US-UK Crochet Term Conversion Chart

Have you ever turned away a pattern you wanted to make because it was written in UK terms instead of US terms, or vice versa? I know I have. And it’s SUCH A BUMMER. With this US-UK Crochet Term Conversion Chart, all your stitch term woes are solved.

What’s the deal with the different logic, anyway?

The stitches are the same. The VERBIAGE is the same. The names have simply been assigned differently. I had to know WHAT THE HECK WAS UP WITH THAT because I’m all up in the details of everything. So let’s just nerd-out for a second…

The US stitch terminology is based on how many yarn-overs are required to make the stitch. The UK stitch terminology is based on how many loops are on your hook. Let’s look at the double crochet (dc) as an example. The US double crochet uses TWO yarn overs, the UK double crochet has TWO loops on the hook before pulling up the first loop. Following the logic, the US treble crochet uses THREE yarn overs, the UK treble crochet has THREE loops on the hook before pulling up the first loop.

No one’s right, no one’s wrong. So let’s just agree to disagree and move on.

“That’s great, Lindsey” you say, “but what if the pattern doesn’t specify what terms it’s written in, HUH?” This is especially true for all the fantastic vintage patterns out there and with the magical internet giving us access to patterns from across the pond. Here are two ways that you can put your detective hat on and try to figure it out yourself:

Check to see if the pattern uses a single crochet (sc) stitch at all. UK terms DO NOT use single crochet. So, if it’s there, you know it’s written in US terms.
Check the pattern for the usage of the terms “gauge”, “tension”, “skip”, and “miss”. US terms use “gauge” and “skip” whereas UK terms use “tension” and “miss”.

I’ve included those two tips on the quick reference card as well… so you’ll not only have the actual term conversions, but some extra help if you’re getting stuck trying to figure out how a pattern is written.

Click on the image below to download the US-UK Crochet Term Conversion Chart quick reference card from our Resource Library so you can have this handy forever. You’ll never again have to turn away the pattern you’re dying to make!