Increase Evenly Calculator
Where to place increases across a row.
Work out where to place increases evenly across a row, including how to spread the remainder when the count does not divide.
Stitches between each
5 or 6
103 stitches when done
Spread the longer gaps through the row rather than working them together at one end. Bunching the remainder is what makes shaping visible, and it is the part patterns leave to you when they say "evenly across".
How the Increase Evenly Calculator works
"Increase evenly across" is the instruction patterns give and rarely explain, because the numbers almost never divide. Fifteen increases across 88 stitches means some gaps of five stitches and some of six, and the whole trick is spreading the odd ones rather than letting them pile up at one end where they show.
Also known as: knitting increase spacing calculator · increase evenly across row
What 'evenly across' actually requires
Dividing a stitch count by a number of increases almost never gives a whole number, and the pattern rarely says what to do about it. Eighty-eight stitches with fifteen increases is 5.87 stitches per gap — so some gaps are five stitches and some are six.
The arithmetic is a floor and a remainder. Eighty-eight divided by fifteen is five remainder thirteen, so thirteen gaps get six stitches and two get five. Those numbers have to add back to exactly 88, which is the check worth doing: thirteen sixes plus two fives is 78 plus 10, which is 88.
Where the odd gaps go is the part that shows. Working them consecutively puts a visible cluster at one end of the row; alternating them through the row makes the shaping disappear into the fabric.
A worked example
Eighty-eight stitches, fifteen increases, finishing at 103. Work six stitches then an increase, thirteen times, then five stitches then an increase, twice — but interleaved rather than blocked, so the two shorter gaps sit roughly a third and two thirds of the way along.
A neater variant halves the first and last gaps: start with three stitches rather than six, and end with three. That stops the first and last increases sitting right on the seam line, where they are most visible.
Where the answer misleads
The calculation assumes the increases are interchangeable, and visually they are not. A make-one leans, a knit-front-and-back creates a small bar, and a yarn-over leaves a hole. Across a decorative yoke that matters; across a hidden hem transition it does not.
It also assumes a flat row. Working in the round means the last gap wraps to meet the first, so the spacing has to close cleanly round the join — dividing the total by the number of increases and placing them at fixed intervals handles this naturally, but starting the count at the beginning of the round does not.
Finally, heavy increasing in a single row produces a visible flare no matter how evenly it is spread. Above roughly one increase per four stitches, splitting across two rows looks considerably better.
Frequently asked questions
How do I increase evenly across a row?
Divide the stitch count by the number of increases. The whole part is your base gap; the remainder is how many gaps get one extra stitch. Alternate the longer gaps through the row rather than working them consecutively.
What if it does not divide evenly?
It usually will not, and that is fine. With 88 stitches and 15 increases you get thirteen gaps of six and two of five — or the reverse depending how you round. Distribute the odd gaps across the row and nobody will find them.
Where exactly does the increase go?
Between stitches for a make-one, or into a stitch for a knit-front-and-back. Half a gap at each end of the row looks tidier than a full gap, since it stops the first and last increases sitting on the seam.
Does this work for decreases too?
The same arithmetic, in reverse — set the calculator to decrease. The one difference is that you cannot decrease more stitches than you have, so very heavy decreasing has to be split across two rows.