Even shaping

Increase and decrease calculator

Enter the stitch count you have and the count you need. The calculator tells you how many stitches to add or remove, and where, as evenly as possible.

Craft

Enter a current and target stitch count to distribute the increases or decreases evenly across the row.

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Resizing a whole pattern to a new gauge?

Resize a pattern
What this calculation does not account for
  • Gives flat, straight-row shaping only. It does not account for hats, crowns, sleeves, circular or in-the-round shaping.
  • When a count doesn't divide cleanly, the gaps alternate by one stitch — that is the mathematical meaning of "evenly".
  • You can increase by at most one stitch per existing stitch, and decrease by at most half the current count, in a single row.
Last updated 26 August 2026Found a wrong number? Tell us.

Worked example (knitting): To reduce a flat row from 100 stitches to 90, make 10 decreases. Divide the 100 stitches into ten groups of 10: knit 8, then k2tog across the next 2 stitches; repeat this group 10 times. Each group uses 10 stitches and leaves 9, for 90 stitches total.

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