Terminology

Here is a master list of all the crochet abbreviations and terminology found in my patterns (and beyond). Bear in mind, this list consists of only US terminology; the UK and other countries' patterns use slightly different terms.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

B

bl - back loop. Refers to the leg of the "V" on top of a crochet stitch that faces away from you.

blhdc - back loop half-double crochet. Place a half-double crochet stitch in the back loop of a previous stitch.

blo - back loop only. Crochet into only the back loop of a previous stitch or stitches.

blsc - back loop single crochet. Place a single crochet stitch in the back loop of a previous stitch.

bpdc - back post double crochet. Double crochet stitch anchored around the back of the body/post of the stitch below instead of through the top.

C

ch - chain. Yarn over, pull through single loop on hook.

D

dc2tog - double crochet two together. Combining two double crochets into one stitch, resulting in a stitch count decrease of one. Yarn over, put hook through stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through stitch, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook. Yarn over, put hook through next stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through stitch, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through all 3 loops on hook. Also abbreviated as "dec".

dec - decrease. A stitch with two bases and one top, thereby decreasing the stitch count for the row by one. Also abbreviated as "(stitch type)2tog" (ex. "dc2tog","sc2tog", etc).

E

F

fpdc - front post double crochet. Double crochet stitch anchored around the front of the body/post of the stitch below instead of through the top.

fsc - foundation single crochet. It can be hard to learn by text description only, so it's recommended to find a good video and/or picture tutorial to learn how.

G

H

hdc - half-double crochet. Yarn over, put hook through stitch. Yarn over, pull loop through stitch. Yarn over, pull through all 3 loops on hook.

hdc2tog - half-double crochet two together. Combining two half-double crochets into one stitch, resulting in a stitch count decrease of one. Yarn over, put hook through stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through stitch. Yarn over, put hook through next stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through stitch, yarn over, pull yarn through all loops on hook. Also abbreviated as "dec".

hdc spike - half-double crochet anchored 2 rows down. Yarn over, put hook through stitch two rows down. Yarn over, pull loop through stitch. Yarn over, pull through all 3 loops on hook.

I

inc - increase; two stitches together. Type of stitch used is usually specified in the pattern (ex. dc, sc, etc).

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

plarn - plastic yarn, handmade from grocery or other plastic bags by cutting them into strips, knotting them together into one long strand, and using them to crochet or knit. See my plarn tutorial for details on how to make it.

Q

R

rep - repeat. Repeat previous steps, usually enclosed by parentheses or asterisks (*).

RS - Right side. Generally refers to the outside, main side, or visible side on the finished work.

S

sc - single crochet. Put hook through stitch, yarn over and pull loop though stitch. Yarn over and pull through both loops on hook.

sc2tog - two single crochets in a single stitch. Also abbreviated as "inc".

sk - skip. Skip the specified number of stitches.

sl st - slip stitch. Put hook through stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch and loop on hook.

standing sc - Make a slipknot on hook, place hook through existing stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over, and pull through both loops on hook.

st, sts - stitch, stitches.

T

U

V

W

WS - Wrong side. Generally refers to the inside, backside, or hidden side of the finished work. It is also the side where ends are woven in and seams are made.

X

Y

Z