Crochet pattern stitch count checker

Pattern typos are common, and they usually show up as a stitch count that does not add up. This checker reads written rows or rounds, counts the stitches each one works into and the stitches it makes, and compares them with the previous count and the number in brackets at the end. Use it to check a pattern before you start, to find where your count went wrong, or to proofread a pattern you are writing.

How to use the checker

1. Paste one row or round per line, for example: Rnd 5: *3 sc, inc, [1 sc, sc2tog] x 2, 2 sc* rep 4 times (44 sts).
2. Enter the stitch count of the row or round before the first line. Later lines are checked against the line before.
3. Read the audit table: each line passes or shows what does not add up.

What the checker understands

• Stitches such as sc, hdc, dc, tr and sl st, in US or UK names, and counts written as "3 sc" or "sc in next 3 sts".
• inc (works into 1 stitch, makes 2), dec or sc2tog (into 2, makes 1), sc3tog (into 3, makes 1), and "2 sc in next st".
• sk or miss, ch, and groups worked into one stitch, such as "(2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next st".
• Repeats: "[…] x 2", "… rep 4 times", "rep from 5 more times" and "rep from around".
• "Around" and "across", which fill the rest of the previous count.
• A turning chain at the start only counts if the line says so, as in "ch 3 (counts as dc)".

How the checker works

Every instruction has two numbers: the stitches of the previous row it uses up, and the new stitches it makes. Groups add their parts together, and repeats multiply them.

Works into = stitches used from the previous row or round

Makes = new stitches at the end of the line

A line passes when it works into exactly the previous count and makes exactly the stated count. "Rep 4 times" means four repeats in all; "rep 4 more times" means the first one plus four more, five in all.

Worked example

After a 48-stitch round, check *3 sc, inc, [1 sc, sc2tog] x 2, 2 sc* rep 4 times (44 sts):

• The bracket [1 sc, sc2tog] works into 3 and makes 2; twice, that is into 6, making 4.
• One repeat works into 3 + 1 + 6 + 2 = 12 stitches and makes 3 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 11.
• Four repeats work into 48 and make 44. The line passes.

The next line, *2 sc, inc* rep 6 times (20), works into 18 stitches and makes 24, so it is flagged twice: the previous round had 44 stitches, and the stated count says 20.

Accuracy and limits

• The counting is exact and covered by our automated tests. Pattern wording varies, though, and anything the checker cannot read is listed as skipped rather than guessed. A skipped instruction can make a line look right when it is not, so read the notes.
• Chain spaces count as one unit each when the next line works into them. Some patterns count every chain instead; when the stated number includes chain spaces, the checker says so.
• It checks counts, not shape: a line can add up and still be worked in the wrong place.

Common mistakes

1. Leaving out the starting count. Without the count before the first line, the checker can only compare what the line makes with its stated count.
2. Pasting several rows as one line. Put each row or round on its own line, so each count carries on to the next.
3. Misreading "more times". "Rep from * 3 more times" is four repeats in all, one of the most common reasons a round comes up short.

Tips for more accurate results

• Separate steps with commas and use common abbreviations (sc, hdc, dc, tr, inc, dec, sc2tog, sk, ch).
• Put the stated count in brackets at the end of each line, such as (36 sts).
• When a round of amigurumi goes wrong, paste the rounds up to where your count changed: the first flagged line is usually the culprit.

Frequently asked questions