How to Read a Crochet Pattern
by Jean Leinhauser
Once you’ve learned the basic crochet stitches, you’ll want to start your first pattern. (If you need assistance with learning basic crochet stitches, visit www.LearnToCrochet.com.) There are hundreds of beautiful designs available for you to make, but for a beginner, they may look scary because they are written in what looks almost like a foreign language.
That’s because crochet patterns are written using many abbreviations and terms, which save space and make patterns easier to read. So the first thing you need to do is become familiar with the abbreviations and terms.
Some of them are easy to understand, like these that represent basic stitches:
| Basic Stitch Abbreviations | |
|---|---|
| Ch |
Chain
|
| Sl st |
slip stitch
|
| Sc |
single crochet
|
| Hdc |
half double crochet
|
| Dc |
double crochet
|
| Tr (or trc) |
triple (or treble) crochet
|
Print these out and mount them on a card to keep handy while you work.
| Terms represent things you are to do, like these: | |
|---|---|
| Inc |
increase (Add one or more stitches.)
|
| Dec |
decrease (Eliminate one or more stitches.)
|
| Turn |
Turn your work so you can work back for the next row.
|
| Join |
Join two stitches together; usually done by working a slip stitch in the top of the next stitch.
|
| Rep |
repeat (Do it again.)
|
| A complete list of crochet abbreviations and terms and their meaning can be found at: www.YarnStandards.com. | |