UK Crochet Terms to US
Crochet Terminology
Don’t ask why but for some reason, in the English language, we have two different versions of crochet terminology. We have UK crochet terms and US crochet terms.
They are both slightly different and slightly the same. Some stitches are used in both the US and the UK and some only exist in the UK and some only in the US. Confusing?
Yes, it can get a bit confusing so I thought I would put together an easy conversion chart that you can keep coming back to for reference.
How Do We Know Which Terms Our Pattern is Using?
Most crochet pattern designers will say which crochet terminology they use before you buy the pattern. If you have already bought a pattern and you’re not sure which terms they are using then there should be a clue either in the filename or in the actual pattern itself. All of my own crochet patterns mention it in the filename as there is the option of two different downloadable PDFs for each pattern, one for UK terms and one for US terms.
If you’re still not sure, keep an eye out for mentions of Single Crochet or the Half Double Crochet; this is confirmation that it is a pattern written in US terms as they do not exist in UK crochet terminology.
Same But Different
As mentioned above, there are some crochet terms that exist in both the US and the UK. They have the same name but refer to a different stitch. These are the double crochet, the treble and the double treble. So make sure you check the table below to be sure you are using the correct stitch in your patterns.
| UK Terms | US Terms |
|---|---|
| Slip Stitch (ss) | Slip Stitch (sl st) |
| Double Crochet (dc) | Single Crochet (sc) |
| Half Treble (htr) | Half Double Crochet (hdc) |
| Treble (tr) | Double Crochet (dc) |
| Double Treble (dtr) | Treble (tr) |
| Triple Treble (trtr) | Double Treble (dtr) |
Similarities
There are some similarities though. We both call a slip stitch, a slip stitch :) and a chain, a chain, so that’s easy to remember. We also use the same words for fasten off, yarn over, and skip. I have included the slip stitch in the conversion table because sometimes the abbreviation is different.
I hope this helps clear things up a little. If you have questions about any of the stitches let me know in the comments or get in touch and I will be happy to help.
If you’re new to crochet, head to my How to Crochet Step by Step for tutorials on the all of the basics of crochet.
