Crochet Stitch Dictionary: Look Up Any Stitch, Chart Symbol or Abbreviation

The Reference tab is a crochet stitch dictionary in your pocket. Every stitch has its chart symbol, its abbreviation and how to work it step by step. Photos and videos are being added stitch by stitch, starting with the ones you'll use most. It's also where you look up an abbreviation a pattern throws at you, or learn how to read a crochet chart.

Open the Reference tab

Tap Reference. On a phone the tabs run across the top. On a computer they're down the left side.

Search for a stitch

1. Search. Type a stitch name like "bobble", an abbreviation like "hdc", a yarn weight like "worsted", or a hook size like "5.5".
2. The filters narrow the page to Stitches, Yarn, Hook Sizes or Skill Levels. All shows everything that matches.

The results update as you type.

Under the stitches there's a reminder about US and UK names, which is where a lot of crochet mix-ups start (more on that below).

Browse all the stitches

Tap Stitches to see the whole dictionary.

1. With photos shows each stitch as a card, with a photo of its fabric where there is one yet. List is the compact view. The app remembers which you like.
2. What the shorthand means — every abbreviation → opens a searchable list of every crochet abbreviation, like "tbl" and "sk".
3. Reading chart diagrams — how a chart says what words say → explains crochet charts (see below).
4. Crochet terms — WIPs, frogging, and other words crocheters use → is a dictionary of the words crocheters use online.
5. Sort the list A–Z, by type or by level, and narrow it to one type, like clusters or decorative stitches.

Look at a stitch's page

Tap any stitch to open its page.

At the top is the stitch's chart symbol, and a photo of the fabric it makes when the stitch has one. Tap the photo to see it bigger. Under that is How to work it, the stitch step by step, and a video when there is one.

Further down you'll find the facts that matter when you're following or writing a pattern:

• Turning chain. How many chains to start a row with, and whether they count as a stitch.
• Flat circle. How many stitches to add each round to keep a circle lying flat.
• Yarn use. Roughly how much yarn the stitch takes compared with a single crochet.
• Chart height and Stitch count. How tall the stitch is drawn on a chart, and how many stitches it works into and makes.

Tip: Home has a Today's stitch card. Tap it for a quick look at a new stitch each day.

Read a crochet chart

A crochet chart draws the fabric: each symbol is a stitch, sitting where it goes. Open Reading chart diagrams from the Stitches tab for the basics.

The short version:

• An oval is a chain, an X is a single crochet, and a T with bars is a taller stitch. The more bars, the taller the stitch.
• Rows read from the bottom up, and turn back and forth the way you work them.
• Rounds start in the middle and go counter-clockwise, one ring per round. Left-handed mode mirrors the charts for you (see crochet app settings).
• A symbol sitting on top of another is worked into it. Several fanning out of one point are all worked into one stitch.

Every stitch's page shows its chart symbol at the top, so you can match any symbol you don't know. The website also has a printable crochet stitch symbols chart.

Look up a crochet abbreviation

Open What the shorthand means from the Stitches tab and search, for example "tbl" or "together".

There's also a crochet abbreviations list on our website you can print.

Learn the words crocheters use

Crochet terms explains the words you'll see in groups and videos, like WIP (a work in progress), FO (a finished object) and frogging (pulling out your stitches).

US and UK crochet terms

US and UK patterns use the same words for different stitches. A US single crochet is a UK double crochet, and a US double crochet is a UK treble. So "dc" in an American pattern and "dc" in a British one are two different stitches, and the wrong system quietly makes the wrong fabric.

Each stitch's page has a Watch out — UK patterns note giving its UK name.

To see UK names first everywhere in the Reference, go to Profile and choose UK terms. See crochet app settings. Search works with either set of names. Our website has a full US and UK crochet terms chart too.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Reference free? Yes. The stitch dictionary, the chart symbols and the hook and yarn charts are open to everyone.

How do I tell if a pattern is US or UK? Look for single crochet (sc). UK patterns have no single crochet, because the UK calls that stitch a double crochet. If a pattern uses "sc", it's written in US terms.

Where are the hook size and yarn weight charts? In the same tab, under Hook Sizes and Yarn. See crochet hook and yarn charts.