Crochet terminology

Crochet patterns may look confusing at first but they are easy to read once you get used to them. Abbreviations are used to stop the patterns being too long and complicated. This is a handy guide to the abbreviations typically used in amigurumi crochet patterns.

ch: chain
sc: single crochet
sc2tog: single crochet 2 together
sc3tog: single crochet 3 together
hdc: half double crochet
dc: double crochet
ss: slip stitch
rep: repeat
st(s): stitch(es)
*: work the stitches between *'s and the repeat as directed


American and British patterns use the same stitches, but call them by confusingly similar names. By using this table you can easily convert a pattern from American to British and vice versa.

American abbreviation	British abbreviation
slip stitch (ss)	slip stitch (ss)
single crochet (sc)	double crochet (dc)
half-double crochet (hdc)	half treble (htr)
double crochet (dc)	treble (tr)
treble (tr)	double treble(dtr)
double treble (dtr)	triple treble (trtr)

Always check which terminology is used to avoid any mistakes.