Knitting Gauge Calculator

About this calculator

Knitting gauge (or tension) is the number of stitches and rows produced per unit of width and height with a specific yarn, needle size, and knitter's tension — measured by knitting a swatch and counting stitches across a fixed span, usually 10cm/4in. To hit a target finished size, the swatch's stitch and row density is scaled up: target stitches = (swatch stitches ÷ swatch width) × target width, and the same ratio applied to rows and target height.

Knitters use gauge calculations before starting any garment pattern, because even a small mismatch between the pattern's assumed gauge and an individual knitter's actual tension compounds across a whole sweater or blanket into a significantly wrong finished size. It's the standard first step recommended in virtually every knitting pattern, and it's especially important when substituting a different yarn than the one the pattern was originally written for, since yarn weight and fiber content both affect how many stitches fit per inch.