How to Reduce Stitches Evenly Across a Row

This page has a calculator to help you figure out how to decrease stitches evenly across a row, as often occurs when you increase for a cuff.
From The Knitting Fiend.   If you need to calculate how to increase stitches evenly across a row, click here.  To find other calculators, click here.

Enter number of stitches in the row: stitches.
Enter number of stitches to you need to decrease. (This program won't let you decrease more than half the stitches.)

stitches
Number left. (Don't even try to change this; I'm calculating here!)
stitches.


Here are two possible ways to decrease stitches evenly across the row.
  1. Unbalanced.
    • ( knit , k2 tog) times,  end knit .
    • Notice that this method reduces sort of evenly, but the first decrease and last decreases may be different distances from the edge.  Sometimes, depending on the number of stitches in the row, this "unbalanced" decrease happens to work out the same as the next increase.  For many items, this a perfectly good method to calculate decreases.
  2. Balanced space at edge.
    • Knit , ( k2 tog, knit ) times, ( k2 tog, knit ) times, ( k2 tog, knit ) times, k2 tog, knit .
    • Notice this method is as symmetric as possible around the center stitch. It is a pain in the neck to calculate, but it prevents your sweater hem from shifting strangely to one side.  Some people don't ever bother to do make sure their increases are balanced and work unbalanced increases even when it matters.
I could write even more complicated codes, suggest other ways to increase across the row, or do a variety of other things. I'm not going to bother because advanced knitters already have their favorite way and beginners only need to understand these things:
  • If it really matters, the designer should tell you precisely how to decrease.
  • Many designers don't tell you even when they should.  When in doubt use any balanced decrease; you could visit this page again and type your numbers, or fudge the math as best you can.  (I have a friend who just uses a bunch of toothpicks and places them in piles to do the math. That works.)
  • If you advance to the point where you are designing your own sweater, you get to decide if you really need to increase in a balanced way, or if unbalanced is acceptable to you.

Have fun knitting!
Lucia