Crochet armhole and neckline calculator

A fitted front panel narrows at the armholes and opens at the neck, ending with two shoulder straps. This calculator works out the stitches to leave unworked and to decrease at each armhole, the neck shaping for a V, scoop or square neck, and the stitches left for each shoulder.

How to use the calculator

1. Enter the panel width at the chest, the width across the shoulders (armhole to armhole), the neck opening, the armhole depth and the neckline depth.
2. Choose the neckline: V, scoop or square.
3. Enter your stitch and row gauge.
4. Follow the shaping lines from the start of the armhole.

How the calculator works

Each armhole removes half the difference between the panel and the shoulder width:

Stitches removed at each armhole = (panel width − shoulder width) ÷ 2 × stitch gauge

Following common drafting proportions, about half of those are left unworked at the start of the armhole and the rest are decreased one at a time over the first third of the armhole depth.

Each shoulder = (shoulder width − neck width) ÷ 2 × stitch gauge

The neck starts the neckline depth below the top of the armhole:

• V-neck: the panel is divided in half, and each side decreases to the shoulder count over the neckline depth.
• Scoop: about half the neck stitches are left unworked in the centre, and the rest are decreased early on each side, then the shoulders are worked straight.
• Square: all the neck stitches are left unworked, and the shoulders go straight up.

Reading your results

• Removed at each armhole: with how many are left unworked and how many decreased.
• Neck stitches: and how many are decreased each side.
• Each shoulder: in stitches and width.
• Shaping: the armhole, neck and shoulder instructions, with the stitch count after each step.

Worked example

A 20 in front panel at 4 stitches and 4 rows per inch (80 stitches), narrowing to 15 in across the shoulders, with an 8 in neck, an 8 in armhole and a 5 in V-neck:

• Each armhole: (20 − 15) ÷ 2 × 4 = 10 stitches: 5 left unworked, then 5 decreased over the first third of the armhole. 60 stitches remain.
• Each shoulder: (15 − 8) ÷ 2 × 4 = 14 stitches, so the neck is 60 − 28 = 32 stitches.
• V-neck: 12 rows above the start of the armhole, divide into two halves of 30 stitches. Each side decreases 16 stitches at the neck edge over 20 rows: every row 12 times and every 2nd row 4 times, ending with 14 stitches per shoulder.

Accuracy and limits

• The counts are exact and covered by our automated tests. The proportions (half the armhole stitches left unworked, the rest over a third of the depth) are standard drafting choices, not rules; check them against your pattern and body.
• Armhole and neck shaping often happen on the same rows: shape both edges together without double-counting.
• If the neck is very shallow, the neck edge may need more than one decrease on some rows; the calculator says so.
• Drop-shoulder garments skip armhole shaping: the armhole goes straight up.

Common mistakes

1. Shaping the back like the front. The back usually has a much shallower neck; enter it separately.
2. Measuring the shoulders over your clothes' seams. Measure from shoulder point to shoulder point, where the armhole seam should sit.
3. Forgetting the turning chain at the shaped edge. Decrease one stitch in from the edge so the seam edge stays neat.

Tips for more accurate results

• Get the panel width from the garment ease calculator.
• Use the sleeve taper calculator for the sleeve that fits this armhole.
• Pin the panel to a garment you like before working the neck, to check the depth.

Frequently asked questions