Crochet 101 – The Lingo

If you’ve ever looked at a crochet pattern, you’ve probably seen the jumble of seemingly random letters that somehow instruct you on what to do.  There are some terms and stitches that are commonly abbreviated to help streamline a pattern, keeping it easy to read.  Here is a list of the most commonly used abbreviations (tutorials will be coming soon!):

Stitches:

• bpdc – back post double crochet
• dc – double crochet
• dtr – double treble/triple crochet
• fpdc – front post double crochet
• fpsc – front post single crochet
• hdc – half double crochet
• inc – increase
• rsc – reverse single crochet
• sc – single crochet
• sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
• sc3tog – single crochet 3 together
• sl st – slip stitch
• tc – treble/triple crochet

Looking over this list can be a bit overwhelming!  However, (as you can probably see from most of the titles) these stitches are all just variants of 3 basic stitches: single, double or treble/triple crochet.

Here are a list of terms that are commonly used in patterns, along with an example of how they might be used or an explaination.

Terms:

• approx – approximately (“sc until length reaches approx 3 inches“)
• beg – begining (“beg of previous row“)
• bet – between (“sc bet markers”)
• CC – contrasting color (“switch to cc“)
• cont – continue/continuing (“cont to end of row“)
• est – established (“cont in est pattern“)
• foll – follow (“foll est pattern“)
• pat – pattern (“foll est pat”)
• pm – place marker (“sc, pm, sc“)
• rem – remaining (sc rem stitches)
• rep – repeat (rep row 1)
• rnd – round (rnd 1: sc around)
• RS – right side (this refers to the side that will be facing out or visible)
• tbl – through back loop (“sc in tbl only“)
• tfl – through front loop (“sc in tfl only“)
• tog – together (sc 2 tog)
• WS – wrong side ( refers to the side that will be hidden)

This is part 3 of the series “Crochet 101″.  You can catch up with these:

The Tools: A tutorial on crochet hooks and yarn

How to Make a Slipknot (a video tutorial)

How to Make a Chain (a video tutorial)