Raglan Calculator

Knitting

Pick a size and fit, enter your gauge, and get the full top-down raglan plan from neck to underarm.

Quick answer. For a woman's medium with classic ease (40 in finished chest) at 20 stitches and 28 rounds per 4 in, cast on 84 stitches at the neck, work 18 raglan rounds and 10 body-only rounds, then cast on 16 at each underarm for a 200 stitch body.

Source: Craft Yarn Council size and ease charts; Elizabeth Zimmermann's percentages via Knit Picks; 1/3, 1/3, 1/6, 1/6 neck split.

Your raglan

1. Size and fit

Size

Measured chest or bust

Fit

Sleeve ease at upper arm

Custom chest uses the nearest chart size for the upper arm and armhole depth.

2. Gauge

Stitches per 4 in (10 cm)

sts

Rounds per 4 in (10 cm)

rnds

3. Optional changes

Neck opening (0 = 40% of body)

Yoke depth (0 = size chart armhole)

Underarm cast on, % of body

Leave these at 0 and 8% for the classic proportions. A wider neck or a deeper yoke changes the increase plan.

Result

Your yoke

Place a marker between each section. On a raglan round, increase once before and once after every marker.

Worked example: woman's medium

Bust 36 to 38 in, so 37 in, plus 3 in of classic ease is a 40 in (101.6 cm) finished chest. Gauge 20 stitches and 28 rounds per 4 in is 5 stitches and 7 rounds per inch.

Body: 40 in x 5 = 200 stitches (a multiple of 4).
Sleeve: upper arm 11 in + 2 in ease = 13 in x 5 = 65, rounded to an even 66.
Underarm: 8% of 200 = 16 stitches each side.
Neck: 40% of 200 = 80, rounded to a multiple of 12 = 84: 28 front, 14 sleeve, 28 back, 14 sleeve. That is a 16.8 in (42.7 cm) opening.
At the split: front and back 100 - 16 = 84 each; sleeves 66 - 16 = 50 each.
Increases: sleeves grow from 14 to 50, 2 a round, so 18 raglan rounds. The front needs (84 - 28) / 2 = 28 increase rounds, so 10 more on the body only.
Depth: armhole 7.25 in x 7 = 50.75, so 51 rounds. 28 increase rounds every other round need 56, so work 5 of them without a plain round between.

Joining: put each 50 stitch sleeve on hold, cast on 16 at each underarm, and the body is 84 + 16 + 84 + 16 = 200 stitches.

Raglan numbers by size, classic fit

At 20 stitches and 28 rounds per 4 in, with 2 in of sleeve ease.

Top-down raglan stitch counts by size
Size	Neck cast on	Raglan rounds	Body-only rounds	Underarm	Body	Sleeve
Woman X-Small	60	18	6	12	160	58
Woman Small	72	18	8	14	180	62
Woman Medium	84	18	10	16	200	66
Woman Large	84	19	13	18	220	70
Woman X-Large	96	21	13	20	240	78
Woman 2X	108	25	12	20	260	88
Woman 3X	108	28	13	22	280	96
Woman 4X	120	29	14	24	300	102
Woman 5X	132	27	18	26	320	102
Man Small	72	21	7	16	192	70
Man Medium	84	23	8	16	212	76
Man Large	96	26	7	18	232	86
Man X-Large	96	26	11	20	252	88
Man 2X	108	26	13	22	272	92
Man 3X	120	27	14	24	292	98
Man 4X	120	29	17	24	312	102
Man 5X	132	31	17	26	332	110

Sizes from the Craft Yarn Council charts, using the middle of each chest range. A man's large at the same gauge casts on 96 and works 26 raglan rounds.

How the raglan maths works

Body stitches = (chest + ease) x stitches per inch, rounded to a multiple of 4
Neck cast on = 40% of body stitches, rounded to a multiple of 12 and split 1/3 front, 1/3 back, 1/6 each sleeve
Underarm cast on = 8% of body stitches, each side
Front at split = half the body minus one underarm; sleeve at split = sleeve stitches minus one underarm
Raglan rounds = (sleeve at split - starting sleeve) / 2, increasing 8 a round
Body-only rounds = (front at split - starting front) / 2 minus the raglan rounds, increasing 4 a round
Yoke rounds = yoke depth x rounds per inch

Short rows across the back neck raise the back so the front sits lower, which most people find more comfortable. They do not change these counts.

Sources

Knit Picks, Percentage System (Elizabeth Zimmermann's EPS): neck 40% and underarm 8% to 10% of the body stitches. https://www.knitpicks.com/learning-center/percentage-system
The Knitting Circle, Raglan Shaping Math (Mary Beth Temple): the 1/3, 1/3, 1/6, 1/6 split and 8 increases every other round. https://www.theknittingcircle.com/video/raglan-shaping-math-048660
Carol Feller, Raglan Construction: body-only increases and the underarm cast on. https://www.carolfeller.com/2017/01/top-down-raglan-construction
Craft Yarn Council, Woman and Man Size Charts and Standard Body Measurements/Sizing. https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/woman-size, https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/man-size, https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards/body-sizing

Common questions

How many stitches do I cast on for a top-down raglan?

About 40% of the body stitches, the Elizabeth Zimmermann proportion. For a woman's medium with classic ease at 20 stitches per 4 in the body is 200 stitches, so cast on 84 (rounded to a multiple of 12).

How do I divide the neck stitches for a raglan?

The traditional split is one third front, one third back and one sixth for each sleeve, with a marker between each. 84 stitches is 28 front, 14 sleeve, 28 back and 14 sleeve.

How often do you increase on a raglan?

Once either side of each of the 4 markers every other round, 8 stitches a round. When the sleeves are wide enough, keep increasing on the front and back only.

How many stitches do I cast on at the underarm?

About 8% of the body stitches at each underarm (Knit Picks gives 8% to 10%). For 200 body stitches that is 16 each side.

How deep should a raglan yoke be?

We use the Craft Yarn Council armhole depth for the size: 7.25 in (18.4 cm) for a woman's medium and 9.75 in for a man's large. Try the yoke on as you go: it is done when it reaches your underarm.

Why do I need body-only increases?

Upper arms grow more slowly than the chest, so a raglan that increases evenly everywhere makes the sleeves too wide by the time the body fits. Increasing on the front and back only for the last part of the yoke fixes that.