Edit Categories
When you edit a pattern the categories listed in each field can be edited using the "Categories" option. For example you can add or edit new Genders or Garment types. When editing a category any existing patterns using the pre edited category name will be updated to the new value. If you delete a category, any patterns that were using the category will be set back to blank (Not set to anything).
Backup & Restore
The live knitting patterns database is stored in your devices internal memory where it cannot be accessed even with the android file browser.
Using the Backup option you can make a copy of the KPD database and preferences file to your external memory where it can be accessed and either restored or copied onto another device.
Note that backup does not backup your patterns, extracted pdf images or photos, only the database and associated personal preferences
For example if you purchased a new phone or replaced your external memory you would make a copy using the backup option on the old phone, then copy the "knitting" folder containing all the PDF files and the database backup and preferences file onto the new phone / memory card.
Then after installing the KPD App on the new phone you would use the Restore option to import all your patterns without having to re-input all the data again.
While restoring the KPD database the App looks for the database backup file in the current knitting folder location. If you have changed device and the new knitting folder location is on a different path you can use the "Pick a backup file" option to manually locate it.
This can happen because:
If you have manually moved your files to a new device and the location of the KPD knitting folder differs to where it was on the old device, after the restore, you can use the option "Set Pattern Folder Location" to change it. "Set Pattern Folder Location" is accessed from the options menu on the first screen.
My Needles is a place to catalogue your own needles. The idea being that if you are at the store or need to know if you have a specific needle for a project you can quickly filter your collection to see if you have the correct size and if it's available (not in use).
Needle size and length can be entered in any format, i.e. UK, mm, cm, US, inch (") etc but for best sorting ensure you enter the numeric size before the format. For example enter size '5 US' and not 'US 5'.
List available yarns that are suitable for a chosen pattern. Or list patterns that can be completed using a particular yarn.
My Yarns is an area where you can catalogue your own stash of wool. Having your yarns catalogued enables you to easily locate and match "patterns to yarns", "yarns to patterns" and is also a handy tool when out shopping for new yarns.
When adding My Yarns you can enter the "Ball Weight" with a suffix to help you identify the measurement type, i.e. 100g or 4oz.
In the My Yarns 'list view', a total quantity is displayed in brackets which is calculated automatically by multiplying the number of balls "Owned" by the "Ball Weight". It's this total weight which is used when making a pattern match along with other My Yarn fields.
All 7 of the My Yarns categories can be edited using the plus and minus buttons to the side of the lists. For example you can add new Brands or Ranges to match your yarn stash.
As well as the various categories you can also take a photo so that you have a visual reference to what the yarn looks like. You access this by pressing on the yarn in My Yarns and selecting Photo.
When you have added all your yarns you will be able to automatically display all the suitable yarns for a pattern and also display all patterns that match a specific yarn.
From the patterns list or gallery views you can choose "Match My Yarns" and the App will display the yarns that are suitable for the selected pattern. The pattern editor fields that are used to make matches are:
Pattern Weight/Length - Display my yarns that have a total quantity greater or equal to that specified in the editor for the pattern. (total quantity is "owned quantity" multiplied by "ball weight")
Pattern yarn (i.e. Double) - Display my yarns that have the same yarns to that specified in the editor for the pattern.
Pattern needles - Display my yarns that have the same needle sizes to that specified in the editor for the pattern.
You can also list patterns that can be knitted using a particular yarn by selecting the option "Match My Patterns" when pressing on a entry in "My Yarns".
When making a "Pattern to My Yarns" or "My Yarns to Pattern" match you are given the choice whether to apply "needles matching", answering no will only match on Weight/Length and yarn type.
If your database entry for a pattern has either multiple needles or yarns specified, the results displayed in the "My Yarns" list reflects all the combinations entered for the pattern.
Gallery View
The images in the Gallery are automatically extracted from the PDF patterns when you press the "Import Patterns" button.
Not all images can be extracted successfully due to factors like author permissions and format of the original image.
When an image cannot be found or extracted from the PDF the default database icon image will be used instead.
When this happens one of the options is to use 'Add image from pattern' to list and then select an image to use from the pattern manually. When no images are found using this method or you decide not to use one of the images listed then the default icon will turn red to indicate that you have already checked this pattern for an image.
As PDF patterns may contain many images the App will use the largest image when auto selecting as this is more likely to be the one we want.
In some cases the extracted image may be upside down, for these, press the image in the gallery and choose rotate from the Image Menu.
Pressing the option 'Locate Pattern in List View' will find and highlight the pattern in the list view where you can then select the normal options like, edit, delete or view.
If you then press your back button you will be returned to the Gallery view.
The Gallery view also reflects any filters you may have in place. For example, after filtering patterns by the Gender Baby and pressing the Gallery option, only the baby pattern images are shown.
Pressing an image in the gallery and choosing the 'Image Menu' offers up options to replace an image with one from the pattern, camera or file system.
You could use this to take a photo of your finished project and place it in the gallery. After taking the photo via the KPD App you can adjust the image by dragging the blue/orange borders before saving.
Images added to the gallery whether from the camera or from the file system are copied into the "knitting" folder so the originals can be deleted if you wish as some devices make copies.
Other options in this menu are:
Gallery Image Scale
Gallery images can be scaled in three different ways:
Press the devices options / settings menu icon when in gallery View and select 'Scale' to change.
Pattern images are required if you wish to view patterns using the "Gallery" view option. Pattern images are automatically extracted and added to the Gallery when you add patterns to the database using the "Import Patterns" button. However if you have lost or deleted some of your pattern images you can use the "Extract Gallery Images" option which will open every pattern PDF to extract the pattern picture. Note that this action will take a considerable amount of time depending on pattern size and device processor (Throughput is approx 170 patterns per minute).
There are two versions of the row counter in the App.
In an ideal world it would be nice if we could view the PDF pattern using your preferred pdf reader App and the KPD counter side by side, however Android does not currently support multiple Apps or activities on the screen at the same time (except for some Samsung devices and even then you are limited to which Apps can use the feature).
To overcome this we read the contents of the pdf pattern and then display the text extracted on the left and the counters to the right.
In the pattern viewer there is a horizontal highlight line to assist marking the current row position in the pattern. To the bottom of the pattern text is an arrow which moves a vertical highlight line. The highlight lines and the counters values are maintained when you re-open the pattern.
Between the pattern text and the counters are a series of navigation buttons to adjust the position within the pattern. The smaller two buttons either positions the pattern text to the top or bottom of the document. The larger two moves the text up or down a line at a time. The topmost button allows you to adjust the position of the split between the pattern text and the counters. Touch and drag left or right to increase or decrease the division.
You can re-open a 'Counter with Pattern' pattern from the list or gallery views and also from the 'Row Counter' button on the first screen. This removes the necessity to locate the pattern you are currently working on in the list or gallery views.
In the options menu for the 'counter with pattern' there are options to change background colour and the size and colour of the pattern text.
The 'Total Number of Rows' field can be used to enter a value that represents the total number of rows for the piece you are knitting. You increment the counter using the larger plus button and when this total is reached you will be notified by a sound & message and the counter cannot not be increased further unless you enter a higher total rows value or set it to blank.
The 'Number of Rows in Repeat' field can be used to enter a value that represents the number of rows required in a repeat section of knitting. For example if you had to repeat a pattern of knitting every 12 rows then enter 12 in this field.
As you increment the counter by pressing the large plus button, as well as the current row showing on the big plus button, the position in the repeat is also displayed below. ie 'Row 6 of Repeat 3'. If you advance a counter too far you can revert back a row at a time using the minus button.
You can leave both the 'Total Number of Rows' and 'Number of Rows in Repeat' values blank and just use the the large plus button to keep a count of rows. However if you set the 'Total Number of Rows' value the App will let you know when you have reached the last row.
If you wish to enter a count for the total number of rows in all repeats then use the 'Total Number of Rows' field which will notify you when you have reached the end of the repeats. Then by either setting 'Total Number of Rows' to a higher value or by setting it to blank you can continue to use the counter for further rows.
There are four counters in the 'Counter with pattern' activity and two counters in the 'Stand alone Counter'. All counter values and repeats are remembered between sessions and are unique.
For convenience you can assign labels to each of the counters to help you identify what they are for.
Pressing the Reset button on an individual counter will reset all values and label back to zero or blank for that counter only.
Set / Change KPD Pattern Folder Location
By default and when first installed, KPD uses Androids "external storage" location to create the "knitting" folder in. On many devices this is some form of removable SD card, though it could actually be just another partition of the "Internal device storage" designated as serving in the role of "external storage". Your device may only have one storage location available in which case it will be non removable but still be referenced as "external storage" by Android operating system. Other devices have both this "internal storage" and "removable storage", usually in the form of a removable sdcard.
Unfortunately this has lead to much confusion as both are referred to as "external storage" even though one is actually non removable and is built into the device. This is compounded by the names used to reference these storage areas. The names used differ by device manufacturer, the none removable "external storage" is quite often called sdcard, which to many indicates that its a removable card, but this may not the case, it's just the name used.
On other devices, the partition or mount point called "sdcard" is in fact a removable sdcard.
Using a File Browser App like the one mentioned earlier, if you navigate up the folder tree and then into the folder "/mnt" (short for mount) you will see all the mount points / folders that are in your particular device. For example you could see something similar to this:
/asec
/obb
/sdcard
/extSdCard
/secure
In this example the device has two locations where we can store the "knitting folder", "sdcard" which is the devices partition of the "Internal device storage" designated as serving in the role of "external storage" and "extSdCard" a removable sdcard.
When any App wants to write to the "external storage" location, if there is more than one, it will default to the internal devices "external storage" designated as serving in the role of "external storage".
Clear as mud!
So to clarify when first installed KPD will automatically create the "knitting" folder in the proper place on your device where Apps are allowed to store data. This is the same area where music and photos are stored. For information the physical path to the KPD "knitting" folder is shown at the top of the App's help page.
You can change the location of where KPD stores the knitting folder if you have another storage location available on your Android device that you have permissions to read and write to.
For example on some tablets you may have two sdcard locations, one built into the device that is the default location when you first use the KPD App and another sdcard location which may be a removable sdcard.
Due to internal sdcard storage size restrictions you may wish to set the "knitting" folder used by this App to a different location. You will be presented with a folder choosing dialog where you choose the new location for the "knitting" folder and optionally move the patterns to the new location and update the internal database.
The external storage folder names differ by device manufacturer, for example some devices have non removable internal storage named "/mnt/sdcard" and removable storage named "/mnt/extSdCard".
App developers are not allowed to access every folder on a device so you will find that you can only use certain folders, usually containing the word sdcard. Check with your device manufacturer if you are unsure.
Like some other Apps, as well as moving KPD knitting pattern folder to another storage location you can also move the actual App itself to external memory using the options in Android.
Remember to occasionally use the backup option to save your precious patterns database, especially if you edit many patterns. That way if your phone stops working or due to some other technical issue you will be able to restore everything back to the last backup date.
Updating Pro KPD from Ad supported version
If you have previously been using the Ad supported version of KPD you may wish to import your existing patterns and App preferences into the Pro version.
If you require more help or have any suggestions then please email us or visit the KPD forum.
View Knitting Patterns Database on Google Play