If you have ever opened a crochet pattern and felt like you were reading a different language, you are not alone. The first time I tried to follow a written pattern, I stared at a line full of abbreviations like "ch 3, sk 1, dc in next st" and honestly thought it was some kind of secret code. It looked like alphabet soup.
But here is the good news: once you learn what the abbreviations mean, it all clicks into place. Patterns go from confusing walls of text to simple, step-by-step instructions. And the best part is that the same abbreviations show up over and over, so you really only need to learn them once.
This cheat sheet covers every common crochet abbreviation you will run into as a beginner (and plenty that come up in intermediate patterns too). Bookmark this page and come back to it whenever you need a quick refresher. If you are brand new to reading patterns in general, I also recommend checking out my How to Read a Crochet Pattern post as a companion to this one.
Let's decode everything.
Basic Stitch Abbreviations
These are the stitches you will see in almost every pattern. If you only memorize one section of this cheat sheet, make it this one.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ch | Chain |
| sl st | Slip stitch |
| sc | Single crochet |
| hdc | Half double crochet |
| dc | Double crochet |
| tr (or tc) | Treble crochet (also called triple crochet) |
| sk | Skip |
| st(s) | Stitch(es) |
| sp | Space |
The chain is the foundation of almost everything you crochet. Single crochet and double crochet are the two stitches you will use the most, so if you haven't practiced those yet, I would start there before diving into full patterns.
Half double crochet falls right between single and double crochet in height, and treble crochet is the tallest of the basic stitches. You will see "sk" whenever a pattern wants you to skip over a stitch, and "sp" when you are working into a gap or space rather than a stitch itself.
Technique Abbreviations
Once you move beyond the basic stitches, you will start seeing abbreviations for specific techniques. These show up when a pattern needs you to shape your work or create texture.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| yo | Yarn over |
| inc | Increase |
| dec | Decrease |
| sc2tog | Single crochet 2 together (a decrease) |
| dc2tog | Double crochet 2 together (a decrease) |
| fpdc | Front post double crochet |
| bpdc | Back post double crochet |
| BLO | Back loop only |
| FLO | Front loop only |
Yarn over is less of a stitch and more of a movement — you wrap the yarn around your hook, and it is part of how most stitches are formed. You will see "yo" called out when the pattern wants to be very explicit about the steps.
Increases and decreases are how you shape your crochet. An increase means putting two stitches into one stitch to make the fabric wider. A decrease means combining two stitches into one to make it narrower. The abbreviations "sc2tog" and "dc2tog" tell you exactly how to decrease: work two stitches together as one.
Front post and back post stitches are where you insert your hook around the post (the vertical body) of a stitch from the previous row instead of into the top loops. They create beautiful ribbed textures and are used in everything from hat brims to blanket borders.
BLO and FLO tell you to crochet into only one loop at the top of the stitch instead of both. Back loop only creates a ridged texture, and front loop only gives a slightly different look. Both are simple to do once you know where to put your hook.
Pattern Instruction Terms
These abbreviations are not stitches themselves — they are the instructions that tell you how to navigate the pattern. Think of them as the grammar that holds the stitch vocabulary together.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| rep | Repeat |
| RS | Right side (the front of the work) |
| WS | Wrong side (the back of the work) |
| beg | Beginning |
| rem | Remaining |
| prev | Previous |
| tog | Together |
| ea | Each |
| alt | Alternate |
You will see "rep" constantly. Patterns love to give you a sequence and then say "rep across" or "rep 5 more times." RS and WS matter because some stitch patterns look different on each side, so the pattern needs to tell you which side is facing you.
The rest of these are fairly intuitive once you know them. "Beg" pops up at the start of rows, "rem" tells you what to do with leftover stitches, and "tog" usually shows up in decrease instructions (like "sc next 2 sts tog").
Symbols in Patterns
Beyond abbreviations, written crochet patterns use a few symbols to organize instructions. Here is what they mean:
Asterisks ( * ) mark a section you need to repeat. A pattern might say: sc in next 2 sts, sk 1, dc in next st — rep from * across. Everything between the asterisks is the section you keep repeating until you reach the end of the row.
Brackets [ ] work similarly. Sometimes they group a set of instructions that get repeated a specific number of times, like: [sc, ch 1, sc] in next sp. That tells you to work all of those stitches into a single space.
Parentheses ( ) can mean two things depending on the pattern. Sometimes they group stitches just like brackets. Other times, they hold stitch counts at the end of a row, like: (24 sts). That is just the pattern telling you how many stitches you should have when the row is done — a helpful checkpoint to make sure you are on track.
If a pattern uses both brackets and parentheses, it will usually explain its conventions at the top. When in doubt, read the pattern notes before you start.
US vs UK Terminology
This is where things get a little tricky, and it catches a lot of people off guard. The United States and the United Kingdom use the same abbreviation letters for different stitches.
| US Term | UK Term |
|---|---|
| Single crochet (sc) | Double crochet (dc) |
| Half double crochet (hdc) | Half treble crochet (htr) |
| Double crochet (dc) | Treble crochet (tr) |
| Treble crochet (tr) | Double treble crochet (dtr) |
See the problem? A "dc" in a US pattern is a completely different stitch than a "dc" in a UK pattern. If you use the wrong one, your project will come out the wrong size.
Most patterns will state at the top whether they use US or UK terms. Always check for this before you begin. If you are not sure, here is a quick way to figure it out: if the pattern mentions "single crochet," it is almost certainly written in US terms. The UK system does not have a stitch called single crochet — what Americans call single crochet, Brits call double crochet.
For reference, all the abbreviations in this cheat sheet use US terminology, which is the standard for most patterns you will find online.
Save This for Later
That is every crochet abbreviation you are likely to encounter as you work through beginner and intermediate patterns. I know it seems like a lot, but you will be surprised how fast they become second nature. After a few projects, you will read "ch 3, dc in 4th ch from hook" without even thinking about it.
Bookmark this page so you can pull it up whenever you hit an unfamiliar abbreviation. And if you are feeling comfortable with the basic stitches and want to try something with a little more texture, check out my Meadow Stitch Tutorial. It is a gorgeous stitch pattern and a great way to put your new abbreviation knowledge to work.
Happy hooking.