What does rep mean in crochet?

Repeat. “rep from *” means go back to the asterisk and work that section again; “rep around” means keep repeating it until you reach the end of the round. Some patterns write the same instruction with brackets and a number — “(sc, inc) 6 times” — which is the newer style for the same thing.

What does rnd mean in crochet?

Round: one trip around a piece worked in the round, as opposed to a row, which is one trip across a piece worked flat and turned. Amigurumi is rounds, and usually a continuous spiral rather than rounds joined at the end.

What is a ch-sp in crochet?

A chain space — the gap underneath a chain made in the round before. When a pattern says to work into the ch-sp, the stitches go into that hole rather than into the chain stitches themselves, which is what makes lacy fabrics open.

What does tog mean in crochet?

Together: work the named stitches as a single stitch, which decreases the count by one each time. sc2tog is two single crochet worked together; sc3tog is three, decreasing by two. On amigurumi, an ordinary sc2tog leaves a small hole, which is why the invisible decrease exists.

What is the difference between BLO and FLO?

Which loop of the stitch you work into. Back loop only leaves the front loop free, which makes a visible horizontal ridge — it is how a sole meets a side, or a brim meets a hat. Front loop only leaves the back loop free and is how surface ruffles and standing flaps are made.

Are crochet abbreviations the same in US and UK patterns?

The non-stitch ones are — rep, rnd, ch-sp, tog and the rest mean the same in both. The stitch abbreviations are not, and the mismatch is the offset kind: a UK double crochet is a US single crochet. That is the one difference worth checking before you start.

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Crochet abbreviations

Every abbreviation chart lists the stitches. The words that actually stop people are the other ones — rep, rnd, ch-sp, tog — the vocabulary a pattern assumes you already have. Those first, then the stitches.

A crochet hook lying diagonally with a few stitches on it, a loose strand of yarn curving away from the tip to a small ball of yarn. — Most abbreviation charts list the stitches. The words that actually stop people — rep, rnd, ch-sp, tog — are the ones a pattern assumes you already have.

What the line is

rnd	round	One trip around a piece worked in the round. Amigurumi is rounds.
R / row	row	One trip across a piece worked flat and turned at each end.
rep	repeat	Do the marked section again. “rep from *” means go back to the asterisk; “rep around” means keep going to the end of the round.
patt	pattern	The established sequence, as in “continue in patt”.
cont	continue	Carry on doing what you were doing.
foll	following	The next one, as in “foll row”.

Where the hook goes

st / sts	stitch / stitches	The stitches of the round before, which are what you work into.
sp	space	A gap between stitches rather than a stitch itself. You work into the hole.
ch-sp	chain space	The gap under a chain from the round before. “2 dc in ch-sp” means both stitches go into that hole, not into the chain.
BLO	back loop only	Work into the back loop of the stitch, leaving the front one free. Leaves a visible ridge.
FLO	front loop only	The mirror image: into the front loop, leaving the back free. How surface ruffles and standing flaps are made.
ea	each	Into every one of them, as in “sc in ea st around”.
beg	beginning	The start of the round or row, usually where the marker sits.
rem	remaining	Whatever is left, as in “sc in rem 6 sts”.

The top of a stitch is two loops. Held as you work, the LOWER one here is the front loop (nearer you) and the upper one is the back. The hook goes under one and leaves the other free, which is what makes the visible ridge.

Counting and repeats

tog	together	Work the named stitches as one, which decreases. “sc2tog” is two single crochet worked together; “sc3tog” is three.
inc	increase	Two stitches into one base stitch. The piece grows by one.
dec	decrease	Two stitches worked as one. On amigurumi this nearly always means the invisible decrease.
( ) or [ ]	a group	Everything inside is one unit, usually followed by how many times to work it — “(sc, inc) 6 times”.
* … *	a repeat marker	The same idea in older notation: “rep from * around” means go back to the asterisk and keep going.

Yarn and colour

MC	main colour	The colour most of the piece is worked in.
CC	contrast colour	The other one. A pattern with several says CC1, CC2 and so on.
yo	yarn over	Wrap the yarn over the hook. A step inside a stitch rather than a stitch itself.
FO	fasten off	Cut the yarn and pull it through the last loop to secure it.

Sides and direction

RS / WS	right side / wrong side	Which face of the fabric is the outside. A piece worked in a spiral has no wrong side to turn to — the right side is simply outward.
turn	turn the work	Flip it over to work back the other way. Rows turn; rounds do not.
tch	turning chain	The chain at the start of a row that brings the yarn up to the height of the stitch. Whether it counts as a stitch is something the pattern has to tell you.

The Xtog family

sc2tog, dc2tog, sc3tog — the number is how many stitches are worked together, and the decrease is always one less than that. So sc2tog turns two stitches into one and loses one; sc3tog turns three into one and loses two.

On amigurumi, a plain sc2tog leaves a small gap where the two stitch tops meet, and stuffing finds it. That is why almost every amigurumi pattern that says dec means the invisible decrease rather than this one, whether or not it says so.

The stitches

In US terms, which is what most written amigurumi patterns use. The UK names are offset by one and that is worth its own page — a UK “double crochet” is a US single crochet.

ch	Chain st
sl st	Slip stitch
sc	Single crochet
hdc	Half double crochet
dc	Double crochet
tr	Treble crochet
dtr	Double treble
inc	Increase
inc3	Triple increase
dec	Decrease
dec3	Triple decrease
sk	Skip
bo	Bobble
bo-4dc	Bobble (4 dc)
bo-3dc	Small bobble (3 dc)
bo-2dc	Tiny bobble (2 dc)
puff	Puff stitch
pc	Popcorn
shell	Shell
sl st	Join
FO	Fasten off

Convert a pattern between US and UK — or see the same list with the UK and Hungarian names, which is the version the stitch library uses.

Questions

What does rep mean in crochet?: Repeat. “rep from *” means go back to the asterisk and work that section again; “rep around” means keep repeating it until you reach the end of the round. Some patterns write the same instruction with brackets and a number — “(sc, inc) 6 times” — which is the newer style for the same thing.
What does rnd mean in crochet?: Round: one trip around a piece worked in the round, as opposed to a row, which is one trip across a piece worked flat and turned. Amigurumi is rounds, and usually a continuous spiral rather than rounds joined at the end.
What is a ch-sp in crochet?: A chain space — the gap underneath a chain made in the round before. When a pattern says to work into the ch-sp, the stitches go into that hole rather than into the chain stitches themselves, which is what makes lacy fabrics open.
What does tog mean in crochet?: Together: work the named stitches as a single stitch, which decreases the count by one each time. sc2tog is two single crochet worked together; sc3tog is three, decreasing by two. On amigurumi, an ordinary sc2tog leaves a small hole, which is why the invisible decrease exists.
What is the difference between BLO and FLO?: Which loop of the stitch you work into. Back loop only leaves the front loop free, which makes a visible horizontal ridge — it is how a sole meets a side, or a brim meets a hat. Front loop only leaves the back loop free and is how surface ruffles and standing flaps are made.
Are crochet abbreviations the same in US and UK patterns?: The non-stitch ones are — rep, rnd, ch-sp, tog and the rest mean the same in both. The stitch abbreviations are not, and the mismatch is the offset kind: a UK double crochet is a US single crochet. That is the one difference worth checking before you start.

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