To count rows in crochet, turn your work so the side edge faces you and count the horizontal ridges from the bottom up, leaving out the foundation chain. Each ridge is one row. The turning chain at the start of a row is not a row, and if you are working in rounds you count them with a stitch marker instead.
Rows go back and forth to make a flat piece such as a blanket. Rounds go around to make a tube such as a hat. Both are covered below. For more, see our crochet guides.
How do you count rows in finished fabric?
Look at the side edge, not the top. Each row leaves a horizontal ridge along the edge, and counting those ridges from bottom to top gives you the number of rows you have worked.
Single crochet is the easiest to read because it forms small V shapes across the fabric. To check a stitch count, count the V's along the top of the last row. Each V is one stitch.
Half double and double crochet work the same way, with one difference you will notice: double crochet is taller. A double crochet swatch the same size as a single crochet one has fewer rows, so a count of 20 rows in double crochet is a lot more fabric than 20 rows in single crochet. If the ridges are hard to see, touch each one with your finger or a pencil tip as you count, and lay the piece flat in good light so the edge is easy to read.
Does the turning chain count as a stitch?
It depends on the stitch, and your pattern has the last word. The turning chain is the chain you make at the end or start of a row to bring the hook up to the height of the next row. The usual heights are in the table.
| Stitch | Turning chain | Counts as a stitch? |
|---|---|---|
| Single crochet (sc) | 1 chain | No |
| Half double crochet (hdc) | 2 chains | Usually yes |
| Double crochet (dc) | 3 chains | Usually yes |
| Triple crochet (tr) | 4 chains | Usually yes |
Lion Brand gives these heights and notes that the single crochet turning chain does not count as a stitch. For taller stitches, the turning chain usually takes the place of the first stitch, and at the end of the row you work your last stitch into it. The Craft Yarn Council agrees: for stitches taller than single crochet the turning chain counts as the first stitch of the row, unless your pattern tells you otherwise.
Not every source agrees on single crochet, and designers set their own habits. If your count drifts by one every row, read the notes at the top of the pattern and check how it treats the turning chain.
How do you check the stitches in a row?
Count at the end of each row and compare with the number in the pattern. It takes a minute and catches a slip before it grows over ten rows. A number such as (14 sc) at the end of a row is a check, not an instruction. Do not count the loop still on your hook.
If the count is one too high, you may have worked into a turning chain that should have been skipped. If it is one too low, you may have missed the last stitch at the end of the row, which is often the turning chain from the row below.
How do you count rounds?
Rounds have no edge to turn, so a stitch marker does the job. In joined rounds, each round closes with a slip stitch, and that slip stitch is not counted as a working stitch. Continuous rounds, the spiral kind you use for amigurumi, have no join at all.
Place a locking stitch marker in the first stitch of the round. Work until you reach the marker, count the V's of that round only, then move the marker into the first stitch of the new round. To count rounds already finished, look at the side of the work and count the rings of stitches moving out from the centre.
How do you keep your place while you work?
Mark the row you are on rather than trusting your memory. A few habits help.
- Put a removable marker at the end of every tenth row, so a recount starts from the marker.
- Keep a tally on paper, one stroke per row, and cross it off when you finish the row.
- Count the stitches at the end of each row until the pattern feels familiar.
- When a pattern asks you to shape the fabric, decrease evenly across a row the same way: count first, then work.
Try it in Row & Round
Row & Round is coming soon to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Its row counter shows the big count with a +1 button, so you tap once as you finish each row or round and your place is saved. With linked counters a repeat counter can sit alongside the row count, so you track a repeat and the overall row together without a tally on scrap paper.
Bottom line
Count rows by the ridges on the side edge, leave out the foundation chain, and remember that the turning chain is never a row. Check the pattern notes for whether it counts as a stitch, and use a marker to count rounds.
Questions
- Does the turning chain count as a row?
- No. The turning chain only lifts your hook to the height of the next row. In taller stitches such as double crochet it usually counts as the first stitch of the row, but it is never a row of its own.
- Why does my stitch count change from row to row?
- Most often the turning chain. Check your pattern notes for whether it counts as the first stitch, and whether the last stitch goes into the top of the previous row's turning chain.
- How do I count rounds in amigurumi?
- Put a locking stitch marker in the first stitch of each round and move it up as you start the next one. Keep a tally on paper or in a counter as you go.
- Is the number in parentheses at the end of a row an instruction?
- No. A count such as (14 sc) tells you how many stitches you should have. It is a check, not something to work.
