Reading crochet charts: symbols, rows, rounds, and repeats

Read the symbols

Start with the key below. This lesson uses US crochet abbreviations; UK names are given alongside them. A pattern’s own key always takes priority.

1. Oval: chain (ch). Yarn over and pull through the loop already on the hook.
2. Filled dot: slip stitch (sl st; UK ss). Insert the hook, catch the yarn and draw it through the insertion point and the loop on the hook.
3. Cross or plus: single crochet (sc; UK dc). Insert and draw up a loop. Yarn over and draw through both loops.
4. T: half double crochet (hdc; UK htr). Yarn over, insert and draw up a loop; yarn over and draw through all three loops.
5. T with one slash: double crochet (dc; UK tr). Yarn over, insert and draw up a loop; draw yarn through two loops twice.
6. T with two slashes: treble crochet (tr; UK dtr). Yarn over twice, insert and draw up a loop; draw yarn through two loops three times.

Where to insert the hook

Follow the base of each symbol to the stitch or chain space below it. Several symbols meeting at one base mean several stitches in that same place. Symbols joined at their tops indicate stitches finished together; follow the key for the exact cluster or decrease.

Read two flat rows

1. Make 7 chains. The loop on the hook is not a chain. Work 1 sc into the second chain from the hook, then 1 sc in each remaining chain: 6 stitches.
2. Chain 1 and turn. In this example the turning chain does not count. Work 1 sc in each of the six stitch tops, under both loops. Mark the first and last stitch.
3. Read the numbered arrows from the bottom upward. This right-handed example alternates right-to-left and left-to-right. The middle four stitches are 2 repeats of 2, between one edge stitch at each side.

Read outward in rounds

A small joined-round example starts with 4 chains joined into a ring with a slip stitch. Chain 1; work 6 sc into the ring and join to the first sc. Next round: 2 sc in each stitch = 12. Next: repeat [1 sc, 2 sc in the next stitch] six times = 18. Begin each round with 1 chain and join to its first sc; neither chain nor join counts here. Mark the first actual stitch. A spiral has no joining slip stitch unless the pattern requests one.

Check your result

Count the six V-shaped tops after each flat row. A seventh often means the turning chain was counted; five may mean an edge was missed. For rounds, check 6 → 12 → 18. These are practice counts, not a universal circle formula. Follow arrows and the stated chain-counting rule when using another chart, including left-handed charts.

Sources

• www.craftyarncouncil.com: crochet chart symbols
• www.craftyarncouncil.com: crochet abbreviations
• www.craftyarncouncil.com: instructions_cr.php3

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