How to read a crochet pattern

At first glance, crochet patterns can look like a foreign language. That's because they use a lot of abbreviations to save space, and make it easier to keep track of where you are in the pattern. Over time, you'll begin to appreciate the brevity of crochet patterns and become a pro at reading them. There are really only 2 things you need to know when reading a crochet pattern:

1. What country are the crochet terms from?

Different countries have different words for the same stitches. For example, the British English term double crochet (dc), is actually the same term as the American English term single crochet (sc). As you may imagine, this can get confusing fast. Most patterns begin by defining which country's terminology they use, as well as any abbreviations used. Here are some common abbreviations used in amigurumi written with US terminology:

rnd: round

yo: yarn over

sc: single crochet

inc: increase

dec: decrease

ch: chain

2. How do you read crochet patterns?

Different crochet pattern designers use different formats to convey their instructions. This is also usually defined at the beginning of the pattern. You can expect that there will be repetition of stitches, which is probably the most confusing part to reading a pattern. Some patterns use brackets ((...), [...]) or multiplier indicators (*, x), to convey which stitches you should repeat and for how many times.

Crochet patterns by The Woobles are written in US terminology, and follow this format:

Rnd 3: [sc, inc] x 6(18)

This means that for round 3, repeat the sequence of [1 sc followed by 1 inc] a total of 6 times.

Which also could've been written as:

[sc, inc] [sc, inc] [sc, inc] [sc, inc] [sc, inc] [sc, inc]

Or with a lot more words:

[single crochet stitch in the first stitch, then 2 single crochet stitches in the next stitch] for a total of 6 times

(Are you starting to dig abbreviations yet? 😉)

Since 1 increase stitch = 2 single crochet stitches, 1 increase stitch counts as 2 stitches. 1 single crochet stitch counts as 1 stitch.

Therefore, that's [3 stitches] repeated 6 times, for a final count of 18 stitches.

round total number of stitches in the round
| |
Round 3 [sc, inc] x 6 (18)
| |
type of stitch to do # of times to repeat the stitch

Still have questions?

The number in parentheses at the end of a round indicates the total number of stitches you should have after completing that round. It's a helpful way to check your work and make sure you're on track.
The "x 6" (or any number) tells you how many times to repeat the instructions in the brackets. So [sc, inc] x 6 means you repeat the sequence of 1 single crochet followed by 1 increase, a total of 6 times.
Count each V-shaped stitch on top of your work. Remember that the loop on your hook does not count as a stitch. For increases, count each single crochet within the increase as a separate stitch (so 1 increase = 2 stitches).

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