What is a single crochet and when is a double crochet, not a double crochet? Confused?
Depending on where your crochet pattern was published, the crochet terms used will either be US or UK terms. Unfortunately these two “crochet languages” use the same terms for different stitches. For example, a double crochet in the US version is a treble in the UK version. Likewise, a US treble is a UK double treble.
Comparison Table of US vs. UK Crochet Terms
|
US
|
UK
|
|
chain(ch)
|
chain(ch)
|
|
single crochet(sc)
|
double crochet(dc)
|
|
half double crochet(hdc)
|
half treble(htr)
|
|
double crochet
|
treble(tr)
|
|
triple crochet
|
double treble (dtr)
|
|
slip stitch (sl st/ ss)
|
slip st(sl st/ ss)
|
So before you start your project you will need to determine which version the designer used to write his or her pattern.
One way to check is to see if the pattern uses the term “single crochet” as this term only occurs in the US version. If it is used, then your pattern was written using US terms. If it does not, your pattern is probably written using UK terms. But not necessarily…
It could be that the pattern is written using US terms but does not use single crochet stitches in the design. To be sure, it would be prudent to check any images of the finished article on the cover (or within the pattern text) to see if you can confirm that single crochet (US) / double crochet (UK) stitches have been used.
