US vs. UK Terminology
Mary Beth TempleDescription
When beginning a new crochet project, it’s important to understand the difference between US and UK crochet terminology to be sure you’re working the correct stitches for your pattern. US crochet terminology is largely used in crochet patterns in North America, but for the rest of the world, UK crochet terminology is commonly used. In this video, Mary Beth Temple discusses the difference between these two terminologies you might find when reading crochet patterns.
The first stitch that Mary Beth reviews is the chain stitch. This stitch is the same in both US and UK crochet terminology. It is typically abbreviated “ch.” Another stitch that is the same in both terminologies is the slip stitch, although the abbreviations are usually different. For US terminology, slip stitch is usually abbreviated as “sl st.” For UK terminology, it’s abbreviated as “ss.”
Mary Beth then looks at the stitches that have different names.
US single crochet (sc) is UK double crochet (dc)
US half double crochet (hdc) is UK half treble crochet (htc)
US double crochet (dc) is UK treble crochet (tr)
US treble crochet (tr) is UK double treble (dtr)
Another term that is different between the two terminologies is gauge and tension. In US terminology, this is referred to as gauge, and in UK terminology this is referred to as tension. Both terms mean the exact same thing and refer to the number of stitches and rows measured within a specified unit of measure (usually 4-inches/10cm).
Once you have a grasp of the two different crochet terminologies, you’ll be able to work from any crochet pattern in the world!
Hi guys, Mary Beth Temple here. Sometimes you are browsing a pattern, and you discover that it is written in UK terms. Which is what we call the crochet terms that people use that are not in North America. So you'll see US terms, which is what we use, and UK terms, which is what pretty much everybody else uses. Now in knitting it's not such a big difference and you can pretty much punt. But in crochet literally the stitches have different names. So, let's take a look at the terminology so that if you find a UK pattern you wanna do, you'll know how to translate. The first two I wanna talk about are the same in US and UK terminology, and that is chain. Abbreviated CH. Now the slip stitch is the same in US and in UK terms. However the abbreviation is different. We in the US usually abbreviate it as SL ST, for slip stitch. UK patterns often have it abbreviated as SS for slip stitch. And now here's where it gets confusing. From here on out the North American or US terms are very different from the UK terms. Literally the stitches are not called the same thing. So what we call a single crochet here in the US, the UK refers to as a double. What we refer to in the US as a half double crochet, is referred to in the UK as a half treble. What we call a double they call a treble. And what we call a treble they call a double treble. So, when you're using a UK pattern if you're a US stitcher, you have to either go through and physically change the stitches so you know what stitch you're doing, or, what I would not do is go back and forth between a US and a UK pattern 'cause you're not gonna remember what anything's called. The only other slight difference that I point out is what we call gauge, they call tension. But it's the same thing. It's the number of stitches and rows per four inches or 10 centimeters. So while it seems silly that you have to translate something from English to English, our friends across the pond do use different terminology. But now if you find a pattern that you like, you can go ahead and translate it for your own use. I'm Mary Beth Temple, thanks so much for joining us. Bye bye.
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