Knitting pattern grading generator
Enter your gauge and sizes for correct per-size stitch counts, even shaping, and a printable grade sheet.
The grade is gauge times your finished measurements with even shaping. It is a strong starting point, not a substitute for knitting and blocking a gauge swatch and checking the fit. Ease is whatever you built into the finished measurements you enter.
How the grader works
Grading is the arithmetic of fit. You knitted one sample at a known gauge; every other size keeps that gauge and the same proportions, so the only thing that changes is the count. The generator does three things for each size.
Stitch counts
The cast-on for a width is the width times your stitch gauge, rounded to a whole stitch. If you set a stitch-pattern repeat, the count rounds to a whole number of repeats so ribbing or a motif lands evenly. The result shows the actual finished width those whole stitches produce, and the small drift from your target, so you can see exactly what rounding costs.
Row counts
Lengths convert to rows the same way: length times your row gauge, rounded to whole rows. Row gauge is the half of gauge most calculators ignore, and it is what controls how tall a section actually knits up.
Even shaping
To move from one stitch count to another over a set number of rows, the shaping has to be spread so the count lands exactly on target on the right row. The generator uses the standard even-interval method: when the rows do not divide evenly, it splits the shaping into two intervals, for example "every 6 rows 5 times, then every 8 rows 3 times." This is the step a quick calculator gets wrong, leaving you a stitch or two short at the end.
A worked example
Say your blocked swatch measures 20 stitches and 28 rows per 10 cm and you are grading a plain sweater. A size with a finished chest of 100 cm needs 100 times 2 stitches per cm, so that size casts on 200 stitches. Set a stitch repeat of 4 plus 2 edge stitches and the cast-on rounds to 202, which the sheet reports as an actual width of 101 cm, so you see the extra centimetre before you knit it. A 38 cm body length becomes 38 times 2.8, which rounds to 106 rows.
The sleeve grows from a 22 cm cuff (44 stitches) to a 34 cm upper arm (68 stitches) over 45 cm, which is 126 rows. That is 24 stitches to add at 2 per shaping row, so 12 shaping rows. 126 does not divide by 12, so the grader splits the spacing: increase 1 stitch at each end every 11 rows 6 times, then every 10 rows 6 times. The count lands on exactly 68 stitches on row 126. A flat "every 11 rows, 12 times" would need 132 rows, six more than the sleeve has.
Method: gauge times measurement with even-interval shaping (the knitters' "magic formula"; Ann Budd, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns). Every number above is verified by the tool's own test suite.What the grader does not do
It grades straight sections between two widths, so it covers bodies, sleeves, and tapered panels, but it does not plan curved shaping like a neckline or a sleeve cap row by row. It does not add ease: you enter finished measurements with your ease already in them. And it trusts the gauge you give it, so a swatch that lies produces a sheet that lies with it. Knit and block a real swatch first, and treat the sheet as your arithmetic, not your judgment.
New to grading? Start with how to grade a knitting pattern, and use the gauge calculator for a single quick cast-on.
Frequently asked questions
What does grading a knitting pattern mean?
Grading takes one knitted sample size and produces the stitch counts, row counts, and shaping for every other size, keeping the same gauge and proportions. Each size is gauge times its finished measurement, rounded to whole stitches, with its shaping recalculated so the counts come out exact.
Is the math correct?
Yes. Stitch counts are gauge times the finished measurement rounded to a whole stitch (and to your pattern repeat). Shaping is distributed with the even-interval method so the count lands exactly on the target on the right row. Every formula is checked against hand-worked examples in our test suite.
Do I enter body measurements or finished measurements?
Enter finished measurements, meaning the body measurement plus the ease you want. The grader does not add ease for you, because ease is a design choice. Our ease and sizing guide explains how to pick it.
Can I set a stitch-pattern repeat?
Yes. Set the repeat (and any extra balancing stitches) and every cast-on rounds to a whole number of repeats, so ribbing or a stitch pattern lands evenly across the row.
What does the shaping line mean?
A line like "increase 1 stitch at each end every 6 rows 5 times, then every 8 rows 3 times" tells you exactly how to space the shaping so you reach the target stitch count by the end of the section, spread evenly up the piece.