Taking The Pain Out Of Reading Patterns – Crochet Abbreviations
- know what all those crochet abbreviations are
- how crochet patterns are structured
- what the crochet symbols mean
- how to break down the crochet pattern into understandable pieces
I am going to break this up into bite-sized chunks. Today we are going to talk about Crochet Abbreviations.
What are Crochet Abbreviations?
Crochet patterns are written in a special language, full of abbreviations, asterisks, parentheses, and other symbols and terms. Each designer, publisher, and magazine seems to have a different set of crochet abbreviations that in some cases seem to be inconsistent with each other. This is very confusing to a crocheter, especially new crocheters. However, over the last 15-20 years, the Craft Yarn Council has been working on a standardized list of crochet abbreviations. Not everyone has adopted them so it is really important that when you are starting a new pattern, that you read through it and use the crochet abbreviations key that is included in the pattern.
Caveat: Not all designers include the crochet abbreviations. You will usually see this in non-tech edited, free patterns. This is a subject I will cover in the future. However, I will say that in this case, proceed with caution when using free patterns, especially if you are a new crocheter.
Why Do We Use Crochet Abbreviations?
The reason we use crochet abbreviations is to save space in patterns. Back when the only way to get a pattern was in printed books and magazines, or if designer printed and sold the patterns before the days of PDFs, we had to find a way to make patterns economical. Now that we are in the age of PDFs and other digital ways to store patterns, the cost isn’t as big of a factor for most patterns. However, because we have been using these abbreviations for 100+ years, it has become engrained in our crochet culture to use them, so designers still do. Besides that, our culture, in general, has found ways to shorten a lot of words due to social media and texting (brb anyone?) so I don’t believe that crochet abbreviations are going anywhere soon.
Standard Crochet Abbreviations
The following is a list of crocheting abbreviations used by crochet designers and publishers and adopted for the Craft Yarn Council’s Standards & Guidelines for Crochet and Knitting. NOTE that this is a list of the most commonly used crochet abbreviations. It is by no means complete. Designers and publishers may use special abbreviations in a pattern, which you might not find on this list. In most cases, you will find a shorter list of the crochet abbreviations that the pattern, magazine or book uses in the front or back-matter.
- alt . . . . . . . alternate
- approx . . approximately
- beg. . . . . . begin/beginning
- bet . . . . . . between
- BL or BLO. . back loop or back loop only
- bo . . . . . . . bobble
- BP . . . . . . back post
- BPdc . . . . back post double crochet
- BPsc . . . . . back post single crochet
- BPtr. . . . . . back post treble crochet
- CA. . . . . . . color A
- CB. . . . . . . color B
- CC. . . . . . . contrasting color
- ch . . . . . . . chain stitch
- ch- . . . . . . refers to chain or space previously made: e.g., ch-1 space
- ch-sp . . . . chain space
- CL . . . . . . . cluster
- cm. . . . . . . centimeter(s)
- cont . . . . . continue
- dc . . . . . . . double crochet
- dc2tog . . . double crochet 2 stitches together
- dec . . . . . . decrease/decreases/decreasing
- dtr . . . . . . . double treble
- FL or FLO. . . front loop or front loop only
- foll . . . . . . follow/follows/following
- FP. . . . . . . front post
- FPdc. . . . . front post double crochet
- FPsc . . . . . front post single crochet
- FPtr . . . . . front post treble crochet
- g . . . . . . . . gram
- hdc. . . . . . half double crochet
- inc . . . . . . increase/increases/increasing
- lp(s) . . . . . loops
- m . . . . . . . meter(s)
- MC . . . . . . main color
- mm . . . . . millimeter(s)
- oz . . . . . . . ounce(s)
- p . . . . . . . picot
- pat(s) or patt . . pattern(s)
- pc . . . . . . . popcorn
- pm . . . . . . place marker
- prev . . . . . previous
- rem . . . . . remain/remaining
- rep . . . . . . repeat(s)
- rnd(s). . . . round(s)
- RS. . . . . . . right side
- sc . . . . . . . single crochet
- sc2tog . . . single crochet 2 stitches together
- sk . . . . . . . skip
- sl st . . . . . slip sitich
- sp(s). . . . . space(s)
- st(s) . . . . . stitch(es)
- tch or t-ch . . turning chain
- tog . . . . . . together
- tr. . . . . . . . treble crochet
- trtr. . . . . . . triple treble crochet
- WS . . . . . . wrong side
- yd(s) . . . . yard(s)
- yo. . . . . . . yarn over
- yoh . . . . . . yarn over hook
Remember this list is just a guide. Magazines and other publications may have their own set of crochet abbreviations. However, if you would like a handy print out of this to keep in your project bag, get it here! This cheat sheet also includes symbols and terms that I will be discussing in a future post. I recommend laminating it and keeping it with you especially if you are a newish crocheter! Having a general guide will be a great help in deciphering those patterns that might not have a key in them.
Do you have any abbreviations in your patterns you don’t understand? Post them in the comments and I will do my best to help you figure them out!
Next week we will talk about the 2nd topic – How Patterns are Structured. See you then!
