Yoke Calculator — Circular Yoke Increase Rates

A circular yoke distributes increases evenly around the entire circumference, often with decorative colourwork patterns. A raglan concentrates increases along 4 diagonal lines. Circular yokes give a more traditional Icelandic/Norwegian look.

Standard adult yoke depth is 22-28cm, depending on size. Measure from the base of the neck to where you want the underarm to be. Children need 15-20cm; babies 10-14cm.

At the desired yoke depth, place sleeve stitches on holders and cast on underarm stitches. Continue working the body in the round. Return to the held sleeve stitches later to knit the sleeves.

Yes, circular yokes are ideal for colourwork. Plan your increase rounds to fall on solid-colour rounds, not within the pattern. Some patterns incorporate the increases into the colourwork design.

There is no fixed number — unlike a raglan (which adds a fixed 8 sts per round at its 4 seams), a circular yoke spreads its increases evenly around the whole circumference. Traditional Icelandic and Norwegian yokes use just 3-5 staged increase rounds, each adding a large percentage of the current stitch count (Elizabeth Zimmermann's EPS uses roughly +25%, +33%, then +40%). This calculator instead spreads the total increase over many smaller, evenly-spaced rounds; set the "Increases per round" value to match your chosen approach. Whichever method you use, the total increases must equal body stitches + both sleeves at the underarm minus the neck stitches.