Decrease Calculator

Why the amount per row isn't always the same

Whenever the total stitches to lose don't divide evenly across your row count, some rows need to shed one more stitch than others to land on the target exactly — there's no way around a little unevenness in the raw numbers, only in how well it's spread out. This calculator spreads the "extra" rows across the full range as evenly as it can, the same approach patterns use when they write something like "decrease every 2nd row 3 times, then every 3rd row 5 times" instead of a single clean interval — it's doing that same spacing math, just showing you the row-by-row result directly instead of the interval shorthand.

Decreasing at more than one point

If you're decreasing at both edges of a piece in the same row (common for tapering a sleeve or bodice symmetrically), the "stitches to decrease" this shows for that row is the total across all your decrease points combined — split it evenly between your points (2 sts on a row means 1 at each of 2 edges; 4 sts on a row could mean 1 at each of 4 raglan seam lines, or 2 at each of 2 edges, depending on your construction).

Picking a decrease that matches your fabric

In knitting, k2tog and ssk (or skp) produce mirror-image decreases that lean in opposite directions — using the wrong one at a given edge is a common reason a taper looks subtly asymmetric even when the stitch counts are exactly right. In crochet, a standard sc2tog or dc2tog decrease is fairly direction-neutral, but for amigurumi or anywhere the decrease will show clearly, an invisible decrease (working through front loops only) avoids the small bump a standard decrease leaves.

How to Work a Decrease

A decrease turns two stitches into one. In crochet the main question is how to do it without leaving a visible bump; in knitting the main question is which way it leans, because a decrease worked the wrong direction slants against the shaping line it's supposed to follow. These instructions use US terms.

Crochet decreases

The standard single crochet decrease, written sc2tog, works like this: insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over, and pull up a loop — but do not finish the stitch. Insert into the following stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop again. You now have three loops on the hook. Yarn over and draw through all three. Two stitches have become one.

For amigurumi, use the invisible decrease instead, which is genuinely worth learning because the standard version leaves a noticeable lump on a smooth stuffed surface. Insert your hook into the front loop only of the next stitch, then into the front loop only of the stitch after that — three loops on the hook, two of them front loops. Yarn over and draw through those two front loops, then yarn over and draw through the remaining two. The result sits almost flat.

Taller stitches follow the same logic: work each stitch until its final yarn-over, then finish them all together. A dc2tog is two half-finished double crochets joined at the top.

Knitting decreases and which way they lean

This is the whole game in knitting. Every decrease slants, and the slant is visible.

Decrease	How to work it	Leans
k2tog	Insert the needle through two stitches at once as if to knit, and knit them together.	Right
ssk (slip slip knit)	Slip two stitches knitwise one at a time, then knit them together through the back loops.	Left
p2tog	Purl two stitches together. The wrong-side equivalent of k2tog.	Right on the front
s2kp (central double decrease)	Slip two together knitwise, knit one, pass the slipped stitches over.	Neither — centered, removes two stitches

k2tog is easier and faster, which is why beginners' work often uses it on both sides of a piece. The result is a garment where one armhole edge looks crisp and the other looks like it's fighting the fabric.

Pairing decreases

On any piece that narrows on both sides — an armhole, a sleeve cap, a V-neck — the decreases should mirror. The standard convention is ssk at the beginning of the row and k2tog at the end, which makes both shaping lines lean inward toward the center and follow the edge they're shaping.

For a hat crown or a mitered square where the decrease runs straight up the middle, use the central double decrease instead. It removes two stitches at once and leaves a clean vertical spine with no lean at all, which is exactly what those constructions need.

Where to place them

As with increases, work decreases one or two stitches in from the edge. This gives a tidy selvedge for seaming and turns the decrease line into a deliberate detail — the "full fashioned" look on the shoulders of a well-made sweater is nothing more than paired decreases placed two stitches in and allowed to show.

For decreases distributed across a whole row rather than at the edges, such as pulling a body in above ribbing, see the evenly spaced calculator.

Working out the rate

Shaping is usually given as a stitch count to remove over a number of rows. Divide the rows by the number of decrease rows needed and you have your interval; the calculator above does this and handles the awkward cases. When the interval isn't a whole number, alternate between two intervals rather than rounding — every third then fourth row, repeated, is standard practice and invisible in the finished piece.

For a sock toe, the rate deliberately changes partway through, and for a sleeve the taper depends on both stitch and row gauge — the toe decrease calculator and sleeve taper calculator handle those specifically.

Common problems

Problem	Cause and fix
One edge looks neat, the other messy	Same decrease used on both sides. Pair ssk with k2tog.
Visible bump on amigurumi	Standard sc2tog. Switch to the invisible decrease.
ssk looks loose and sloppy	Common with this decrease. Slip the second stitch purlwise instead of knitwise to tighten it.
Hat crown spirals instead of running straight	Directional decrease used where a centered one belongs. Use s2kp.
Ran out of stitches before the shaping ended	Decreased too fast. Recount, and spread the remaining decreases over the rows left.

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