Explore guide
Change body length without moving shaping
Identify a permitted straight section and preserve armhole, waist and hem relationships.
Related lessons and tools
Identify a permitted straight section and preserve armhole, waist and hem relationships.
Before you start
Gather the measurements, counts or timing sample needed below. Record their units and whether they describe a sample, the whole project or one purchased package. Use a finished sample when dimensions or material use depend on fabric structure.
How to do it
- Read a garment schematic — Identify whether each dimension describes the body, a flat panel or a full circumference. Locate shoulder, underarm and finished edges before comparing sizes.
- Adjust body or sleeve length — Place added or removed length in a suitable straight section. Preserve shaping landmarks, paired pieces and the required final repeat rows.
- Calculate rows for a target length — At 30 finished rows per 10 cm, 60 cm corresponds to 180 rows. Row gauge must be measured independently of stitch gauge.
- Estimate a rectangular project from a weighed sample — A finished 10 × 10 cm sample weighing 5 g scales to 150 g for a 50 × 60 cm rectangle. With 10% reserve, plan 165 g before rounding packages.
Try this example
Adding 5 cm at 28 rows per 10 cm gives fourteen rows. Place them only in the reviewed straight section, then check motif alignment and recalculate its extra yarn from the body sample.
Check your result
- Recheck the inputs against the actual sample or label, keep units consistent and round only the final count or purchase. Repeat a sample if a small measuring difference changes the decision.
- These arithmetic examples assume the measured structure stays comparable. Shaping, borders, dense textures and color changes require their own allowances or samples.
Sources
Gauge & size planner
Turn a measured swatch into stitch and row counts for your finished size.
Before you use this tool
Wash and rest a sample in the project’s stitch pattern. Count stitches and rows inside measured central spans, excluding edge distortion.
Positive ease adds room to the target width; negative ease subtracts it. The rounded result is a planning count; fit repeats and construction details before casting on.
Method and limits
Formula and assumptions
Formula: stitches ÷ swatch width × target width after ease; rows ÷ swatch height × target height. Each result follows the selected up, down, or nearest rounding rule and its stitch or row multiple.
Worked example
Example: 20 stitches across 10 cm becomes 100 stitches across 50 cm.
Limits and rounding
Results are planning estimates from the values entered. Displayed decimals are rounded for craft use; whole materials and repeats round up where the method says so. Confirm gauge, material behavior, construction, and finished measurements before committing supplies.