How to Read a Crochet Chart: Symbols, Direction, and Where to Start

You find a beautiful pattern, open it, and there are no words at all. Just a diagram of circles, crosses, and little T shapes radiating out from a centre point.

That is a crochet chart, and it is a genuinely different literacy from reading written notation. The good news is that it is a small alphabet, and it is the same alphabet worldwide.

Why charts exist

A chart shows you the shape of the fabric, not just the sequence of stitches. You can see at a glance where the piece widens, where a motif sits, and how the rounds relate to each other. Written notation cannot do that.

Charts are also language independent. A Japanese designer and a Brazilian crocheter can use the same diagram with no translation, which is a large part of why Japanese amigurumi and doily patterns travelled so widely. If you have ever bought a Japanese pattern book, the charts are the reason you could use it.

The core symbols

These cover the overwhelming majority of charts you will meet:

The logic is consistent and worth internalising: the more marks on the stem, the taller the stitch. A plain cross is the shortest working stitch, and each added slash is one more yarn over. Once you see that, you can often read a symbol you have never met before.

Increases, decreases, and joins

These are shown by geometry rather than by a new symbol.

An increase is two stitch symbols whose bases meet at a single point, forming a V. Two stitches, one base, because both go into the same stitch below.

A decrease is the mirror image: two stitch symbols whose tops join into one, forming an inverted V. Two stitches worked together into one.

Working into a specific loop is shown by the foot of the symbol. A small hook or bend at the base indicates front loop only or back loop only, and the chart legend will confirm which.

Which way do you read it?

This is where most people stall, and the answer depends on what you are making.

Rounds are read from the centre outwards. Find the small ring at the middle, which is your magic ring or starting chain, and spiral outward. For right-handed crocheters the direction is counterclockwise; left-handed crocheters work clockwise, which is one of the rare places a chart quietly assumes handedness.

Rows are read from the bottom up, alternating direction. Odd-numbered rows read right to left, even-numbered rows read left to right, mirroring the way the work turns in your hands. Charts usually number the rows along the edge so you can see where each one starts.

Reading a chart and written notation together

Many patterns give you both, and the best practice is to use both rather than pick one.

Read the written notation for the exact sequence, then glance at the chart to confirm the shape is doing what you expect. If your piece is cupping when the chart is flat, you have found a problem several rounds earlier than you otherwise would.

A caution about amigurumi charts

Charts are excellent for flat and openwork pieces such as doilies, granny squares, and motifs. They are less common for three-dimensional amigurumi, because a stuffed sphere does not lie flat on a page, and a spiral has no clean round boundary to draw.

That is why most amigurumi, including every Yon Crochet pattern, uses written notation. If you are learning specifically to make stuffed characters, written notation is the higher priority skill by a wide margin.

Where to build that skill

Our free Pattern Trainer teaches written crochet notation from the ground up, starting with a single round and working through to a complete multi-piece pattern. No purchase and no account required.

For the written side of the same alphabet, see our beginner cheat sheet for reading crochet patterns and the guide to brackets, parentheses, and asterisks.