knitting increase and decrease calculator
The Knitulator
The Knitulator is a handy and fast way to calculate how to increase or decrease a certain number of stitches evenly throughout a row of knitting.
If you’ve ever been stumped by a knitting instruction that reads something like ‘increase x number of stitches evenly throughout row’, simply plug in your starting stitch count, the number of stitches you wish to increase or decrease by, and hit the ‘knitulate’ button.
The Knitulator is provided free for all to use, so please feel free to link to it, pin, Facebook or Tweet it for future use by yourself and anyone you think might find it handy.
Handy info & FAQ
Can I use different increases/decreases to those given?
Yes. We have simply used these to display the most common increases and decreases used in knitting, but you can substitute them with many others.
- Increase Method One uses a simple M1 increase, and this can be substituted with any increase that makes a new stitch between stitches. Common examples would be a YO, or a lifted increase.
- Increase Method Two uses a KFB, and this can be substituted with any increase that makes two stitches out of a single stitch, such as PFB, KBF or a Moss Increase (KFPB).
- Decreases use a simple K2tog, and this can be substituted for any decreases that turns two stitches into a single stitch, such as SSK, SKPO, KRPR and any of their purl variants.
Are there any limitations to the increases/decreases I can make?
Yes. Due to the way the calculation works, only single increases and decreases can be made (so, making one stitch between stitches, making two stitches from one stitch or turning two stitches into a single stitch). Any manoeuvre that makes more than two stitches from a single stitch (such as KFBFB) or decreases more than two stitches into a single stitch (such as K5 together) will not work with the calculation. Therefore, The Knitulator is programmed to return an error message if you attempt to increase to more than double the original stitch count or decrease to fewer than half the original number of stitches.
Why when using Increase Method Two does the number of stitches given after the increase sometimes show two more than those before?
It's the only way that the rule will capture in absolutely all calculation eventualities without a whole stack of 'If' statements, but the increases will still be perfectly evenly dispersed.
Can I link to/share/post about The Knitulator?
Absolutely.