Crochet guide

How to count rows in knitting and crochet

Updated October 4, 2026 by Khokhar Sab

In knitting, count the Vs in one column on the knit side. Or count garter ridges and double the number. In crochet, count up the side edge or up one column of stitches. One double crochet post is one row, and single crochet rows are short ridges that sit close together. Don't count the cast-on edge or the foundation chain. In knitting, the loops on the needle are the last row you finished, so they count.

Why counting rows matters

Patterns tell you to work a set number of rows before shaping, or to repeat a block of rows a set number of times. Lose count and the two sleeves come out different lengths, or a cable twists in the wrong place.

You can always read the rows in the fabric itself. Once you know what one row looks like, a tally that goes wrong is easy to fix.

How to count rows in stockinette

On the knit side of stockinette, each stitch looks like a small V. The Vs stack in columns, and each V in a column is one row.

1. Pick one column of Vs near the middle, away from the curling edges.
2. Start at the first full V above the cast-on edge. The cast-on itself is not a row.
3. Count each V up the column until you reach the needle.
4. Add the loops on the needle. They are the row you just finished.

Two ways to count, one answer

Knitting guides seem to disagree about the needle, but they reach the same total. Handy Little Me and The Sleepy Stitch skip the cast-on and count the loops on the needle as the latest row. Modern Daily Knitting does the reverse: count every loop below the needle right down to the cast-on edge, and leave the needle alone. Either way the cast-on and the needle balance out. The one mistake is to skip both, or count both, which puts you one row out.

Count the same shape every time. Each V has a point at the bottom and two arms at the top, and it is easy to switch between counting points and counting gaps halfway up. A blunt needle or a pin, moved up one V at a time, keeps your place.

Purl bumps and garter ridges

The purl side of stockinette looks like rows of small bumps. The bumps sit in staggered lines, so they are harder to count than Vs. Flip the work over and count the Vs on the knit side instead.

Garter stitch has no Vs to follow. It forms ridges, and each ridge is two rows: one knit on the right side and one on the wrong side. Count the ridges and multiply by 2. Ten ridges mean 20 rows.

Ribbing works like stockinette. Count the Vs in one of the knit columns. Handy Little Me suggests stretching the fabric sideways so the knit columns open up.

Modern Daily Knitting points out one exception for garter. If you use a long-tail cast-on and knit the first row, the cast-on edge looks like a purl ridge, and it makes sense to count it as the first ridge.

Seed stitch, cables and knitting in the round

• Seed or moss stitch: knit and purl stitches alternate, so the rows are hard to see. Handy Little Me says to follow one column up and count each knit V or purl bump as a row, and to keep track as you go for textured patterns.
• Cables: The Sleepy Stitch finds the slightly stretched stitch where the cable crossed and counts the Vs above it, including the loops on the needle. Handy Little Me counts a plain column beside the cable instead, or counts cable crossings and adds the rows since the last one.
• In the round: each round counts like a row. Handy Little Me puts a marker at the start of the round and updates the counter every time it passes.
• Bind-off: Handy Little Me says not to count it as a row unless the pattern tells you to.

With cables you usually want to know where you are inside the repeat, not only the total. For an 8-row cable repeat, the row counter's logic gives:

If the cable crosses on the last row of each repeat, the "rows to the next repeat" column also counts down to the next crossing.

How to count rows in crochet

Crochet stitches stand up as posts, so you count by height. The foundation chain is not a row. Start counting with the first row of stitches worked into it.

• Double crochet: each row is one tall post. Count the posts up any column, or count along the side edge, where each row shows as a post or a turning chain.
• Single crochet: each row is short, and the rows pack close together. Count the stitches up the side edge from bottom to top. On the face of the fabric, a row worked on the front and one worked on the back often look like a pair. Check whether you are counting single rows or pairs.
• Half double crochet: the posts are shorter than double crochet but still easy to pick out. Count them up a column, the same way.
• Rounds: count up a straight line from the center, or use a stitch marker in the first stitch of every round.

Turning chains sit at the side edges. Whether a turning chain counts as a stitch changes the stitch count across a row, but each one still marks one row along the edge. The turning chains guide explains the rules.

Use stitch markers to count in tens

Long counts go wrong. Markers break them into short, safe pieces.

1. Clip a locking stitch marker into the edge every 10 rows.
2. To find your total, count markers, multiply by 10, then add the rows above the last marker.
3. Use a different color marker for the first row of each pattern repeat or for shaping rows.
4. Mark the right side of the work with its own marker, so you always know which side is facing.

Markers also let you pause mid-project. Even if your notes get lost, the fabric still shows where you are.

Keeping track of pattern repeats

Many patterns repeat a block of rows, such as a 6-row lace pattern. You then need two numbers at once: the total row count and the row of the repeat you are on.

The math is short. Say you have finished 37 rows of a 6-row repeat, and you want 120 rows in total. You are now working row 38.

• Repeats finished: 37 ÷ 6 = 6, with 1 left over.
• Row of the repeat you are on: 1 + 1 = row 2 of 6, in repeat 7.
• Rows left: 120 − 37 = 83, so you are about 31% done.

The row counter works this out after every tap. It shows the repeat row and the rows left, and it saves several projects at once.

Check your count against your gauge

Row gauge gives you a second check. If your swatch has 28 rows in 4 inches, that is 7 rows per inch. A piece that measures 6 inches should have about 6 × 7 = 42 rows. If you count 35, either you lost count or your tension changed.

The same check works before you start. To plan a crochet piece, the foundation chain calculator turns a width and your gauge into the number of chains. Multiply the length you want by your rows per inch to get the row count, then set it as the target on the counter. The gauge guide shows how to measure rows in a swatch.

Common counting mistakes

• Counting the cast-on or foundation chain as row 1.
• Skipping both the cast-on and the loops on the needle, or counting both.
• Counting the loop on the crochet hook as a stitch.
• Counting garter ridges as single rows, which halves the total.
• Counting near a curled or stretched edge, where stitches distort.

If two counts disagree, count again in a different column and go with the number that matches your measurements.

Sources

Modern Daily Knitting's guide to counting stitches and rows covers Vs, purl bumps, garter ridges and the cast-on row. We Are Knitters explains how to count crochet stitches and rows along the side of the fabric. Handy Little Me covers counting rows in knitting stitch by stitch, from the needle row to cables and rounds, and The Sleepy Stitch shows four ways to count cable rows.

Video tutorial

"How to Count Rows" by Nancy Wynn, on YouTube. The video loads only when you press play.