US and UK stitch names
The same stitch carries two names, and the two systems sit one step apart. Both plain names and compounds are here.
| United States | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| ch | ch |
| sl st | sl st (ss) |
| sc | dc |
| hdc | htr |
| dc | tr |
| tr | dtr |
| dtr | trtr |
| ttr | qtr |
| yo | yoh |
| sk | miss |
| gauge | tension |
| worsted weight | aran weight |
| single crochet decrease | double crochet decrease |
| sc2tog | dc2tog |
| sc3tog | dc3tog |
| hdc2tog | htr2tog |
| hdc3tog | htr3tog |
| dc2tog | tr2tog |
| dc3tog | tr3tog |
| tr2tog | dtr2tog |
| fpsc | fpdc |
| bpsc | bpdc |
| fphdc | fphtr |
| bphdc | bphtr |
| fpdc | fptr |
| bpdc | bptr |
Why the two systems bite
They are offset by one step. What an American calls a double crochet is what a Briton calls a treble, and so on the whole way up. Work a British pattern as though it were American and every stitch comes out one wrap short, which shows up as a fabric full of holes rather than as an obvious mistake on round one.
Telling which one you are holding
Look for sc. It exists only in the American set, so a pattern that uses it is American. Look for htr: it exists only in the British set. A pattern with neither is usually American, but check the stitch counts against a round you have worked before you trust that.
The compound rows in the bottom half of this table matter more than the plain ones. Converting the stitch names and leaving dc2tog alone is how a conversion goes wrong quietly, several rounds after the mistake was made.
Each pattern here keeps the terms its own author typed, and nothing is rewritten from one system into the other. Every pattern page states which set it is in.