Learn to crochet
How to count crochet stitches
Most crochet problems start as a counting slip: a stitch skipped at the edge or two worked into one. Counting at the end of every row or round, and checking it against the pattern, catches them while they are easy to fix.
Rows
Count the tops
- Look along the top edge. Each stitch has a top shaped like a sideways V, two loops side by side. Count the Vs, not the posts below them.
- Skip the loop on the hook. The loop on your hook is not a stitch.
- Decide about the turning chain. The pattern says whether it counts. A ch 3 at the start of a dc row usually counts as the first dc; a ch 1 before single crochet usually does not.
- Check the edges. The last stitch of a row often goes into the top of the turning chain below. Missing it, or working twice into the first stitch, is the most common miscount.
Chains
Count a chain
Each chain makes one V on the front of the chain. Count the Vs from the hook back toward the start, leaving out the loop on the hook and the slip knot. For a long chain, put a stitch marker every 10 or 20 chains so you don't have to start over.
Rounds
Count in rounds
Mark the first stitch
Clip a stitch marker into the first stitch of the round, and move it up every round. In a spiral without joins, it is the usual way to see where a round ends.
The join is not a stitch
The slip stitch that joins a round is not counted. Count from the first stitch of the round to the last.
Check the increases
In a flat circle, every round adds the same number of stitches as the first round had. Twelve more each round for a double crochet circle.
Groups and spaces
Lace and grannies: count groups
In open patterns, count the groups and spaces, not single stitches. A granny square round is groups of 3 dc and chain spaces: round 2 of a classic granny has 8 groups and 8 spaces. Patterns often print counts like (24 dc, 8 sps) at the end of a round for exactly this.
More crochet guides
Krowshea is in beta
Let Krowshea count with you
In the Krowshea Studio, every round and row is counted as you build it. Members will be able to:
- See the count of every round and row as you build
- Get a plain-words note when a count is off, before you crochet
- Track the round you are on with Make it, on your phone
- Print the pattern with every count