Something, nothing and everything…
The How Many? Knitting Tool
I really dislike working things out on scraps of paper, so I’ve created a ‘how many?’ tool to do it for me.
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I’m using size 2.75 mm (US 2) needles, and 3 ply (light) yarn, and your tool told me I needed 119 sts to make a piece 3.94″ wide. I have 30 sts cast on, and it’s just about 3.94″…. …???
30 stitches doesn’t sound at all right. That’s just over 7 stitches per inch — which is closer to a chunky yarn. With that weight of yarn, I’d expect well over 100 stitches. 119 sounds about right.
Great calculation tool but how does it take needle size into account?
It doesn’t. It doesn’t need to. All it needs is your gauge (stitches & rows per inch).
I have tried using your increase/decrease formula and it doesn’t make any sense to me. I am trying to get the equation for reducing 6 stitches along a row that has 40 sts. How should I enter it?
Thank you
Paulette
Add the details to Form 2 (How Often Do I Increase/Decrease?).
How many times: 6
Stitches currently in row: 40
I’m not sure what to make of this, but I think it’s trying to tell me to increase a fraction of a stitch more than 0.5
To carry out 30 increases over 18.5 inches with a row count of 7 rows per inch, increase 4 stitches every 17 rows 29 times, then 4 stitches every -363.5 rows once.
also, that tells me my piece (a sweater sleeve) is going to be 70 inches long.
Fixed!
My best friend admired a cowl that I made in chunky wool, so wanted the budget version in acrylic dk. I have previously worked out how many stitches to cast on by multiplying wpi by width; but it was a bit more crucial this time, so I looked for a tried-and-true method. After a few paper calculations and cries of “that can’t be right!”, I found this calculator, and breathed a sigh of relief. I’ve never converted thicknesses before, only having used my method to make a custom extreme blanket, and I will be much more likely to in the future now.
Thank you so much for creating this knitting tool. I am lousy at math and this tool is wonderful. Now I can adjust all my patterns the way I want them. BRAVO!!
I’m glad you’ve found it useful 🙁
This info is great. Could not determine how many stitches to cast on and this figured it for me. Thanks so much
OMG I know practically nothing about knitting except a for a very basic class I took. This has helped set me back on track AND not feel judged about my inadequacies! ? thanks!
I’m so glad that you found the tool useful. And remember — there is no such thing as a “poor knitter”. Just one who hasn’t tried everything yet. 🙂
I can heartily recommend Ravelry for all knitters (or crocheters). Aside from tons of free patterns, there’s a whole range of online groups who are only too happy to decipher pattern instructions for anyone who is new to a particular pattern or technique. Happy knitting!