Crochet Abbreviations & Terms

Crochet patterns are written in a compressed shorthand that looks like nonsense until it suddenly doesn't. "Rnd 3: *2 dc in next st, ch 1, sk 1 st; rep from * around, join w/ sl st to beg ch-3" is a perfectly ordinary instruction — and completely impenetrable if nobody has handed you the key.

This is the key. Below you'll find a searchable table of every abbreviation you're likely to meet, the US ↔ UK translation chart that prevents the single most common crochet disaster, and enough of a symbol-chart primer to read a diagram.

⚠️ The classic trap: US sc = UK dc. The names are offset by one. A UK pattern asking for "dc" wants the stitch Americans call a single crochet. Work a US double crochet instead and every row comes out twice as tall — and you usually don't notice until the piece is visibly wrong.

Both traditions describe the same physical stitches. Nothing about the crochet differs; only the vocabulary. Here's the mapping:

How to tell which system a pattern uses

• See "sc" or "hdc"? It's US. Neither abbreviation exists in UK terminology. This is the fastest tell there is.
• See "htr"? It's UK. There's no such thing as a half treble in US terms.
• "Gauge" means US; "tension" means UK. Same concept, different word, and it's usually near the top of the pattern.
• Lettered hook sizes (H-8, I-9) suggest US. UK patterns typically give millimetres only. See our hook size conversion chart if you need to translate.
• A treble-heavy pattern with no sc anywhere is probably UK. If everything is "dc" and "tr" and you never see a single crochet, you're reading British.

Most well-written patterns declare their terminology up front. Plenty of free patterns don't — which is exactly why this trap keeps catching people. When in doubt, look at the photo: if the pattern says "dc" and the fabric in the picture is short and dense, it's UK dc (US sc).

Some patterns — especially doilies, snowflakes and anything translated from Japanese — give you a diagram instead of (or alongside) written rows. It looks intimidating and is genuinely easier once it clicks, because the chart looks like the finished fabric.

The one rule that unlocks everything: the number of slashes through a symbol's post equals the number of yarn overs before you insert the hook. No slash = hdc. One slash = dc. Two = tr. Three = dtr. That's the whole system.

Which way do you read a chart?

Worked in rounds (doilies, granny squares, hats): start at the centre and spiral outwards. Right-handers read each round counterclockwise; left-handers go clockwise. Round 1 is the small cluster of symbols in the middle.

Worked in rows (scarves, blankets, rectangles): the direction alternates, because you turn your work. For a right-hander, odd-numbered rows read right-to-left and even-numbered rows read left-to-right. Left-handers mirror this. Those little ovals at the start of each row are the turning chains.

One honest caveat: the CYC standardises the symbols themselves but does not publish the reading-direction rules — those are a strong consensus across crochet publishers rather than an official standard. In practice everyone follows them, but a chart's own legend always wins.

Where the abbreviations show up first

If you're brand new, the fastest way to make these stick is to work a pattern that only uses three or four of them. Beginner scarf patterns are ideal — most are nothing but ch and dc repeated until you're warm. From there, baskets introduce working in rounds (rnd, sl st, MR), and beanies add decreases (sc2tog, dc2tog). By the time you're reading doily charts the shorthand won't even register as shorthand any more.

More crochet references

• Crochet Hook Size Chart & Conversion Guide — US, metric and UK hooks converted.
• Yarn Weight Chart: 0–7 Explained — plus when you can safely substitute.
• Beginner crochet scarf patterns — the best place to practise reading a pattern.
• Free crochet basket patterns — where working in rounds starts making sense.
• Free crochet doily patterns — symbol charts in their natural habitat.
• Free Pattern of the Week — a new pattern to practise on, every week.

Sources. Abbreviations are transcribed from the Craft Yarn Council's Standard Crochet Abbreviations and symbols from its Crochet Chart Symbols; the US/UK mapping was cross-checked against the CYC's own terminology note and independent UK sources. Items not covered by the CYC — magic ring, and chart reading direction — are flagged as such rather than presented as standard.