Evenly Across the Row Calculator

“Increase 14 stitches evenly across 96” is the instruction, and the pattern never says how. The honest answer is that 96 does not divide by 14, so the gaps cannot all be equal — the best you can do is keep them within one of each other and put the odd ones where they show least. This does that division for you and writes the row out ready to knit.

What to do

Stitches in the row

Between 2 and 5000.

How many to place

Increases, decreases or markers.

Keep whole runs at both ends, so the row is symmetrical

[work 7, inc] x 3, [work 6, inc] x 9, [work 7, inc] x 2, work 7

96 does not divide by 14, so the runs differ by one — which is as even as it goes. You finish on 110 stitches.

Changes fall after stitch 7, 14, 21, 27, 33, 39, 45, 51, 57, 63, 69, 75, 82, 89

✓ Every stitch in the row is accounted for — 89 worked plain plus 7 at the end makes 96
✓ No two runs differ by more than one — runs of 6 and 7, which is as even as 96 divides
✓ There are exactly as many changes as you asked for — 14 changes, ending on 110 stitches
✓ The row reads the same from either end — the runs are a palindrome, so the piece is symmetrical
✓ The changes fall in order, inside the row — first at 7, last at 89

What this generator does

Divides the plain stitches into as many runs as there are changes, hands out the remainder one stitch at a time, and arranges the runs so the row reads the same from either end where the numbers allow it.

How to use this tool

Say whether you are increasing, decreasing or placing markers.
Type how many stitches are in the row, and how many changes to place.
Leave the symmetry option on to keep whole runs at both ends.
Copy the row and work it as written.

Understanding the controls

What to do: An increase adds a stitch and leaves the row longer; a decrease eats the stitch it lands on, which is why the arithmetic differs; a marker changes nothing but has to sit somewhere.
Stitches in the row: How many stitches you are working across now, before any changes. Rows and rounds are counted the same way.
How many to place: How many increases, decreases or markers the pattern calls for. This is what the row length is divided by.
Keep whole runs at both ends, so the row is symmetrical: On, the row begins and ends with plain stitches and reads the same either way round. Off, the first change comes after the first run and the row ends on a change, which is what some patterns want.

Common use cases

Following a pattern that says to increase or decrease evenly across a row
Spacing buttonholes down a placket so the ends match
Placing markers around a yoke at even intervals
Spacing shelf pegs, fence posts or hooks along a run
Spreading rest days evenly across a training block

How this generator works

The plain stitches are divided by the number of runs; the remainder is handed out one stitch per run, which is what keeps every run within one of every other. For a symmetrical row the spare stitches are placed in pairs from the outside in, so the longer runs sit at the ends. An even number of runs with a single stitch left over cannot mirror exactly, and the page says so rather than claiming a symmetry it does not have. The answer is then measured rather than trusted: the runs plus anything a decrease consumes must add back to exactly the row you started with, no two runs may differ by more than one, and the changes must fall in order inside the row.

Randomness and fairness

Nothing is random. The same row and count always give the same answer.

For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.

Limitations and good to know

A decrease is counted as consuming one stitch, which is right for a k2tog or ssk and not for a double decrease.
The runs are stitches, not centimetres, so gauge is somebody else's problem — the gauge calculator handles that.
Where the numbers do not divide, some runs are one longer; no arrangement avoids that.
Shaping that has to line up with a stitch pattern needs judgement this cannot supply.

Privacy and your data

The arithmetic runs in your browser. No row lengths, counts or results are transmitted or stored.