Beginner Crochet Terms: Reading Patterns Series

Thank you so much for sharing!

Hi there! I know… understanding crochet terms is hard! As a beginner its difficult to remember what everything means.

Today I’ve got the first video in a series that I’ll be doing over on YouTube on how to read crochet patterns.  The first video, which is below will cover common terminology and show many of the basic stitches like chain (ch), slip stitch (sl st), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), treble crochet (tr) and single crochet two together (sc2tog).  These crochet terms are the American English style of crochet as opposed to the British English.

Understanding the terminology is the first step.  The next video in this series will cover gauge or tension and the final video will feature a free pattern that you might find on the web or at the store and we’ll go through the pattern together.

Here is a fun little graphic for you to have a cheat sheet to remember all the terms!  Feel free to pin this to your crochet pin board on pinterest or “right click” and save it to your computer!

If you would rather copy and paste it into your own document, here are all the terms.

Crochet Terms

ch – chain
st or sts – stitch (s)
sl st – slip stitch
– insert hook, yo pull through and then pull through loop on hook.
sc – single crochet
– insert hook, yo pull through, yo pull through 2 loops on hook
hdc – half double crochet
– yo, insert hook, yo pull through, yo pull through 3 loops
dc – double crochet
– yo, insert hook, yo pull through, yo pull through 2 loops,
yo pull through rem 2 loops
tr – treble crochet
– yo 2 times, insert hook, yo pull through, yo pull through 2 loops,
yo pull through 2 loops, yo pull through 2 rem loops
sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
– insert hook, yo pull through, insert hook in next ch over, yo pull through, yo pull through all 3 loops on hook
dec – decrease
inc – increase
rem – remaining
rep – repeat
beg – beginning
rnd (s) – round
yo – yarn over

Looking for Some Crochet Patterns?

• Easy Crochet Basket with craft cord
• Easy Infinity Scarf
• Crochet Basics: The Magic Knot