Knitting Tool
Increase & Decrease Assistant
From the stitches you have to the stitches you need: how many to knit between each increase or decrease.
How to use the calculator
- 1 Current stitches
Count the stitches currently on your needle before making adjustments.
- 2 Target stitches
Enter the final stitch count your pattern specifies you need to reach.
- 3 Get pattern plan
Follow the repeat instruction the assistant writes out.
Result: Increase/Decrease
Increase/Decrease Assistant
Get exact step-by-step instructions on how to distribute knitting increases or decreases evenly across your row. Stop doing the tricky knitting math yourself.
A Norwegian version of this page is available on Strikketips.no
Why use an increase and decrease calculator?
A pattern that says "increase 17 stitches evenly" leaves the division to you, and often it doesn't come out even. Our knitting increase and decrease assistant does it for you and writes the answer as an instruction you can knit from.
When the division leaves a remainder, it doesn't put all the long gaps together at the end of the round; it spreads them out, so the increases stay evenly spaced all the way around.
How to calculate shaping intervals manually
The arithmetic behind it:
Formula for even increases
Interval = Current stitch count ÷ Number of increases needed
Example: Sleeve increases
Suppose you currently have 40 stitches on the sleeve, and need to increase to 60 stitches (an addition of 20 stitches):
- Calculate the interval: 40 stitches ÷ 20 increases = 2
- This means: increase after every 2nd stitch
- In practice: *knit 2, increase 1*, repeat 20 times to the end of the round — 40 + 20 = 60. This is the instruction the assistant gives for 40 → 60.
Formula for even decreases
Interval = Current stitch count ÷ Number of decreases needed
Example: Decreasing after ribbing
Suppose you have 100 stitches after the brim, and need to decrease to 80 stitches (decrease 20 stitches):
- Calculate the interval: 100 stitches ÷ 20 decreases = 5
- This means: each decrease uses up 5 stitches
- In practice: *knit 3, k2tog*, repeat 20 times — each repeat takes 5 stitches and leaves 4, and 20 × 4 = 80
If the division leaves a remainder (for example, 100 stitches ÷ 17 increases = 5.88), some gaps are 6 stitches and some 5. For 100 → 117 the assistant writes the 5-stitch gaps in between the 6-stitch ones, rather than putting them all at the end of the round.
Common increase methods
The increase you choose changes how visible it is:
- M1R (Make One Right): Lift the bar between stitches from back to front, then knit into the front loop. Leans to the right.
- M1L (Make One Left): Lift the bar between stitches from front to back, then knit into the back loop. Leans to the left.
- KFB (Knit Front and Back): Knit into the front of the stitch, and without dropping it, knit into the back. Leaves a small visible bar.
- Yarn Over (YO): Creates an open eyelet hole, often used in lace or decorative raglan lines.
Common decrease methods
- K2tog (Knit 2 Together): A basic right-leaning single decrease.
- SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit): Slip two stitches knitwise one at a time, insert left needle through the fronts and knit together. A clean left-leaning decrease.
- SKP (Slip 1, Knit 1, Pass Slipped Stitch Over): Another left-leaning decrease alternative.
What does 'increase evenly' mean?
It means spacing the increases so there are the same number of stitches between each one across the round or row. When the numbers don't divide evenly, the gaps differ by one stitch and are spread out rather than bunched together.
How do I make the most invisible increase?
We use M1R (make one right) and M1L (make one left): both are nearly invisible in stockinette, and they lean in opposite directions, so they can be mirrored.