🧦 Basic Sock Pattern Generator

Create beautiful, custom knitting patterns for socks in seconds!

A POSIX-compliant shell script that generates customized knitting patterns for basic socks. Users can specify foot measurements, gauge, pattern preferences, yarn details, and needle specifications to receive a complete knitting pattern with detailed instructions.

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✨ Features

✅ 📏 Flexible Input Methods - Enter foot size via shoe size (US Women's/Men's) or custom dimensions

✅ 📊 Gauge Options - Input gauge as stitches/rows per inch or per custom measurement

✅ 🎨 Pattern Customization - Mix and match:

• Leg: Stockinette or Ribbing (1x1 or 2x2)
• Toe: Short Row or Wedge
• Heel: Short Row or Afterthought
• Custom leg & cuff lengths

✅ 🧶 Yarn & Needle Details - Track brand, weight, color/dye lot, yardage & needle specs

✅ ⚡ Smart Calculations - Auto-calculates cast-on stitches, round counts & yardage

✅ 👀 Review & Edit - Preview all choices before generating—edit anything on the fly

✅ 💾 Flexible Output - Display on screen, save to file, or both

✅ 🖥️ POSIX Compliant - Works on sh, bash, zsh, ksh, and more

✅ 🌍 Platform Independent - Linux, macOS, WSL & other Unix-like systems

✅ ⚙️ Backend-Ready - Modular architecture for web application integration

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📋 Requirements

• Shell: POSIX-compliant shell (sh, bash, zsh, ksh, etc.)
• Tools: awk (standard POSIX utility), clear, read, printf
• That's it! 🎉 No external dependencies like bc required

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🚀 Quick Start

# Make the script executable
chmod +x sock_pattern_generator.sh

# Run it!
./sock_pattern_generator.sh

Follow the interactive prompts to enter your sock specifications. The script will:

1. 📐 Gather measurements & preferences
2. 🧮 Calculate stitch counts automatically
3. 📋 Display a summary for review
4. ✏️ Let you make changes if needed
5. 📖 Generate a complete knitting pattern
6. 💾 Save the pattern or display it on screen

📤 Output Options

• 🖥️ Display: View pattern in terminal
• 💾 Save: Write to text file (you choose the filename)
• ⚡ Both: Display and save simultaneously

📖 Pattern Output Contents

Generated patterns include everything you need:

• 📋 Project details (yarn info, needles used)
• 📐 Measurements and calculated gauge impact
• 🧮 All stitch counts (cast-on, by section, totals)
• 📝 Step-by-step instructions for each section:
  • 👑 Cuff: Ribbing setup and rounds
  • 🦵 Leg: Pattern instructions and round counts
  • 👠 Heel: Detailed wrap-and-turn instructions (short row) or setup (afterthought)
  • 🦶 Foot: From heel to toe opening
  • 🎯 Toe: Complete decrease instructions with Kitchener stitch finishing

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
❌ Script won't run	chmod +x sock_pattern_generator.sh
🧮 Calculations incorrect	Verify awk is available: which awk
📊 Gauge measurements off	Verify gauge swatch (4"×4" minimum), re-measure carefully
💾 Can't save files	Check directory permissions: ls -ld .
🎨 Color codes in saved file	This is normal; colors don't affect pattern content

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✅ POSIX Compliance

This script uses only POSIX-compliant features:

• ✓ Standard shell built-ins only
• ✓ No bash-specific features (arrays, extended globs, etc.)
• ✓ Compatible with sh, bash, zsh, ksh, dash

Verify POSIX compliance:

sh -n sock_pattern_generator.sh  # Check syntax
sh sock_pattern_generator.sh     # Run with sh

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🤝 Contributing

Have ideas? Found a bug? We'd love your help!

🐛 Bug reports - Open an issue with reproduction steps 💡 Feature requests - Tell us what you'd like to knit 🔧 Pull requests - Code contributions welcome

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📄 License

BSD-2 License - Use, modify, and distribute freely!

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🧦 Happy Knitting! 🧶

Made with ❤️ for knitters who love customization

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Need help? → Check QUICKSTART.md For developers? → See BACKEND_INTEGRATION.md