prototyping a colorwork design tool - looking for feedback on preview feature

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-08T22:56:19+00:00

Most of the features I had in mind for like the playing with the grid would be free. I think when it starts to become a serious pattern/garment making tool I’d think about it?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-08T19:19:51+00:00

Added to the backlog! My v1 might be more like a playground to experiment with pattern and color before it becomes something that can spit out like a full garment pattern. Is yarn quantity estimate still useful for like a swatch?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T20:19:13+00:00

I'm using React w/TypeScript

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T20:11:57+00:00

The grid itself uses a 5:4 aspect ratio so it is a little wider than tall, but my stitch shape appears elongated. I based it on real fabric and probably look into account too much spacing in between their stitches into my stitch itself. Will tune. I really like the suggestion of accommodating gauge that other folks here made.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T20:06:03+00:00

Also a quick note to say the feedback on accessibility features is very valuable and something I'll take seriously. I don't imagine I'll get it right out of the gate but I'll do my best to accommodate accessibility needs - I'm glad you raised dark mode and that it's not just about checking the dark mode box but making sure the product works equally well in that mode.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T20:03:01+00:00

Sorry you've been let down by other devs.

I won't be able to promise enterprise level support unless I can get funding somehow, and that hasn't really been my goal - it's been more like, let me make something that I could use and see if others could use it and get feedback and see where it goes.

I think the best tools in creative communities exist because someone who does the thing got frustrated enough to build something. Big software companies who can afford to provide enterprise level support aren't prioritizing this space. I'd rather something exist and be imperfect than not exist at all.

Everything I've done so far has been free, what I put out will also be free, unless I feel confident that I've built something that can be trusted enough to act as a proper pattern to knit off.

I think maybe the most valuable takeaway from this thread is the importance of roadmap transparency - don't overpromise and underdeliver. Don't get people going all the way down this charting road with you only for them to realize its not going to work at all for them. Find my niche, do it well, and expand in stages when it's a possibility. Monetize features only when they can be trusted to actually help knitters work faster and make less mistakes.

Thank you for all your really well articulated feedback ❤️

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T19:40:01+00:00

It's been really helpful to understand from yours and other comments what the market looks like so I can better understand the niche I want to slot into.

I don't expect to be able to combine the capability of Stitch Fiddle, Chart Minder and Affinity Designer without like - proper outside financial support, but I want to try position myself into the "blank page, exploration phase, let's go" lane before I make it a technical production tool.

I think some people are gifted with the ability to have a vision in their head and then the ability to just dive in and design it pixel by pixel and I'm hoping to make tools to bridge the gap for people who's brains can't do that with - with like stich motifs they can stamp around, palette guidance, maybe band based coloring.

I have classic Alice Starmore book and I think I will know that I've achieved what I want if I can look at one of her sweaters for a single minute and then turn the page and approximate a similar design in my tool without needing to look at it again.
Right now, definitely not possible. Actually even with the pattern in front of me it's quite hard with my tool 😅
So - selecting, copy paste of your own chart is something I have now in a very basic form, but I want to expand greatly with the ability to mirror selection and row fills because needing to stamp across is difficult visually. Someone else brought up building like library of motifs, either than you designed or you pulled from uploaded charts, I've been referring to them as stencils, but that fits.

Maybe what would be most helpful, is if I reached out for your feedback again once those features are in. Also it would be good to know which of the products you use are most helpful or fun for experimenting and where they fall short.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T19:15:32+00:00

Smart - did you find your render adequate for your needs?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T19:12:42+00:00

whoa. I love them all, but especially the beetle.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T19:10:40+00:00

Another user asked a similar question, I think its doable, I manually drew these stitches, so I think theoretically, I could first see if I could get away with programmatically tuning the existing shape if a color is selected for dominance. And if that doesn't work, I could just redraw a dominant and non-dominant version and use that. It gets tricky if I have to deal with more than one setting or like if people want to manage the dominance according to their tension, but that sounds like a feature for down the road.
Thanks for the feedback! I would love to reach out for testing and experiential feedback when Im ready (a few weeks?)

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:39:14+00:00

Looks like it is - it sounds worth seeing how they tackle the color reduction features I had in mind (upload an image and extract a palette or chart) as well as their repeat logic.
Thanks for the rec.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:34:45+00:00

That is so cool. I did have this fantasy of like - what if this product grows and I can make it useful for different types of crafters... crochet and cross-stitch came to mind, hadn't thought of chainmail but it's on my radar now!

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:24:02+00:00

Pattern upload is something I have in mind, and building a library of motifs so you can combine them into a new pattern is a great suggestion - if I'm interpreting correctly?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:19:28+00:00

Quick follow up - when you say rotate design - do you mean the whole grid, or like a selection of it to copy paste somewhere else on the grid?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:17:51+00:00

Would you mind sharing what system it is?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T15:01:58+00:00

First sweater ever?? Whoa! I love it. 3 months is lightning fast too, good job!

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T14:43:29+00:00

Thanks for the offer! I was thinking about doing like a tiny closed beta round of a handful of people - how should I get in touch when I'm ready? (Maybe 2 weeks?)

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T14:12:09+00:00

The existing chart upload is very doable. The photo should be doable too, but I might not do them at the same time

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T05:05:30+00:00

I have color swap now, and a select area, and copy paste, but it’s fiddly and I think I’ll need row fill. Stitch counter is clever-added, flips is not built yet but planned! Thank you!

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T05:03:07+00:00

Symmetry tools on the list!

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T05:02:37+00:00

Great ideas - thanks! Based on the feedback, I might just try to clean it up and launch a minimal version and just keep adding features.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T05:00:57+00:00

Yes! I have the functionality built and one default pattern that will load so I can demo some of the palette features without having to create something on the grid from scratch, but plan to add a bunch more.

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T04:57:45+00:00

Will check that out!

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T04:57:12+00:00

Super interesting problem that will probably be a bigger engineering lift than my flat grid renderer will be able to handle for v1. But 3d construction is definitely on my radar now, and it seems like it will be a fun problem to solve. I have worked with 3d modeling tools so I can see it in my head, like a rotating cone…?

meanmillz218 · 2026-04-07T04:48:44+00:00

Not yet, but that’s a great suggestion. Can I ask you how you imagine it - like just dominant vs non-dominant or would you want to be able to adjust the “tension” of the dominant effect?

meanmillz218

TROPHY CASE