US vs UK Crochet Terms: The Full Conversion

Why do US and UK crochet terms differ?

Both traditions count something different. US names count the pull-throughs, so the shortest working stitch is a single. UK names count the loops involved, so that same stitch reads as a double.

Neither is wrong, and neither is going away. The result is one of the most common reasons a crochet project comes out with the wrong texture: the maker worked a pattern with the right words and the wrong stitches.

Knitting does not have this problem. Knit, purl, and their decreases mean the same thing everywhere, so this is a crochet-only trap.

What is the full US to UK conversion?

Read this list as a translation, not a difference in technique. Every line describes the same physical stitch under two names.

The pattern is easy to remember once you see it: every US name moves up one step in the UK list. The only US name with no UK partner at the top is the slip stitch, which keeps its own name, and the only stitch that never changes is the chain.

1. US chain (ch) is a UK chain (ch). Same name, same stitch.
2. US slip stitch (sl st) is a UK slip stitch, often written ss.
3. US single crochet (sc) is a UK double crochet (dc). This is the one that catches everybody.
4. US half double crochet (hdc) is a UK half treble crochet (htr).
5. US double crochet (dc) is a UK treble crochet (tr).
6. US treble crochet (tr) is a UK double treble (dtr).
7. US double treble (dtr) is a UK triple treble (trtr).
8. US single crochet two together (sc2tog) is a UK dc2tog. The action is identical.
9. US gauge is UK tension. Same measurement, different word.

How do you tell which terms a pattern uses?

Most patterns say so outright, usually near the top by the materials list or above the abbreviations key. Look for a line reading US terms or UK terms before anything else.

When a pattern does not say, read the abbreviation list instead. It gives the answer immediately.

1. If the list includes sc, it is US. UK patterns have no single crochet at all.
2. If the shortest stitch in the list is dc, it is UK.
3. If you see htr, it is UK. If you see hdc, it is US.
4. Spelling is a clue but not proof: colour, gramme, and tension lean UK, while color, yard, and gauge lean US.
5. Yarn weights hint too. Aran and 4 ply are UK conventions; worsted and sport are US ones.

What happens if you use the wrong terms?

The piece still works up, which is what makes this so easy to miss. It just comes out with the wrong height, the wrong drape, and often the wrong size.

Read a UK pattern as if it were US and every stitch gets taller than intended, so the fabric grows loose and open and the finished piece runs large. Read a US pattern as UK and the reverse happens: dense, stiff, and small.

The tell is usually the first few rows. If a pattern promised a soft drapey fabric and yours feels like a potholder, stop and check the terms before you rip anything else out.

Can you convert a pattern as you go?

Yes, and for a short pattern it is genuinely quick. Write the conversion at the top of your copy, then translate each abbreviation the first time you meet it. After a few rows you stop needing the note.

Watch two things while you convert. Turning chains change with stitch height, so a UK treble needs the same turning chain as a US double crochet, not the taller one. And stitch counts never change, because the number of stitches in a row is the same in either language.

If you would rather not translate at all, some apps let you set a project to US or UK terms once and then read every abbreviation in the set you chose, which removes the conversion step from the middle of a row.