Free tool · no sign-up · works offline once loaded

US to UK crochet terms converter & abbreviations

Paste a crochet pattern and translate it between US and UK terms in one click, with a full side-by-side chart and a searchable list of crochet abbreviations.

Pattern to convert

Converted

US and UK crochet terms chart

US	US name	UK	UK name
ch	chain	ch	chain
sl st	slip stitch	sl st / ss	slip stitch
sc	single crochet	dc	double crochet
hdc	half double crochet	htr	half treble crochet
dc	double crochet	tr	treble crochet
tr	treble (triple) crochet	dtr	double treble crochet
dtr	double treble crochet	trtr / ttr	triple treble crochet
trtr	triple treble crochet	qtr	quadruple treble crochet
sc2tog	single crochet 2 together	dc2tog	double crochet 2 together
dc2tog	double crochet 2 together	tr2tog	treble 2 together
FPdc / BPdc	front / back post double crochet	FPtr / BPtr	front / back post treble
sk	skip	miss	miss
yo	yarn over	yrh / yoh	yarn round hook / yarn over hook
—	gauge	—	tension
MR	magic ring	MR	magic loop / magic circle

Read across: a US single crochet is worked exactly like a UK double crochet. Only the name changes.

Crochet abbreviations

Search abbreviations

45 shown

Abbreviation	Meaning	Note
alt	alternate
approx	approximately
beg	beginning
BL / BLO	back loop / back loop only
bet	between
BP	back post	Add the stitch: BPdc (US), BPtr (UK)
ch	chain
ch-	refers to a chain made earlier, e.g. ch-3 space
ch-sp	chain space
CL	cluster
cont	continue
dc	double crochet	US: a tall stitch. UK: the same as US sc
dec	decrease
dtr	double treble	US and UK mean different stitches
ea	each
esc / edc	extended single / double crochet
FL / FLO	front loop / front loop only
foll	following	Common in UK patterns
FP	front post	Add the stitch: FPdc (US), FPtr (UK)
fsc / fdc	foundation single / double crochet
hdc	half double crochet	US only
htr	half treble	UK only
inc	increase	Usually 2 stitches in the same stitch
lp(s)	loop(s)
MR	magic ring
pc	popcorn
pm	place marker
prev	previous
rem	remaining
rep	repeat
rnd(s)	round(s)
RS	right side
sc	single crochet	US only
sk	skip	UK: miss
sl st / ss	slip stitch
sp(s)	space(s)
st(s)	stitch(es)
t-ch / tch	turning chain
tog	together	e.g. sc2tog, tr3tog
tr	treble	US and UK mean different stitches
Tss / Tks / Tps	Tunisian simple / knit / purl stitch
V-st	V-stitch	Defined in each pattern
WS	wrong side
yo / yoh / yrh	yarn over / yarn over hook / yarn round hook
* or [ ]	repeat the instructions between the marks

The one-step shift

Once you see the pattern, US and UK terms are easy to switch in your head: apart from the chain and slip stitch, every UK stitch name is one step taller than the US name for the same stitch. US single becomes UK double, US double becomes UK treble, US treble becomes UK double treble, and so on.

The tricky part is that dc, tr and dtr appear in both systems with different meanings. A find-and-replace in a word processor gets this wrong, because once dc has become tr, the next replacement turns it into dtr. This converter reads the pattern once and swaps each term to its partner in a single pass, so every stitch moves exactly one step.

Other differences to watch for

UK patterns say miss where US patterns say skip, tension for gauge and yarn round hook for yarn over. Hook sizes also differ: US patterns use letters, UK patterns use millimetres. The crochet hook size converter translates those, and yarn weights such as worsted and aran are matched in the yarn weight chart.

How to use it

Paste a crochet pattern, or just a few rows, into the left box.
Leave the direction on Auto to let the tool detect US or UK terms, or choose US → UK or UK → US yourself.
Copy the converted pattern from the right box. Every stitch name and abbreviation is swapped in one pass, so nothing is converted twice.
Check the result against the pattern’s own stitch key. Look up any unfamiliar abbreviation in the list below.

Questions

Is a UK double crochet the same as a US double crochet?

No. A UK double crochet (dc) is a US single crochet (sc). The US double crochet is called a treble (tr) in the UK. Every basic stitch shifts one name up in UK terms, apart from the chain and slip stitch.

How can I tell if a pattern uses US or UK terms?

Look for single crochet (sc): it only exists in US terms. Half treble (htr) only exists in UK terms. Many patterns also say which terms they use near the materials list or stitch key. Patterns from the US and Canada are usually US; patterns from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand are usually UK.

Why are US and UK crochet terms different?

The two systems count loops differently. UK names count the loops on the hook after the first yarn over, so a stitch with two loops on the hook is a double. US names count the yarn overs differently, so the same stitch is a single.

Does the converter change other words?

Yes: skip becomes miss, gauge becomes tension, yarn over becomes yarn round hook, and magic ring becomes magic loop, plus the reverse. Front post and back post stitches and decreases such as sc2tog are converted too.

Is my pattern sent anywhere?

No. The conversion runs in your browser and the text is never uploaded.