Reading crochet patterns

Crochet patterns have a few conventions that differ from knitting. Once you know the vocabulary — rounds, magic circles, and how repeats are written — most patterns click into place quickly.

Flat rows vs working in the round

Flat crochet works back and forth in rows, turning at the end of each row (hence the turning chain). Working in the round produces a tube or circle — no turning, you just keep going. Most hats, bags, and amigurumi work in the round. The pattern will say "join with sl st to first st" to close each round, or "work in a continuous spiral" (no join, common in amigurumi — use a stitch marker to track round starts).

The magic circle / magic ring

Many round-start patterns begin with "MR" or "MC" — magic ring or magic circle. This is an adjustable loop: you work stitches into it, then pull the tail to close the hole at the centre. The pattern might say "MR, ch 3, 11 dc into ring, join with sl st — (12 dc)" meaning you've worked 12 dc into the ring (the ch 3 counts as the first dc), then close the ring.

If magic circles feel awkward, a ch 4 joined into a ring with sl st works as a substitute — the hole in the centre will just be slightly larger.

Amigurumi notation

Amigurumi (crocheted stuffed figures) work in a continuous spiral. Key conventions:

• "R1: 6 sc into MR. (6)" — Round 1: 6 single crochets into magic ring, stitch count = 6.
• "R2: inc × 6. (12)" — Work an increase in every stitch. 6 increases × 2 stitches = 12.
• "R3: (sc, inc) × 6. (18)" — Alternate sc and inc 6 times = 18 stitches.
• "R10: (sc4, dec) × 6. (30)" — Sc in 4 stitches, then dec, repeat 6 times.
• "FO" — Fasten off, cut yarn, weave in end.

The number in parentheses at the end is the stitch count for that round — use it to check your count. If your count doesn't match, back up.

Repeats in crochet patterns

Crochet uses the same asterisk and bracket notation as knitting, but you'll also see:

• "(dc, ch 1, dc) in ch sp" — work the bracketed group into the chain space (the gap, not the chain itself).
• "shell in next st" — a shell is typically "5 dc in one st", defined at the start of the pattern.
• "*sc in next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st; rep from * to end" — asterisk marks the start of the repeat unit.

US vs UK terms

Crochet has a naming mismatch between US and UK patterns. A UK "double crochet" is the same stitch as a US "single crochet". Always check which convention a pattern uses — it should say at the top. SkeinSmart uses US terminology throughout.

US: sc

UK: dc

Single / double crochet

US: hdc

UK: htr

Half double / half treble

US: dc

UK: tr

Double / treble crochet

US: tr

UK: dtr

Treble / double treble

That's the toolkit. Open a crochet pattern and start making.