Knitting guide

Increasing evenly: the math explained, with examples

Updated October 5, 2026 by Khokhar Sab

Divide the stitches you knit plain into equal sections. Use one more section than the number of increases when working flat, and the same number when working in the round. Sections that come out uneven differ by one stitch, so some are one stitch longer than others. For decreases, take two stitches out of the count for every k2tog before you divide.

What increasing or decreasing evenly means in a pattern

Patterns often say something like "increase 12 stitches evenly across the row" without saying where each increase goes. The idea is to spread the shaping so the fabric widens or narrows smoothly, with no bunching in one spot. You get that by placing the same number of plain stitches between every increase or decrease.

Lion Brand's guide to increasing in a row or in the round uses the same rule: when you work flat, add one to the increases before dividing. For decreases, Berroco's decreasing gracefully post counts two stitches for every decrease before it divides.

The catch is that the numbers rarely divide cleanly. 100 stitches divided by 12 is 8.33, and you can't knit a third of a stitch. The fix is to make some sections one stitch longer than others and mix them so the difference doesn't show.

This guide uses two kinds of shaping, the same ones the increase and decrease calculator uses:

• M1 (make one) for increases. It adds a stitch between two existing stitches and doesn't use any stitches up.
• K2tog (knit two together) for decreases. It uses two stitches and leaves one.

Other increases and decreases work too, but the counts below assume these two.

Flat or in the round: why the count of sections changes

When you knit flat, the row has two edges. It's tidier to keep shaping away from the edge stitches, so the increases go between sections of plain knitting, with plain stitches at both ends. That gives you one more section than increases. For 12 increases you get 13 sections.

In the round there are no edges. The round is a loop, so each section can end with an increase and the last increase sits just before the first stitch of the next round. The number of sections equals the number of increases: 12 increases, 12 sections.

That one difference changes the arithmetic, so it's worth checking which way your pattern is worked before you start dividing.

Worked example: 100 stitches, increase 12, worked flat

M1 doesn't use stitches, so all 100 stitches get knit plain. Split them into 13 sections:

1. 100 ÷ 13 = 7 with 9 left over.
2. So 4 sections have 7 stitches and 9 sections have 8.
3. Check: 4 × 7 + 9 × 8 = 100.

To keep the row symmetrical, put the longer sections toward the two ends and the shorter ones in the middle. Written out, the row reads:

[K8, M1] 4 times, [K7, M1] 4 times, [K8, M1] 4 times, K8.

You finish with 112 stitches. Every gap between increases is either 7 or 8 stitches, and both edges start and end with plain knitting.

The same increase in the round

Now there are 12 sections instead of 13:

1. 100 ÷ 12 = 8 with 4 left over.
2. So 8 sections have 8 stitches and 4 have 9.

Each section ends with an M1. Grouping the short sections first keeps the instruction short:

[K8, M1] 8 times, [K9, M1] 4 times.

The result is again 112 stitches. In the round, the sections are slightly longer (8 or 9 stitches) because there's no extra section at the edges to share the stitches.

Decreasing evenly

Decreases need one more step. Each k2tog uses two stitches, so those stitches aren't available for plain knitting. Take them out first:

plain stitches = stitches on the needle − 2 × number of decreases.

For 100 stitches and 12 decreases, that's 100 − 2 × 12 = 76 plain stitches. Then divide exactly as before.

Worked flat

76 ÷ 13 = 5 with 11 left over, so 11 sections of 6 and 2 of 5. With the short ones in the middle:

[K6, k2tog] 5 times, [K5, k2tog] 2 times, [K6, k2tog] 5 times, K6.

Worked in the round

76 ÷ 12 = 6 with 4 left over, so 8 sections of 6 and 4 of 7:

[K6, k2tog] 8 times, [K7, k2tog] 4 times.

Both versions leave you with 88 stitches. Forgetting to subtract the decrease stitches is an easy slip, and the plan then runs out of stitches before the end of the row.

There's also a limit. Since each k2tog uses two stitches, you can take away at most half the stitches in one row. From 100 stitches, that's 50 decreases.

If you increase with kfb instead of M1

The counts above assume an increase that makes a stitch out of nothing. Modern Daily Knitting's Evenly Across article says any of those will do: a lifted bar, a backward loop, or a left or right lifted increase. Kfb (knit into the front and back) is different, because you work it into an existing stitch. That stitch is used up, so you have one fewer plain stitch per section.

The fix is to subtract the increases from the plain count before you divide, one stitch each:

1. Plain stitches: 100 − 12 = 88.
2. In the round: 88 ÷ 12 = 7 with 4 left over. So work [K7, kfb] 8 times, then [K8, kfb] 4 times.
3. Check: 8 × 8 + 4 × 9 = 100, since each kfb works one stitch.

Worked flat, the same 88 plain stitches split into 13 sections: 3 of 6 and 10 of 7, with a kfb between each pair. A crochet increase made by working two stitches into one stitch also uses up that stitch, so it follows the kfb count. The crochet in the round guide covers how crochet spaces its increases around a circle.

Another way to lay out a flat row

Modern Daily Knitting uses a different flat layout. For 6 increases across 48 stitches, it divides by the number of increases (48 ÷ 6 = 8) and puts each increase in the middle of its group: (K4, M1, K4) 6 times. The two half groups at the ends keep the edges free of shaping.

The method in this guide gives a similar row by a different route. The calculator splits the same 48 stitches into 7 sections and prints [K7, M1] 3 times, K6, M1, [K7, M1] 2 times, K7. Both rows end with 54 stitches and plain edges. The difference is in the gaps: Modern Daily Knitting's version has gaps of 8 stitches with 4 at each end, and the calculator's version has gaps of 6 or 7. Either one passes for "evenly" in a pattern.

How even is "evenly"? Gaps for 100 stitches

The shortest and longest gaps never differ by more than one stitch. With a few increases, that one stitch is hard to see. With 25 or more on 100 stitches, it is a big share of each gap. This table runs 100 stitches through the calculator with different numbers of M1 increases. "Gaps" are the plain stitches between increases.

Where a gap reads as a single number, the stitches divide exactly. Increasing by a third of the stitches (33 on 100) leaves gaps of only 2 or 3 stitches. At that density, the tip below about spreading a large change over more than one row starts to matter.

Checking your plan before you knit

A written plan is easy to check with a little addition. Add up every plain stitch and every stitch the shaping uses:

• For increases, the plain stitches should add up to the stitches on your needle. The new total is that number plus the number of increases.
• For decreases, the plain stitches plus twice the number of decreases should add up to the stitches on your needle. The new total is the old one minus the number of decreases.

Count the increases or decreases in the plan as well. In the flat increase above there are 12 M1s and 13 sections of plain knitting, one more than the M1s, which is what flat working calls for.

Tips for working it on the needles

• Place a stitch marker after each section on your first try. It makes it easy to see if a count has drifted.
• If a pattern stitch has a repeat, such as k2, p2 ribbing, check whether the new stitch count still fits the repeat. You may need to adjust by a stitch or two.
• On a row that increases and then later decreases back, offset the shaping points so they don't stack in the same column. Stacked increases can form a visible line.
• For a large change, such as increasing by half the stitches, consider spreading it over two or more rows instead of one.

Letting the calculator do it

The arithmetic is short, but it's easy to slip on the remainder or forget the flat edge section. The increase and decrease calculator takes your stitch count, the change, and whether you're working flat or in the round. It then prints the row in the same bracketed form used above. It also shows the shortest and longest gap, so you can see how even the spacing is.

If your stitch counts come from converting a pattern to a different gauge, the gauge calculator and the guide on how to measure gauge cover that step.

Sources and further reading

• Lion Brand: how to increase in a row or in the round.
• Modern Daily Knitting: evenly across.
• Berroco: decreasing gracefully.

Video tutorial

"Math for Knitters - Increasing Evenly Across a Row" by VeryPink Knits, on YouTube. The video loads only when you press play.