Counting your stitches is how you keep a project on track. It lets you catch a mistake early, before it has a chance to grow. In this lesson, you’ll learn to recognize a single stitch, then count your stitches whether you’re working in rounds or in rows.
Once you know what to look for, you’ll count the same way every time. By the end, you’ll be able to check your work with confidence.
How to count stitches
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When you work in the round, your stitches form a circle, so you count all the way around.
Counting stitches in the round
From the front
Hold your work with the front facing you. Find the V of each stitch on the surface. Count each V, one at a time, all the way around the circle.
From the top
Turn your work so you’re looking down at the top edge. The top of each stitch sits next to the one before it, like a line of small V’s. Count each V around the round.
When you work in rows, you count straight across the row instead of around a circle.
Counting stitches in rows
From the front
Hold your work with the front facing you. Each stitch shows as a V across the row. Count each V from one side to the other.
From the top
Look down at the top edge of the row. The stitch tops sit side by side as small V’s. Count each V across the row.
Whether you're working in rounds or rows, you're always counting the same little V's. If a count ever looks off, take a breath and count again - a second look usually sorts it out. We're right here with you every step of the way.
You've got it when: You count around and land on the same number twice in a row.