counting in crochet - little acorn creations

A few weeks ago I wrote about counting in knitting. Today it’s time to review counting in crochet.

Counting is different for crochet than for knitting as you generally only have one stitch on the hook at a time and need to count not just to make each stitch, but along the way. As you gain experience the stitches tend to go in their proper places, though it’s still helpful to know some tips for counting. We can complicate the matter further because the terminology for American and British crochet stitches is shifted by one.

This post is not about the many tools and gadgets available to help us record the fruits of our labor, but a gathering of tips to help count the proper number of worked stitches from the first stitch to the last and everything in between.

While how I count varies based on what I need to enumerate, there are a few things that remain the same whether I’m counting in knitting or crochet. I prefer to count in a well lit and calm environment, and if it’s noisy I put on headphones to muffle extra noise. I like to lay my piece down over fabric in a contrasting colour. In general I count each crochet stitch, I don’t group them like I do for knitting. Often if the total number of stitches is over 50, I like to place my favourite coil-less pins to mark successfully counted chunks. These chunks are determined by what makes sense for my total, often every 20 or 25 stitches and 10 or 25 rows (rounds).

Following is a small collection of links I’ve gathered that show some tips for successful counting. There are definitely many more!

Chains & Foundation Rows