{"id":15021,"date":"2015-05-21T08:05:54","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T12:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/?p=15021"},"modified":"2018-01-27T11:20:45","modified_gmt":"2018-01-27T16:20:45","slug":"crochet-terminology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/crochet-terminology\/","title":{"rendered":"Crochet Terminology"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the\u00a0final post in my three-part series aimed predominantly at\u00a0crocheters outside North America. For the rest of the series, see Yarn for Amigurumi<\/a> and Crochet Hook Styles<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Non-Standardised Terminology<\/h2>\n

The names of the crochet stitches are, unfortunately, not standardised throughout the English-speaking world. Most crochet patterns you’ll find through online sources are written in US terminology<\/strong> (which is why I call this ‘standard’ terminology) – but if you buy\/use a pattern written or published in UK\/Aus, that may not be the case.<\/p>\n

Conversely, if you learnt crochet from a British or Australian source, or some other countries with a historical British influence, you probably know the UK terminology<\/strong>. Your ‘double crochet’, for example, refers to a different stitch (US single crochet) than a US double crochet (which is equivalent to your ‘treble crochet’) – confusing, huh?<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> If you’re not sure which terminology you use, look at my single crochet tutorial: right-handed<\/a> or left-handed<\/a>. If you know this stitch as a ‘double crochet’, you’re using UK terminology!<\/em><\/p>\n

US\/UK Conversion Table<\/h2>\n

Here are the most common stitches with their equivalent US and UK names:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
US Stitch Name<\/strong><\/td>\nUK Stitch Name<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
chain<\/td>\nchain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
double crochet<\/td>\ntreble crochet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
half double crochet<\/td>\nhalf treble crochet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
slip stitch<\/td>\nslip stitch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
single crochet<\/td>\ndouble crochet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
triple (or treble) crochet<\/td>\ndouble treble crochet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The basic rule is that the UK stitches are always named one step higher than their US counterparts.<\/p>\n

Converting Amigurumi Patterns<\/h2>\n

Amigurumi patterns aren’t too difficult to decipher, as they are (almost) always worked in (almost) all single crochet<\/em> stitches (i.e. ‘double crochet’ stitches in UK terminology), so it’s very easy to convert these patterns between US\/UK. Using the above table, you’ll see that chain <\/em>and slip stitch <\/em>are unchanged, so it’s just the single\/double crochets you may need to change to convert to your preferred terminology.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> All PlanetJune patterns – amigurumi and accessories – are written in standard (US) terminology, but, to prevent confusion, my patterns always also include a conversion table at the start for all stitches used, so you can look up the pattern abbreviations and see which stitch should be used, whichever terminology you’re used to.<\/em><\/p>\n

Terminology Tips<\/h2>\n