Learning to knit or crochet can become quite stressful. There are many things that can go wrong: knitting too tightly, knitting too loosely, tangling your yarn, or skipping stitches.
One of the most stressful situations is not knowing how many rows or stitches you have already knit, as you can’t know how much is left to finish your piece.
Or even more: you may have already passed the rows needed and will need to undo what took you so much effort.
But there are many tips you can use to avoid this! Come on board to see how to count rows in knitting and crocheting without losing your mind.
It's not easy to be a beginner
The first thing you need to know is: it will get easier. Time is your best friend when it comes to crafting, and knitting is not the exception.
Practice and perseverance are the key to improving. Here we will give you a bunch of tips that can help you, but it can be quite annoying to follow them all the time.
However, you probably won’t use them later as you learn how to knit or crochet more efficiently, so that will get easier too.
Find projects that you like
The first project most people make when starting their knitting path is a scarf. They are easy to make, you don’t need to know different stitches to get a nice result and you don’t need to make plans and measurements before starting. You can simply start knitting and continue until you think you have already finished. The issue with scarves is that they may not be the most appealing or interesting to make. We recommend finding an easy project you can make, but that can also keep you motivated to see the final product.
Some of the ideas you can start with are:
- Simple amigurumis
- Granny-square or baby blankets
- Cushions
- Hanging ornaments (like flowers, birds, mandalas)
- Beanies
- Pot-holders
- Table runners
Any of these projects require counting rows in knitting as well as stitches, but each of them has their own specifications and can be more interesting than others for each knitter. It’s up to you to look at pictures and see which one is the most appealing for you!
Let’s go ahead and see how to count rows in knitting and crocheting and not lose any stitches.
Concentrate on the piece you are making
You may have heard stories of grannies knitting while watching TV or even at the cinema! But you need to know that it takes a long time to master knitting without seeing.
You might be able to achieve it after a lot of practice, but don’t we recommend trying since the beginning as it can be frustrating.
If you are just starting with knitting, we recommend that you take a special moment to do it, minding that nothing can distract you, at least until you have finished the row.
This way you can pay attention to what you are doing and you can clearly count the stitches as you make them instead of counting after finishing, which can be quite difficult if you are a newbie.
You can also keep a paper and a pen next to you and write down every time you finish one row.
How to count rows in knitting using a row marker
Row markers are little plastic thingies, similar to safety pins, that are inserted in your piece at the end of the row.
But how to count rows in knitting with row markers? Write down every time you reach the marker, so that you know how many rows you have knit.
Row markers are not only useful for newbies or learners, but also for experimented knitters in some particular situations.
These are specially used in circular knitting or crocheting, as in amigurumi dolls, which are made in a spiral pattern.
This kind of pieces don’t use different stitches; on the contrary, they are completely uniform, so there is no way to tell when you have reached the end of the row without a marker.
Of course, if you don’t have a row marker you can replace it with other options.
One of them is a safety pin, which we recommend keeping closed so that it won’t sting you, or you can simply pass a piece of yarn with a different color through your piece.
How to count stitches in knitting once you have finished a row
Skipping stitches while knitting can cause several issues to your piece, such as making it irregular, smaller or bigger than needed.
Anyway, these problems most probably show up once you have finished your work, so it’s a pity you have to go back and undo your piece to fix them.
However, one of the visible problems you can find are holes. Both in knitting and crocheting, it’s easy to skip stitches when you are a beginner, and you can simply identify when you have done so by searching for holes in your piece.
They may not be so visible in the row that you have just finished, but you don’t need to finish the hole piece to see them; you might only need to go back a few lines.
One of the easiest ways to avoid skipping stitches is counting out loud.
This way you will keep track of how many stitches you have crocheted and, if you know how many you need, you will know if you have missed any when you reach the end of the row.
How to count knit rows using patterns
Patterns are our best friends when learning to knit or crochet. We don’t need to think how to create a piece or how many rows or stitches are needed. If the pattern is well made, you simply need to follow the instructions and make sure you haven’t skipped any rows or stitches. You should get the final result as shown in the pattern’s picture!
We understand learning to knit or crochet can be challenging, but it only takes a few hints to do it easily and make the process more friendly. Remember to follow these tips about how to count rows in knitting so at least you don’t deal with too short scarves or holed amigurumis!
You can also see this article about How to make a macrame keychain.