The US uses a different set of terms than the UK when it comes to patterns. Actually, this isn’t entirely true – if it was, then things would be easier – rather, they use some of the same terms, but for different stitches.
How do you tell the difference?
Well, hopefully the pattern designer puts either “UK terms” or “US terms” on their pattern. This isn’t always the case, but there are a couple of giveaways
- the pattern uses “sc” – this is a single crochet, and that doesn’t exist in UK terms (we call it a double crochet)
- the starting chain of a round/row – for example, a starting chain of 3 (ch3) usually means that the following stitches are made of three loops, ie a treble crochet (this is marked dc on an American pattern).
- more experienced crocheters can tell by looking at the photo of the finished project – dc rows/rounds are smaller than treble ones
It really helps if the pattern includes a chart (and you can read those!) as chart symbols are universal. Don’t ask me why – I’ve been crocheting since 1981 and still get confused by all the differentiating terms!
Conversation Chart
Below is a chart converting UK terms to both American and symbols. You can download a PDF copy here.
