<p>There are about nine or ten main stitches that are the most commonly used and, of them, four or five are probably used the most.</p>
<h3>Most common US stitch abbreviations:</h3>
<ul>
<li>ch - chain</li>
<li>bpsc (or bpdc, bptc) - back post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)</li>
<li>dc - double crochet</li>
<li>dtr - double treble crochet</li>
<li>hdc - half double crochet</li>
<li>fpsc (or fpdc, fptc) - front post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)</li>
<li>sc - single crochet</li>
<li>sl st or ss - slip stitch</li>
<li>tc - treble crochet</li>
<li>trtc - triple treble crochet</li>
</ul>
<h3>Most common UK stitch abbreviations:</h3>
<ul>
<li>ch - chain</li>
<li>dc - double crochet</li>
<li>dtr - double treble crochet</li>
<li>htr - half treble crochet</li>
<li>rtrb - raised treble back</li>
<li>rtrf - raised treble front</li>
<li>ss - slip stitch</li>
<li>tr - treble crochet</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other standard, non-stitch related abbreviations:</h3>
<p>These may be used on their own or in conjunction with the abbreviations above.</p>
<ul>
<li>bp - back post</li>
<li>dec - decrease</li>
<li>fp - front post</li>
<li>inc - increase</li>
<li>rep - repeat</li>
<li>rnd(s) - round(s)</li>
<li>RS - right side</li>
<li>st - stitch</li>
<li>tog - together</li>
<li>WS - wrong side</li>
<li>yo/yoh - yarn over/yarn over hook</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, many patterns use an asterisk (*) to mark a repeated section of work.</p>
<p>There are other terms that some sites may define like pc (popcorn) or cl (cluster) but these should be defined in your pattern because what each pattern considers a popcorn stitch or cluster will vary greatly. They are non-standard, so look for a section in the instructsion that breaks up these terms into their smaller parts for you.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T22:21:05.337Z
2016-05-03T22:21:05.337Z
2020-06-18T08:35:49.040Z
Catija
<p>I almost never see patterns sold with yarn or those online using the long forms of stitch and technique names.</p>

<p>Yes, most proper beginner tutorials almost always have a legend for this sort of thing but not always. The intermediate to advanced ones I would think expect you have learned this by now. </p>

<p>What are the common stitch and actions abbreviations that are found in patterns and what are the long forms of them? Are there any distinctions when it comes to US/UK?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:00:41.043Z
This is a real question that people will have. I keep a small  series of documents on my phone for this.  If I just have a question about 1 abbreviation then that makes for a terrible question. Would you prefer I put up one pattern and someone translates that for me? That still is not useful to others I think. Can you think of a better example that would have the same useful yeild?
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:02:08.547Z
@CamilStaps Not if your goal is to create a FAQ that will help people without having to have every single question ever asked.
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:03:38.573Z
How is this too broad exactly. There is a finite number of stitches I would think for this.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:03:52.587Z
@CamilStaps Other than the fact that I've self answered my similar questions, what makes this different? Are you going to VTC them as well?
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:08:21.070Z
I don't think it's bad to have FAQ type questions, but it helps to have a specific question so we can help you solve it, I think the issue here is there are a wide variety of stitch and action abbreviations, and if we were looking at a specific one or a specific pattern we would be able to narrow it down. I don't even think this is a bad question necessarily, but I do think it's too broad.
neongreenfruit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:10:57.317Z
@neongreenfruit Are you saying that "hdc" in a US pattern doesn't always mean "half double crochet"? The question specifically asks for "common" abbreviations. Yes, some patterns have specialty stitches with their own abbreviations but these are nearly always defined as part of the pattern explanation, so they would not apply here.
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:15:47.423Z
I guess what I'm saying is, what do you mean by common, and if there is a short list of common (when I say common I mean universal/standardized) list of abbreviations then by all means that's a good thing to have. What I'm not totally sure of is if there is a list of common abbreviations. Does everyone use a standardized set of abbreviations?
neongreenfruit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:16:04.703Z
If people would prefer I can add a list of these commons stitches and actions here then. Yes this list is standard would be hard to crochet if it wasn't.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:24:18.550Z
Ok, then this is an important question, I wasn't trying to be a pain, I just want to make sure I'm helping to get quality questions out there. If we can get the standard abbreviations in here then any questions or non standard abbreviations that aren't explained in the pattern can be asked separately.
neongreenfruit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:25:10.440Z
@neongreenfruit yes. There are only about 9 stitches regularly used in crochet. These stitches can be combined into complex stitches with their own names but these are generally explained in the pattern instructions using the base 9 terms.
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:26:36.643Z
Ok that's perfect, I just didn't want this question to turn into a listing of more than the basics!
neongreenfruit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T20:49:54.967Z
These types of common questions are what can bring people into the site. True I could have waited for someone else to ask this but what does that change? This is a question I had when I started to crochet and needed to look it up frequently. Just because I know what I doing now does not invalidate the question now.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-03T21:22:13.513Z
@CamilStaps This isn't a "fake question"... The colors of cross stitch floss may be finite but it's in the thousands... this is 9 stitches.
Catija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-04T23:15:13.727Z
I strongly suggest taking debate about the validity, merit, or value of general "FAQ" questions (and this one in particular) to [meta]. Valuable discussion shouldn't be buried thirteen comments deep on a single Question! :)
Erica
<crocheting>
What are the common abbreviations in crochet patterns and more importantly what do they mean?
Matt
# What are the common abbreviations in crochet patterns and more importantly what do they mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-03)

I almost never see patterns sold with yarn or those online using the long forms of stitch and technique names.

Yes, most proper beginner tutorials almost always have a legend for this sort of thing but not always. The intermediate to advanced ones I would think expect you have learned this by now.

What are the common stitch and actions abbreviations that are found in patterns and what are the long forms of them? Are there any distinctions when it comes to US/UK?

**Tags:** crocheting

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: This is a real question that people will have. I keep a small  series of documents on my phone for this.  If I just have a question about 1 abbreviation then that makes for a terrible question. Would you prefer I put up one pattern and someone translates that for me? That still is not useful to others I think. Can you think of a better example that would have the same useful yeild?  
> **username_1**: @CamilStaps Not if your goal is to create a FAQ that will help people without having to have every single question ever asked.  
> **username_0**: How is this too broad exactly. There is a finite number of stitches I would think for this.  
> **username_1**: @CamilStaps Other than the fact that I've self answered my similar questions, what makes this different? Are you going to VTC them as well?  
> **username_2**: I don't think it's bad to have FAQ type questions, but it helps to have a specific question so we can help you solve it, I think the issue here is there are a wide variety of stitch and action abbreviations, and if we were looking at a specific one or a specific pattern we would be able to narrow it down. I don't even think this is a bad question necessarily, but I do think it's too broad.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Are you saying that "hdc" in a US pattern doesn't always mean "half double crochet"? The question specifically asks for "common" abbreviations. Yes, some patterns have specialty stitches with their own abbreviations but these are nearly always defined as part of the pattern explanation, so they would not apply here.  
> **username_2**: I guess what I'm saying is, what do you mean by common, and if there is a short list of common (when I say common I mean universal/standardized) list of abbreviations then by all means that's a good thing to have. What I'm not totally sure of is if there is a list of common abbreviations. Does everyone use a standardized set of abbreviations?  
> **username_0**: If people would prefer I can add a list of these commons stitches and actions here then. Yes this list is standard would be hard to crochet if it wasn't.  
> **username_2**: Ok, then this is an important question, I wasn't trying to be a pain, I just want to make sure I'm helping to get quality questions out there. If we can get the standard abbreviations in here then any questions or non standard abbreviations that aren't explained in the pattern can be asked separately.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 yes. There are only about 9 stitches regularly used in crochet. These stitches can be combined into complex stitches with their own names but these are generally explained in the pattern instructions using the base 9 terms.  
> **username_2**: Ok that's perfect, I just didn't want this question to turn into a listing of more than the basics!  
> **username_0**: These types of common questions are what can bring people into the site. True I could have waited for someone else to ask this but what does that change? This is a question I had when I started to crochet and needed to look it up frequently. Just because I know what I doing now does not invalidate the question now.  
> **username_1**: @CamilStaps This isn't a "fake question"... The colors of cross stitch floss may be finite but it's in the thousands... this is 9 stitches.  
> **username_3**: I strongly suggest taking debate about the validity, merit, or value of general "FAQ" questions (and this one in particular) to [meta]. Valuable discussion shouldn't be buried thirteen comments deep on a single Question! :)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-05-03. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

There are about nine or ten main stitches that are the most commonly used and, of them, four or five are probably used the most.

### Most common US stitch abbreviations:

* ch - chain
* bpsc (or bpdc, bptc) - back post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
* dc - double crochet
* dtr - double treble crochet
* hdc - half double crochet
* fpsc (or fpdc, fptc) - front post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
* sc - single crochet
* sl st or ss - slip stitch
* tc - treble crochet
* trtc - triple treble crochet

### Most common UK stitch abbreviations:

* ch - chain
* dc - double crochet
* dtr - double treble crochet
* htr - half treble crochet
* rtrb - raised treble back
* rtrf - raised treble front
* ss - slip stitch
* tr - treble crochet

### Other standard, non-stitch related abbreviations:

These may be used on their own or in conjunction with the abbreviations above.

* bp - back post
* dec - decrease
* fp - front post
* inc - increase
* rep - repeat
* rnd(s) - round(s)
* RS - right side
* st - stitch
* tog - together
* WS - wrong side
* yo/yoh - yarn over/yarn over hook

Also, many patterns use an asterisk (\*) to mark a repeated section of work.

There are other terms that some sites may define like pc (popcorn) or cl (cluster) but these should be defined in your pattern because what each pattern considers a popcorn stitch or cluster will vary greatly. They are non-standard, so look for a section in the instructsion that breaks up these terms into their smaller parts for you.


---

