Reference
How a crochet pattern is written
A pattern is shorthand plus punctuation. The shorthand is the abbreviations; the punctuation is brackets, asterisks and the little number at the end of the line. Once both are familiar, most patterns stop being cryptic — this page is the punctuation half, written to be checked while you have a hook in your hand.
The symbols, and what they ask for
Designers vary slightly, so a pattern's own notes always win — but these conventions are close to universal.
| Symbol | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ( )Parentheses | A group of stitches worked into the same place, or a sequence to repeat. A number after them says how many times. | (sc, inc) x 6Work one single crochet, then an increase, and repeat that pair six times. |
| [ ]Brackets | Usually the larger grouping when parentheses are already in use, so repeats can nest without ambiguity. | [(sc, inc) x 3, sc] x 2Work the inner pair three times, then one single crochet — and do that whole sequence twice. |
| * *Asterisks | Mark the start, and sometimes the end, of a repeat that runs to the end of the row or round. | *sc in next 2 sts, inc; rep from * aroundRepeat everything after the asterisk until the round ends. |
| ( ) at line endStitch count | How many stitches you should have when the row or round is finished. The most useful number in any pattern. | Rnd 3: (sc, inc) x 6 (18)At the end of round 3 you should be able to count eighteen stitches. |
| x n / n timesRepeat count | How many times to work the group immediately before it. | inc x 6Six increases, one after another — twelve stitches made. |
Rows and rounds are written differently
A row is worked flat: you reach the end, turn the work, and come back the other way. A round is worked in a circle. Rounds come in two kinds, and patterns do not always say which they mean — though the instructions give it away.
A joined round ends with a slip stitch into the first stitch, usually followed by a turning chain. A spiral has no join at all: you simply keep going, and the beginning of each round drifts around the piece. Spirals are standard for amigurumi because they leave no seam — and they are the reason patterns tell you to place a stitch marker, since nothing else shows where the round started.
Stitch counts are your error check
The number in brackets at the end of a line is the single most useful thing in a pattern.
Count at the end of every round, not at the end of the piece. If a round should give you 24 stitches and you count 23, the mistake is in that round and costs a minute to fix. Discovering it six rounds later costs an evening.
In amigurumi the count also tells you the shape: increases make the number grow, plain rounds hold it steady, decreases shrink it. A sphere is usually a run of increasing rounds, some straight rounds, then the mirror image decreasing. When a piece is not looking spherical, the counts usually show why.
Turning chains
When you turn at the end of a row, you need height to reach the top of the next stitch, so patterns add chains: roughly one for single crochet, two for half double, three for double crochet.
The critical question is whether the turning chain counts as a stitch. If it does, you skip the first stitch of the row and work into the top of the turning chain at the end. If it does not, you work into the very first stitch and ignore the chain. Getting this wrong adds or loses one stitch per row, which is exactly what makes edges slant. Patterns state their convention near the start — it is worth finding before row one.
Gauge, and when to care
Gauge is a measured square: a pattern might say 14 stitches and 16 rows to 10 cm in single crochet. It exists so that your finished piece comes out the size the designer intended, and it depends on your yarn, your hook and your personal tension.
It matters enormously for anything worn or fitted, and much less for toys, blankets and bags — where being 10% larger is simply a larger object. If gauge matters, work the swatch in the stitch the pattern names, measure it flat, and change hook size until it matches. A larger hook gives fewer stitches per square; a smaller hook gives more.
Charts and symbol diagrams
Some patterns include a chart: a picture of the fabric where each stitch is drawn as a symbol — a cross or T for single crochet, a T with a bar for double crochet, an oval for a chain. Charts are read in the direction the work is made: outward from the centre for rounds, and alternating left-to-right and right-to-left for rows.
Charts are most useful for motifs and lace, where the shape of the pattern is hard to hold in your head from words alone. They are a supplement, not a replacement — most patterns that include a chart also write the rounds out.
For the abbreviations themselves, see the abbreviation dictionary.