Tapestry crochet size calculator
Find out how big your tapestry crochet piece will be, how many stitches and rows you need for a size, and whether your picture will look squashed. All you need is a swatch in your yarn: count its stitches and rows, and measure them.
The calculator needs JavaScript. The math below works by hand.
How to measure your swatch
- Crochet a swatch with the yarn and hook you will use, carrying the yarns the way you will in the real piece. Carrying changes the stitches: each extra yarn makes them a little taller, and the work usually comes out tighter than plain single crochet in one color.
- Make it big enough to measure away from the edges, at least 6 inches (15 cm) square. The stitches at the edges are less even than the ones in the middle.
- Lay it flat. In the middle, measure a width and a height, 4 inches (10 cm) each for example, and count the stitches across and the rows up inside them.
- Put the counts and the measurements into the calculator.
The math
One stitch is as wide as your swatch's width divided by its stitches, and one row is as tall as its height divided by its rows. The rest follows:
- finished width = stitches × stitch width
- finished height = rows × row height
- stitches you need = width you want ÷ stitch width
- rows you need = height you want ÷ row height
The stitches and rows you need are rounded to whole numbers. Your stitch shape is the stitch width divided by the row height: above 1, your stitches are wider than they are tall.
A worked example
Take the example gauge: 16 stitches and 18 rows in 4 inches. One stitch is 4 ÷ 16 = 0.25 in wide, and one row is 4 ÷ 18 = 0.222 in tall.
Our cat chart is 48 stitches wide and 48 rows tall. It comes out 48 × 0.25 = 12 in wide and 48 × 0.222 = 10.7 in tall, about 30.5 × 27.1 cm. Each stitch is 1.125 times as wide as it is tall (in a square swatch that is simply its rows over its stitches, 18 ÷ 16), so the piece comes out about 13% wider than the chart looks on paper.
The other way round, a 16 × 16 in pillow needs 16 ÷ 0.25 = 64 stitches and 16 ÷ 0.222 = 72 rows.
When the picture looks squashed
A chart drawn on square graph paper gives every stitch the same width and height, but real stitches are rarely exactly square. In the published tapestry crochet patterns we checked, they run from about 11% taller than wide to about 17% wider than tall.
Crochet a square chart with stitches like the example's, and the picture comes out about 13% wider than the drawing: the cat above gets a broader face. You can fix it two ways:
- Use a chart made for your stitch shape, not for square paper.
- Redraw the chart with more or fewer rows. With the example gauge, the cat chart comes out 12 in wide, so to come out square it needs 12 ÷ 0.222 = 54 rows, not 48.
How to tell a squashed chart from skipped rows, and how to plan a pillow or a blanket from your swatch, is in our article How big will my tapestry crochet be?
To work out how much yarn each color needs, use the tapestry crochet yarn calculator.
Questions
How many stitches do I need for a pillow or a blanket?
Divide the width you want by the width of one of your stitches, and the height by the height of one row; your swatch gives you both. With 16 stitches and 18 rows in 4 inches, a 16 by 16 inch pillow needs 64 stitches and 72 rows, and a 40 by 50 inch blanket needs 160 stitches and 225 rows.
Why does my tapestry crochet picture look squashed?
Your stitches are probably not square, and the chart was drawn as if they were. A chart on square graph paper gives every stitch the same width and height. If your stitches are wider than they are tall, the picture comes out wider than the drawing; if they are taller, it comes out taller. Measure your stitch shape with a swatch, then use a chart made for it, or add or take away rows.
Does carrying the yarn change my gauge?
Yes. Each extra yarn you carry makes the stitches a little taller, and the work usually comes out tighter than plain single crochet in one color. So crochet your swatch carrying the yarns, the same way you will work the piece, and measure that.
How big should my gauge swatch be?
At least 6 inches (15 cm) square, laid flat and measured across its middle 4 inches (10 cm), because the stitches at the edges are less even. For tapestry crochet, work it in your colors, carrying the yarns as you will in the piece.