Doing your own knitting isn’t just a way to save money while making unique knitted pieces that no one else owns. It’s also a way to decompress as it helps you release tension while enjoying a sense of achievement when you see your completed piece.
Accuracy is crucial when you’re knitting, and getting confused while you’re counting rows or identifying stitches is quite common. In this article, we’ll discuss how to count rows in knitting for a flawless finished piece.
Why Do We Knit?
Wouldn’t it be easier if you could just buy knitted pieces? Of course, there are lots of knitted scarves, sweaters, jackets, and blankets that you can buy. However, nothing compares to a personal piece that you’ve spent time working on and perfecting.
The beauty of knitting starts from choosing the right thread for the stitches you pick and the piece you want to execute. The effort you put into knitting makes it extremely personal, so a knitted piece can be an exceptionally personalized gift to someone special as it holds a lot of emotions. Moreover, knitting comes with a lot of cool benefits.
- Performing repetitive motion releases serotonin in the bloodstream. This is the happiness hormone, so it’s quite normal to feel more relaxed and even happier after knitting. Knitting can be considered as a form of mindfulness meditation where you can briefly disconnect from everyday stress and focus on a single task at hand while living in the moment.
- Knitting can improve self-esteem by providing a tangible finished item that you can proudly call yours. The sense of accomplishment is therapeutic, especially if you suffer from much pressure or feel that you don’t have the power to have things done.
- Regular knitting is an excellent way to keep your brain stimulated as you need to focus on all the minor details to master it.
- Finishing knitted pieces helps people who suffer from arthritis and other problems with dexterity. After suffering from a physical injury, knitting can be a potent way to improve your fine motor skills.
- In addition to being an excellent way to improve your memory, knitting can also be a perfect way to help you learn new things. Lots of people use knitting for cognitive anchoring, as it helps them focus on new skills that they need to acquire.
Why Do We Need to Count Rows in Knitting?
You need to be accurate while knitting; otherwise, your knitted piece will look uneven, and you might have to have it undone.
If you’re working on a sleeve or collar, you need to start decreasing the stitches after hitting a certain number of rows. You also need to count the rows if you’re making cables or if you want to switch to a new stitching pattern.
Counting rows of stitches will guarantee accurate results if you’re planning to use a different yarn color or if you need to add accessories like pearls to make your knitted piece look more unique.
How to Count Rows in Knitting
Counting rows in knitting can be a daunting task, as you might easily make mistakes when you’re trying to identify the stitches. However, with the correct strategy and technique, you can easily count rows to avoid mistakes.
You need to count rows to make sure that you’re not messing up the piece you’re executing. After all, nothing feels more frustrating than having to undo your knitting after finishing a big part of it. There are actually several techniques to count rows in your knitting, and we’ll discuss them all.
Method 1: Identify the Stitches
For this method, you need to get yourself familiar with the stitches you’re using in your knitting. This will help you count them correctly, so you can decide whether you need to add more of them. You can use the tip of the knitting needle to help you differentiate the stitches and count them.
- Ignore the stitches at the bottom of your piece or the cast row. You should also ignore the stitches on the needle that you are still to complete. Count only the rows between the bottom row and the ones on the needle.
- Check out both sides of your knitting to find the V-shaped stitch. If you’re using basic knitting, this will be the stitches’ shape, but it won’t work if you’re using a different stitching pattern.
Each V-shaped stitch counts as a row, so you can find out how many rows are present in your knitting by counting the V’s. The bottom row will look different, so it won’t be confused with the other V-shaped stitches.
- Check both sides of your knitting to find the inverted U-shaped stitch. This is the purl stitch and would work just like the knit stitch because it’s the opposite of it. You can simply count the rows of inverted U-shaped stitches, and they will correspond to how many rows your piece is made of.
- Knitted cables are pretty more confusing, especially if you’re trying to count the stitches. The best way to count stitches is to find the cable’s hole, then count the ladders or rows of stitches above this hole, then you need to deduct 1.
This hole will be present where the cables cross, and you can gently force your finger or a pencil through it to be able to see the stitches more clearly. If you count 5 ladders, then you have 4 rows of stitches.
Method 2: Use Appropriate Tools
There are several tools that you can use to count stitches. These tools will also help you find out how many stitches you’ve accomplished in one day.
- You can use a stitch counter and put it next to you while you’re working or even attach it to your knitting needle. Make sure that you’re able to use the counter with one hand, or you will have to put down your knitting every time you finish a row, which will eventually mess up your counting.
- If you’re tech-savvy, it would be a good idea to download a knitting app to your smartphone. Knitting apps are handy and are suitable for beginners and more advanced knitting enthusiasts because they’re easy to use. You can simply tap the screen every time you finish a row to keep track of your knitting.
- Old-school knitting lovers would feel more comfortable using pen and paper to keep track of their knitted rows. Use tally marks and draw a mark every time you finish a knitted row. You can quickly check the marks whenever you’re working without putting your knitted work down to see how many rows were actually completed. This might be the right technique to use if you’re knitting to decompress and need to stay away from electronic gadgets and smartphones.
- Stitch markers are quite affordable and easy to find. If you’re working on a large project, like a throw or a blanket, you can use these markers every 10 rows, for example, to keep track of your knitted stitches.
These markers are beneficial, especially if you’re using dark yarn because they’re bright and easy to spot. They can also help you see how much knitting can be done using one ball of yarn.
Wrap Up
Knitting is a cool productive activity that can help improve your memory and promote self-confidence. It also allows you to have unique pieces that no one else owns, and you can wear them or sell them to people who appreciate wearing something special.
Counting rows in knitting is essential to guarantee more accuracy, and it can be done using several methods and techniques. You can experiment with all of these strategies until you find the most appropriate one.