In pretty much everything you knit, you will at some point need to learn how to count rows and stitches.

This is especially important if you’re making something that needs to be a certain size, as you will need to make sure you knit in the same “gauge” as the designer. If you’re not sure what I mean by “gauge”, check out this post that I wrote on the importance of gauge.

Counting Stitches

Lets look at counting stitches first.  It’s easiest to understand in stockinette stitch.  Look at this sample below.  You are looking for little “v” marks.  Each of these is a stitch.

How to Count Rows

Each row is made up of a set of stitches.  Rows will always go across like this.  So this is a row of stitches.

Putting it into practice

So, lets look at this sample. Count the rows and stitches in this square.  How many are there?

Here’s a bit of help, if you’re anything like me, your eyes will play tricks on you!

Hopefully this helps you see that there are 7 “v” shaped stitches and 6 rows in this square.

It’s that simple really!

Good luck!

Jo