Over the past few days, I have posted two crochet videos on 3Speak. I posted another on my youtube channel. Since then, I've received messages and comments from friends and subscribers telling me that they had forgotten how to crochet. I couldn't blame them for forgetting. This is one Home Economics skill that was taught early during our gradeschool years. And with no follow through, it could be hard to remember the basics.
Originally, I created my youtube channel in hopes of sharing the things I learned in crocheting to my fellow left-handed crocheter. Being a left-handed crocheter in a world full of right-handed crocheters is tough. Whenever I watch a video tutorial, my brain will have to process the video and flip it to the other side so I can copy what the rightie is doing. Sometimes it works out fine. But there are instances that I'll have to take a break first before I could figure it out.
Now, I decided to share the basic crochet stitches in this article. Additionally, I will also show you how to read the symbols and abbreviations used in crochet patterns. I shared a pattern for my Crochet Pencil Case three months ago. In that pattern, I opted not to abbreviate the terms.
Here is an exerpt from my pattern.
Double crochet stitch on the 4th chain from the hook but work on the back bumps. This way, the top view of the row will look exactly the same as the bottom view. DC across the remaining chains. Chain 3 then turn.
If you would happen to find a more advanced crocheter sharing a pattern, it would look something like this:
DC on 4th ch, work on back bumps.
DC accross.
Ch3. Turn
There will be instances where you'll find a pattern composed of symbols. Like the one I used when I made my daughter her Crochet Alphabet Amigurumi last year. The pattern consists of chains and single crochets. In abbreviations, that's CH and SC. But since amigurumis consists of quite a lot of stitches, it is much
easier to show the pattern in symbols instead of enumerated step by step instructions.
Back to Basics
Going into my topic, I'd like to share the basic stitches in crochet, their abbreviations and symbols. As you go along your crocheting journey, you'll search for patterns all over the internet. You'll find step by step instructions, you'll find video tutorials, but you'll also find patterns shown through symbols. Let me show you the basic crochet symbols and abbreviations you'll come accross in the internet.
Chain (ch)
Let us start with the CHAIN. If you would read the simple pattern above, it reads 5 chains. The symbol is self explanatory, it looks like chains linked together. One chain is just one little oval.
Single Crochet (sc)
Single crochet has 2 symbols. It may be an "X" or a "+". Sc's are mostly used in amigurumi's like the one I showed above. Basic purses and pencil cases also mostly uses single crochet stitches. If you'll read the pattern above, it says Row 1 ch (then you will need to count how many ovals there are), then Row 2 single crochet (then count the crosses or x's to determine how much you'll need to make.)
Double Crochet (dc)
Double crochets or dc are a bit taller than single crochets. The symbol used for double crochet looks like an uppercase T. Reading the pattern above, it says row 1 ch(count the ovals) then row 2 dc (count the T's.)
Treble Crochet (tr)
To be honest, I haven't really used treble crochet or tr in any of my projects. My mom used to always use this stitch on her projects back then. She's a big fan of shell stitches, doilies, bed covers and many other big projects. I still haven't made one that uses tr. None that I can remember, that is. Treble crochet uses a symbol that looks like an electric post. It's a letter T with two slanting lines in the middle. If you've come this far, I sure hope you can tell me how to read this pattern for a tr st.
Now that you've read about the symbols and abbreviations of the stitches, you sure are ready for my video of the basic crochet stitches. My next video will be a tutorial on how to crochet these basic stitches.
If you wish to learn more about crocheting, please stay tuned for my next posts.
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