Crochet Techniques

A pattern says ch 1 on one row and ch 3 on the next, with no explanation. The number is not arbitrary: the turning chain replaces the height of the stitch you are about to work.

When your pattern says dec, it usually means the invisible decrease, not sc2tog. Here is the difference, why it matters, and how to work it.

The number in parentheses at the end of a round is not an instruction. Here is what every bracket, parenthesis, and asterisk in a crochet pattern is telling you to do.

A US single crochet and a UK double crochet are the same stitch. Here is the full conversion table, plus how to tell which system a pattern is written in before you start.

Crochet is two skills: making stitches and reading patterns. Here is the full path, starting with a free browser based pattern trainer and continuing through nine video lessons from magic ring to finished plushie.