How to Easily Count Your Crochet Stitches

When I first started crocheting, and a pattern told me to, ‘count my crochet stitches’, I was like a deer in the headlights. I had absolutely no idea what that even meant, nevermind knowing how to do it. When you’re looking at beginner crochet patterns, I bet you get overwhelmed as easily as I did, don’t you?

I totally get it!

There’s a lot of confusion when you’re getting started with beginner crochet patterns and terms. For example, what is a stitch? Isn’t that something you do on a sewing machine? What the heck is frogging anyway? Why are there so many different kinds of crochet hooks?

These were all confusing terms, and I felt like I was swimming around in a sea of constant confusion and often considered giving up. But, I enjoyed the therapeutic nature of what I was doing, even if the projects were turning out awful. So I decided to keep plugging along.

I feel like I wasted so much time and energy wading through the uncertain crochet terms and instructions and I don’t want that to happen to you. So today I’m sharing a quick how-to guide on easily counting crochet stitches in your project.

Learning to identify and keep an accurate count of your stitches in your project is vitally important.  For beginner crocheters, this can sometimes feel overwhelming, but I promise with just a few simple tricks it will become second nature in no time. Let’s dive in!

How to Easily Count Your Crochet Stitches

Let’s start counting crochet stitches in single crochet. As you may or may not recall from Rookies Learn to Crochet Lesson #2, a new row starts with a chain 1 and turn your project.

As a result of that, you will start counting your stitches with the very first single crochet you start in your row. Chain 1 does NOT count as a stitch.

If you look closely at the stitches each one looks like a tiny “V”. Each little “V” counts as one stitch. The diagram above shows how a row of single crochet stitches will appear in your work.

A Half Double Crochet is almost exactly the same.

A half double crochet stitch begins with a chain 1 and turns just like the single crochet. And just like the single crochet, you do NOT count your chain 1 as a stitch. You will begin counting with the first stitch you make into your work. The only real difference is that it is just a little taller than the single crochet stitch.

Counting Double Crochet Stitches

When you start a row of double crochet, you begin with a chain 2 before turning your work.

Again, the ch2 at the beginning of the work does NOT count as a stitch. (Unless the pattern you are following states otherwise. In that case, always abide by the pattern’s instructions.) You’ll begin counting your stitches with the first one you put into your work on the new row. The double crochet stitch is quite a bit taller than the single, and the half double, so it’s easier to see these stitches when counting.

Final Thoughts:

The moral of this story is simply this.

• The ch1 or ch2 at the beginning of a row generally does not count as a stitch (unless the pattern states otherwise).
• The easiest way to identify and count your stitches is to look for the little “V” in the middle of the stitch and keep an accurate count as you go along.

Before you know it, this will become second nature and you will have no trouble keeping an accurate count in future projects.

Bonus Tip:

The best way I’ve found to keep an accurate stitch count is to count as I’m putting the stitches into the project. I simply count as I complete a stitch. The trick to this is to make sure no one interrupts your stitch count and throws you off!

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