Love to crochet but find patterns difficult to follow? This is pretty common and the terms are not consistent between patterns written in the United States and patterns written in Europe. How do you decipher pattern abbreviations? Here are the most common pattern terms for U.S. patterns.
Slip stitch
The slip stitch is used mostly to join rounds or to skip a full stitch. To create a slip stitch, put your hook through a stitch, draw up a loop (called yarn over) and pull through the two loops on the hook. You end up with a single loop on the hook. The slip stitch is abbreviated as SL ST.
Chain stitch
A chain stitch looks like a chain. It is used as a foundation for larger projects. To make a chain stitch, attach the yarn to your hook. Wrap the yarn around your hook—now there are two loops on the hook—and pull it through the bottom loop. The result is a chain stitch and you will have a single loop left on your hook when it is done. This is abbreviated as CH.
Single crochet
To make a single crochet stitch, put your hook through a stitch, wrap your yarn around the hook and pull it back through the stitch—two loops on the hook. Now, wrap the yarn around the hook—three loops on the hook—and pull it through the loops on the hook. This is abbreviated as SC.
Double crochet
The double crochet is very similar to half double crochet. To make a double crochet stitch, wrap the yarn around your hook and put it through a stitch. Wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull through the stitch (3 loops on your hook.) Wrap the yarn around your hook again and pull through the top two loops on your hook (2 loops remain on hook.) Wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull through all the loops on the hook. The abbreviation is DC.
Treble crochet
Triple or treble crochet is a very tall stitch. Wrap the yarn around the hook twice (3 loops on hook.) Put your hook through a stitch and wrap the yarn around the hook again. Pull the hook back through the stitch and wrap the yarn around the hook again (5 loops on the hook.) Pull through the top two loops on the hook, wrap the yarn around the hook again and pull through the next two loops. Repeat this one more time. This is abbreviated as TR.
I hope this helps you decipher some basic crochet terms. Check back soon as I will explain more pattern terms.
Lynda Altman learned to crochet at age 10. She loves to crochet and enjoys sharing her craft with others. You can see her work online at her Etsy shop, The Granny Squared. Lynda can be reached at the contact link above or on Twitter @fusgeyer.
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