Hands-free row counting: use a foot pedal, page turner or keyboard
The short answer
To count rows hands-free, pair a Bluetooth page turner or foot pedal with your phone, tablet or laptop and open an online row counter. Most pedals send Page Down or an arrow key, which the Spolvero row counter reads as one row added. Space, Enter and the right arrow also add a row; Backspace, the left arrow and Page Up take one away. The count is saved on the device as it changes.
Every row, the same small interruption: put the hook or needles down, pick up the phone, tap, pick the work back up. Over a blanket that is thousands of interruptions. A foot pedal or a clicker removes most of them, and it takes a few minutes to set up.
What you need
- A device with a browser: phone, tablet or laptop.
- A Bluetooth page turner or foot pedal. These are sold for musicians reading sheet music and for presenters. They pair like a keyboard.
- The row counter. Free, no app and no account.
A USB foot pedal plugged into a laptop works the same way. So does a wireless presenter clicker, or simply a keyboard within reach.
How the keys work
The row counter listens for keys that page turners already send:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Space | Add a row |
| Enter | Add a row |
| Right arrow | Add a row |
| Page Down | Add a row |
| Backspace | Take a row away |
| Left arrow | Take a row away |
| Page Up | Take a row away |
Most pedals send Page Down or the right arrow for “next”, and Page Up or the left arrow for “back”. A two-button pedal therefore works as add and undo, with no setup. A one-button pedal adds rows; tap the minus button on screen to undo.
Setting it up
- Pair the pedal. Put it in pairing mode and add it in your device’s Bluetooth settings, the same way you would add a keyboard.
- Open the row counter and tap once on the page so it has focus.
- Press the pedal. The count should go up by one. If it does not, check the pedal’s mode: many have a switch or a button combination that changes which keys they send. Choose a mode that sends Page Down or arrows.
- Set a repeat, if your pattern has one. Enter the length, for example 4, and the counter shows “Row 3 of 4 in the repeat” and how many repeats are done.
On a phone or tablet, a paired Bluetooth keyboard can stop the on-screen keyboard appearing. That is normal and does not affect the counter.
Keep the screen awake
A counter is no use if the screen locks between rows. In Chrome, Edge, and Safari on iOS 16.4 and later, the counter asks the browser to keep the screen on while it is open. In other browsers, set your screen timeout to its longest while you stitch, and plug the device in for a long session.
Your count is saved as you go
Every change is saved on that device, in that browser. Close the tab, come back tomorrow, and the count is waiting. It is not sent anywhere, which also means it does not follow you from your phone to your laptop.
When a number is not enough
For a colour chart, “row 47” is only half the answer. You also need to know what row 47 says. The pattern tracker reads the chart for you: it shows the row in words, such as “4 blue, 2 white, 7 blue”, with a close-up of the chart. It moves one colour block per tap, so the same pedal steps through a row block by block. Make a chart with the chart maker or open a pattern file, then choose Start stitching.
Other ways to keep count
A pedal is not for everyone. The guide to keeping track of rows compares six methods, from pen marks to stitch markers, and explains how to find your row again when you have lost count. For colourwork, how to read a C2C graph shows how written rows save you from counting squares.
- Knitting
- Crochet
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