Crochet abbreviations, explained

Every common abbreviation with its UK equivalent and a plain description of what your hands actually do. Paste a row you are stuck on and the tool below will label each term in it.

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 4:  1, 2  in next ,  1 , , ,  in  to join. (24 )

11 terms recognised. Tap any highlighted term to see what it means.

Crochet abbreviation list

Stitches

ch

chain

Yarn over and pull through the loop on your hook. Chains make the foundation row and the gaps in lace.

sl st

UK: ss

slip stitch

Insert the hook, yarn over, and pull straight through everything on the hook. Adds almost no height; used to join a round or travel across stitches.

sc

UK: dc (double crochet)

single crochet

Insert, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops. The short dense stitch amigurumi is built from.

hdc

UK: htr (half treble)

half double crochet

Yarn over BEFORE you insert, pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through all three loops at once.

dc

UK: tr (treble)

double crochet

Yarn over, insert, pull up a loop, then twice: yarn over and pull through two. The workhorse of blankets and garments.

tr

UK: dtr (double treble)

treble (triple) crochet

Yarn over twice before inserting, then clear the loops two at a time, three times. Tall and open.

dtr

UK: trtr (triple treble)

double treble crochet

Yarn over three times before inserting, then clear two loops at a time, four times.

Shaping

inc

increase

Two stitches worked into the same stitch below. Your count goes up by one each time.

dec

decrease

Two stitches joined into one. Your count goes down by one each time.

sc2tog

UK: dc2tog

single crochet 2 together

Pull up a loop in each of the next 2 stitches (3 loops on the hook), then yarn over and pull through all 3.

hdc2tog

UK: htr2tog

half double crochet 2 together

Start an hdc in each of the next 2 stitches without finishing either, then yarn over and close all the loops together.

dc2tog

UK: tr2tog

double crochet 2 together

Work a dc in each of the next 2 stitches but stop with the last 2 loops of each on the hook, then pull through all 3 at once.

dc3tog

UK: tr3tog

double crochet 3 together

The same idea across 3 stitches. Turns 3 stitches into 1 and is often used to make a cluster.

inv dec

invisible decrease

Amigurumi decrease worked through the FRONT loops only of the next 2 stitches, so the join does not leave a visible bump.

tog

together

Work the named stitches and close them into a single stitch. Always appears attached to a number, as in 2tog or 3tog.

Post & placement

fpdc

UK: fptr

front post double crochet

Work a dc around the vertical post of the stitch below, going in from the front. The stitch pops toward you, which is how ribbing and cables are made.

bpdc

UK: bptr

back post double crochet

The same, but the hook goes in from the back. The stitch pushes away from you. Alternate with fpdc for ribbing.

fpsc

UK: fpdc

front post single crochet

A single crochet worked around the post of the stitch below, from the front.

bpsc

UK: bpdc

back post single crochet

A single crochet worked around the post of the stitch below, from the back.

blo

back loop only

Work into just the far loop of the stitch top. Leaves a visible ridge on the near side and makes the fabric stretchier.

flo

front loop only

Work into just the near loop. The mirror of blo, and the loop the invisible decrease uses.

tbl

through the back loop

Another way of writing back loop only. Same instruction.

ch-sp

chain space

The gap a chain leaves in the previous row. You work into the hole itself, not into the individual chain stitches.

sp

space

Any gap you work into rather than a stitch, most often the hole left by a chain in the row below.

st / sts

stitch / stitches

A finished stitch in the row below. The count in brackets at the end of a row is how many you should have.

sk

UK: miss

skip

Pass over the named stitches without working into them. UK patterns say miss instead.

yo

UK: yrh (yarn round hook)

yarn over

Wrap the yarn over the hook from back to front. UK patterns write yrh.

Amigurumi

MR

magic ring

An adjustable loop you crochet into and then pull tight, so the center of a round closes with no hole. Also written magic circle, adjustable ring, MC or AR.

FO

fasten off

Cut the yarn, pull the tail all the way through the last loop, and pull tight.

pm / sm

place marker / slip marker

Put a stitch marker in the stitch named, or move the marker you already have up to the current round. In a spiral this is the only way to find the start.

X

UK: X (dc)

single crochet (letter shorthand)

One single crochet. 3X means three single crochets in the next three stitches, one each. Brackets like (3X, V, 3X) are a sequence to work in order, not one stitch.

V

increase (letter shorthand)

Two single crochets in the same stitch, the shape of a V. Same as inc. Your count goes up by one.

A

decrease (letter shorthand)

Two stitches joined into one, the shape of an A. Same as dec or sc2tog, usually the invisible decrease in amigurumi. Your count goes down by one.

W

triple increase (letter shorthand)

Three single crochets in the same stitch. Your count goes up by two.

M

triple decrease (letter shorthand)

Three stitches joined into one. Your count goes down by two. Rare; most patterns use two A's instead.

Pattern shorthand

rnd

round

A row worked in a circle. Rounds may spiral continuously or be joined and turned.

rep

repeat

Work the named section again. Usually paired with brackets or an asterisk marking where to repeat from.

rem

remaining

However many are left, rather than a fixed number.

beg

beginning

The start of the row or round. Often paired with a stitch, as in beg ch-3, meaning the chain that starts the row.

foll

following

The next one, or the ones that come after the row you are on. Common in UK-written garment patterns.

alt

alternate

Every other one. Common in UK-written patterns.

cont

continue

Keep working the established stitch pattern without further instruction until the pattern says otherwise.

patt

pattern

The stitch pattern already established, rather than the document.

tch

turning chain

The chains at the start of a row that bring the yarn up to the height of the stitch you are about to work.

RS / WS

right side / wrong side

Which face of the fabric is showing. The right side is the one that ends up on the outside.

ea

each

Every one of the stitches named, as in dc in ea st around, meaning one double crochet into every stitch.

gauge

UK: tension

gauge

How many stitches and rows you get in a measured square. UK patterns call it tension. It is the same measurement.

Common questions

What does sc2tog mean?

Single crochet two together, a decrease. Pull up a loop in the next stitch, then pull up a loop in the one after, so you have three loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all three. Two stitches have become one and your count drops by one.

What is the difference between dc2tog and a cluster?

The mechanics are the same: several partly worked stitches closed together at the top. The difference is where they go. A dc2tog is worked across two different stitches and decreases your count. A cluster is usually worked into one stitch or one chain space, so the count does not drop and you get a solid textured bump instead.

What does a magic ring do that chaining does not?

Chaining four and joining leaves a fixed hole in the middle that you cannot close later. A magic ring is a loop you work into and then pull tight by the tail, so the center shuts completely. For amigurumi that matters, because stuffing shows through the hole.

Why do fpdc and bpdc make ribbing?

Both are worked around the post of the stitch below rather than into its top. A front post stitch pulls that column toward you and a back post stitch pushes it away. Alternating them along a row makes the columns sit at different depths, and that ridged surface is ribbing.

My pattern uses an abbreviation that is not on this list.

Designers invent shorthand for stitches they use a lot, especially in amigurumi. A pattern that does this should define it in a key near the top, before the first round. If it does not, that is worth asking the designer about rather than guessing, because a made-up abbreviation cannot be looked up anywhere.

Are these UK or US abbreviations?

The left-hand column is US, which is what most published patterns use, and the UK equivalent sits underneath wherever the two differ. If you have a whole pattern to convert rather than one term to look up, the UK to US converter will do the entire thing at once.

Looking one up is quick. Looking up forty is an evening.

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