How to count rows

Angie, a reader, asks:

"How do I count the rows accurately in my active work? Do I include the cast-on row and the stitches on the needle(s) or not?"

A 2-part question gets a THREE-part answer...

1. COUNT THE CAST-ON?

Whether to count the cast-on depends on HOW you cast on.

• If you cast on with a loop method (such as backwards loop or forwards loop) the first row you knit is the first row of the work--the loop cast-on is not usually counted as a row. (This is a convention because, if the cast-on were to be counted as a row, pattern writers would have to write a different set of instructions for the first repeat of a texture pattern counted in rows.)
  
• If you cast on with the long tail method, the first row is knitted at the time of the cast on. Therefore, the first row you knit (or purl) after the cast-on is actually the second row of the work. (More detailed explanation at the long tail post.)
  
• With a cable method (also called "knitting on" or "chain cast on") it's knitter's choice -- this kind of cast-on is heavier than loop cast-on, but not quite as doubled as long-tail. 

click picture

Click the picture, it gets bigger.

2. COUNT THE STITCHES ON THE NEEDLE?

Yes, you do count the loops on the needle, because they are stitches which have already been knit. The confusion about this is because it is the NEW stitches you are going to put INTO the loops already on the needle which is going to determine how those loops will lay--whether they will be knit stitches or purl stitches. BUT, because they have already been created and are laying on your needles, there is no question that they've already been knit. Because they have been created, they ought to be counted, unless the directions say otherwise.

Now, despite all this hyper technical stuff, reality is that one row more or less might make a horrible mess of a TEXTURE pattern in a fabric, BUT -- one row here or there is unlikely to make a difference in the FIT of any knitted garment. Excluding the cast-on row from your row count makes no noticeable difference in the finished garment. What WILL make a difference is CONSISTENCY in counting rows between the different parts of your project.

Example: suppose the front of your new sweater is knit 76 rows to the underarm, NOT counting either row of a long-tail cast on as the first row, and NOT counting the stitches on the needle (in other words, not counting the red, green or blue rows of the illustration.) Now suppose the back is knit 76 rows to the underarm. This time, you DO count the rows you didn't earlier (in other words, this time, you do count the red, green and blue rows of the illustration.) The front piece would wind up 3 rows longer than the back. Awkward at seaming time. 

Bottom line: There is a convention for which rows to count as part of the row count. However, to achieve a good fit, CONSISTENCY in counting is the most important thing--much more important than whether you choose to follow convention.

3. ADDENDUM:

Even though it's not part of Angie's question, the title raise the different question of keeping track of rows as you knit them.

There are lots of ways to keep track. Clickers of various kinds  are popular. Also popular: pencil and paper. Some make hash marks on a blank page, some make Excel spreadsheets with little boxes to check off. There is the box-and-circle method for cables, and chart-charts for lace. Whether the row should be noted BEFORE starting or AFTER finishing is up to you. Again, consistency is key. 

Whatever way you keep track, however, the one certainty is that you will lose track. The phone will ring, your kid will crash into something, your city council rep will ring the doorbell. This is why "reading" the fabric, as Angie wants to do, is your best insurance policy.


--TK
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: How to count rows)