Converting UK & Australian to US Crochet Terms
By Caissa "Cami" McClinton – 3 CommentsDid you know that while crochet is found all over the world, the names and abbreviations we use for the crochet patterns are different, even in other English-speaking countries? It can be very confusing to come across a great crochet pattern, look it over, and realize that the stitches in the pattern do not appear to match the picture! Luckily, it’s pretty easy to read a foreign crochet pattern in English, and I’ve even created a downloadable chart for you to keep on hand in case you need it.
I should mention here that our Australian Crochet Spotters must be doing these “translations” all the time!
If you are used to US crochet terms, in order to read a UK/Australian crochet pattern, you need to mentally “subtract one” yarn over for each stitch except the chain. In other words, if a UK/Australian crochet pattern tells you to double crochet, you actually do a US single crochet. Click here or on the picture above to download the US to UK/Australian Crochet Conversion Chart.
The benefit to becoming familiar with these terms comes with the world of new crochet patterns that will open to you. One of my favorite designers is Sarah London, and she has a great deal of quality crochet patterns that are free and also for sale on her website. She has even written a book called Granny Square Love that has a number of charming patterns in it.
So what about you, my friends? Have you ever been tripped up by the use of different terms in crochet patterns? How do you deal with “translating” crochet patterns? Please leave your thoughts, ideas and questions in the comment section below.
Thank you for this conversion chart, as a newcomer to crochet, I realised there was something wrong with my first piece when it looked double the size if the original pattern! Of course, I was crocheting as an Aussie and it was an American Pattern. Love your blog, please keep up the good work.
This is exactly why I decided to do this conversion. I am so happy that you have found it useful. I can understand how frustrating it could be to have your pattern work out to be a lot bigger than you had planned. Thank you for reading, Denise!
I am from the UK, and always advise people to look for a single crochet, (sc) as if there is one, the pattern uses US terms!
It’s good to be able to use both country’s terms, as you have a huge amount of extra patterns to use!
The only thing I wish I could master, is the Japanese charts. They always seem to be more complex than the charts I am used to. It’s a shame, as there are some gorgeous Japanese patterns!