Crochet Tutorial: How to Easily Calculate Stitches

Learn how to use proportions to easily calculate the number of stitches, in this Beginner’s Guide by Santa Pazienzia

Calculating the number of stitches you need is one of the main difficulties you run into when starting to crochet. Getting this number right is the key to making sure your designs are symmetrical and exactly the right size.

Estefa González, aka @santapazienzia, is a crochet teacher and the woman behind the Santa Pazienzia website. This crochet maestro shares her easy technique for calculating the number of stitches using proportions in this tutorial. Don’t miss her advice!

1. Make your first chain

In this example, Santa Pazienzia calculates the number of stitches she needs to create a top-down jacket. First let’s create a chain that goes once round your head. When it’s complete, slide the chain around the bottom of your head then fasten it on top, like a headband.

Count the number of stitches in your chain and jot them down. Check you haven’t skipped any stitches, and remember not to include your fastening and the stitch on your needle in your calculations.

2. Calculate the number of stitches for the shoulders

Divide the number of stitches from your chain by five. This will give you the number of stitches you need for the shoulders. Round down if your calculation doesn’t result in a whole number.

3. Calculate the number of stitches for the back

Take the number of stitches on your initial chain, divide by two then subtract the number of stitches from one of the shoulders. Round down if this calculation doesn’t result in a whole number.

4. Calculate the number of stitches for the front panels

Divide the number of stitches you calculated for the back by two. Round up if this calculation doesn’t result in a whole number.

5. Add all your calculations together

Sum up all the stitches you calculated for the back, shoulders and front panels. This is the number of stitches you need in your initial chain. If this number is different from the number of stitches in your chain, adjust your work by adding or removing the right number of stitches.

Love this tutorial? If you’d like to learn how to design and make your own seamless crochet garments, don’t miss Santa Patienzia’s online course: Top-Down: One-Piece Crochet Garments.

You may be interested in:

- Intarsia Crochet: Craft Your Own Tapestry: a course by Flor Samoilenco.
- Amigurumi Design and Creation, a course by Príncipe del Crochet.
- Creating Garments Using Crochet, a course by Alicia Recio Rodríguez.
- What is Intarsia Crochet and What do you Need to get Started?
- Essential Crochet Materials.
- Challenge: Crochet With Your Eyes Closed.