The Problem with Evenly Spaced Changes
Patterns often say 'increase 8 stitches evenly across the row' without telling you where to put them. If you cluster them together or space them unevenly, you'll get lumps, flares, or puckering in your fabric.
The goal is to distribute increases or decreases as evenly as possible across the row so the fabric changes size gradually and smoothly. This is simple division, but it gets tricky when the numbers don't divide evenly.
The Basic Formula
For increases: divide your current stitch count by the number of increases. The result tells you how many stitches to work between each increase.
Example: you have 80 stitches and need to increase 10. 80 ÷ 10 = 8. So you work 8 stitches, make 1 increase, and repeat across the row. You'll end with 90 stitches.
For decreases: divide your current stitch count by the number of decreases. Since each decrease uses two stitches, the spacing is slightly different.
Example: you have 90 stitches and need to decrease to 80 (10 decreases). 90 ÷ 10 = 9. So you work 7 stitches, K2tog (or SC2tog), and repeat. Each group of 9 stitches becomes 8.
Handling Remainders
When the math doesn't divide evenly, you need to distribute the remainder. Say you have 100 stitches and need to increase 7. 100 ÷ 7 = 14 remainder 2.
The solution: most sections will have 14 stitches between increases, but 2 sections will have 15. Distribute the longer sections evenly (not all at the end). For example: work 15, inc, work 14, inc, work 14, inc, work 15, inc, work 14, inc, work 14, inc, work 14, inc.
Our Increase/Decrease Calculator handles all of this automatically, including remainder distribution, and generates written instructions for both knitting and crochet.
Increase and Decrease Methods
For knitting increases: M1L (Make 1 Left) and M1R (Make 1 Right) are nearly invisible. KFB (Knit Front and Back) is easier but leaves a small bump.
For knitting decreases: K2tog leans right, SSK leans left. For a centered double decrease, use S2KP (slip 2, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over).
For crochet increases: simply work 2 stitches into the same stitch. For crochet decreases: SC2tog (insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, pull through, insert hook in following stitch, yarn over, pull through, yarn over, pull through all 3 loops).
The lean direction matters for garment shaping. Use left-leaning decreases on the right side and right-leaning decreases on the left side for a polished, symmetrical look.