Crochet reference
How to read crochet charts
A crochet chart, or diagram, draws every stitch as a symbol in the place you make it. Once you know a dozen symbols and which way to read, a chart shows at a glance what a paragraph of written pattern takes a while to say. Here is how, with real charts and the written pattern beside them.
- Learn the symbolsHeight and bars tell you the stitch.
- Find the startThe center of a round chart, the bottom of a row chart.
- Read the right wayRight-handed, rounds go counterclockwise; left-handed, clockwise. Rows turn back and forth.
- Check the feetWhere a symbol's foot lands is where the stitch goes.
Symbols
Crochet chart symbols
Taller symbols are taller stitches, and each bar across a post is one yarn over. Tops that meet are worked together; feet that meet are worked into the same place. These are the symbols most charts use, as Krowshea draws them, following the Craft Yarn Council standard.
| Symbol | US name | UK name | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| chain (ch) | ch | An oval. Chains make the foundation, the turning chains and the spaces between groups. | |
| slip stitch (sl st) | ss | A small filled dot. It joins a round or moves the hook along without adding height. | |
| single crochet (sc) | dc | A plus sign (some charts use an x). The shortest stitch. | |
| half double crochet (hdc) | htr | A T with no bar across the post. | |
| double crochet (dc) | tr | A T with one bar across the post. Each bar is one yarn over before you insert the hook. | |
| treble crochet (tr) | dtr | A T with two bars: two yarn overs. | |
| sc2tog | dc2tog | Two single crochet whose tops meet: work them together, one stitch fewer. | |
| dc2tog | tr2tog | Two dc that share one top. Tops joined means worked together. | |
| 3-hdc puff | 3-htr puff | An oval of loops: draw up loops in one stitch and close them together. | |
| 3-dc cluster | 3-tr cluster | Three dc worked into one place and closed together at the top. | |
| 5-dc popcorn | 5-tr popcorn | Five dc in one stitch, folded closed so they pop forward. | |
| front post dc (FPdc) | front post tr (FPtr), also RtrF | A dc with a hook at its foot: work around the post of the stitch below, from the front. | |
| ch-3 picot | ch-3 picot | A small ring of chains closed with a slip stitch. | |
| worked in back loop only | back loop only | A small arc at the base of a stitch: put the hook through the back loop only. |
A chart looks the same in US and UK terms; only the names in the key change. See US vs UK crochet terms.
Rounds
Reading a round chart
- magic ring
- chain (ch)
- start of each round (its first stitch or chain)
- slip stitch (sl st)
- double crochet (dc)
- Start in the center. The ring in the middle is the magic ring. Round 1 is the symbols around it.
- Find the green chains. Each round begins with its green chains, here a ch 3 that counts as a dc, with the round's number beside them.
- Go counterclockwise. Right-handed crocheters read each round counterclockwise, from the green chains around to the left.
- Go clockwise. Left-handed crocheters read each round clockwise, from the green chains around to the right.
- Follow the colors. Rounds alternate dark and blue so you can tell where one ends and the next begins.
- Watch for slip stitches. The dots before rounds 2 and 3 are slip stitches that carry the hook across to the corner space before the round begins. The last dot of each round is the slip stitch that joins it to the top of its ch 3.
The same rounds, written out
A corner is (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the same space. The first corner of rounds 2 and 3 shows only 2 dc before its ch 2, because the ch 3 stands in for the first dc.
- 1
Make a magic ring, ch 3 (counts as a dc), 2 dc in ring, ch 2, [3 dc in ring, ch 2] 3 times, pull the ring tight, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3.
12 dc, 4 sps - 2
Sl st in next 2 sts, sl st in next sp, ch 3 (counts as a dc), (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, [ch 1, corner in corner sp] 3 times, ch 1, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3.
24 dc, 8 sps - 3
Sl st in next 2 sts, sl st in next sp, ch 3 (counts as a dc), (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, *[ch 1, 3 dc in next sp] to next corner, ch 1, corner in corner sp; rep from * 2 more times, [ch 1, 3 dc in next sp] to next corner, ch 1, join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch-3. Fasten off.
36 dc, 12 sps
Rows
Reading a row chart
- chain (ch)
- single crochet (sc)
- double crochet (dc)
- Start at the bottom. The row of ovals is the foundation chain, row 1. The pattern says ch 18: the chart draws 17 in the row and the last one at the start of row 2, leaning up as its turning chain.
- The number marks the start. Each row's number sits at the end where the row begins, beside its turning chain.
- Turn back and forth. Row 2 starts on the right and reads to the left. You turn, and row 3 reads from left to right. Every row reverses.
- Turn back and forth. Left-handed, row 2 starts on the left and reads to the right. You turn, and row 3 reads from right to left. Every row reverses.
- Count the repeats. A chart often shows a few repeats. The written pattern says how many times to work them across.
The same rows, written out
- 1
Ch 18, turn.
18 ch - 2
Starting in the 2nd ch from the hook, sc in each ch across, turn.
17 sc - 3
Ch 3 (counts as a dc), sk next st, [3 dc in next st, ch 1, sk next 3 sts] 3 times, 3 dc in next st, sk next st, dc in next st, turn.
14 dc, 3 sps - 4
Ch 3 (counts as a dc), dc in same st, *ch 1, 3 dc in next sp; rep from * across, ch 1, 2 dc in the top of the beginning ch-3, turn.
13 dc, 4 sps - 5
Ch 3 (counts as a dc), 3 dc in next sp, *ch 1, 3 dc in next sp; rep from * across, dc in the top of the beginning ch-3.
14 dc, 3 sps
Where stitches go
Into a stitch, a space or around a post
On top of a stitch
A foot that lands on the top of a symbol below goes into that stitch, under both loops unless the chart marks a loop.
Over a chain space
Feet that land on or around a chain go into the space under it, not into a chain. Granny groups work this way.
Around a post
A hook at the foot means work around the post of the stitch below, from the front or the back as the symbol shows.
One loop only
A small arc at the base of a stitch means front or back loop only. The key says which.
Left-handed
Reading charts left-handed
Left-handed crocheters work in the opposite direction, so read round charts clockwise and start rows at the other end. The stitches and counts stay the same. A mirrored chart shows the work the way it comes off a left-handed hook: switch the charts above to Left-handed to see both examples mirrored.
In the Krowshea Studio, switch Hand to Left and the chart, Color view and 3D Yarn mirror the way your work comes out.
Practice on real charts
Crochet circleLucky Star MotifPinwheel MotifSnowflake Doily MotifAll vintage patterns
More crochet guides
Krowshea is in beta
Charts that draw themselves
Every chart on this page was drawn by Krowshea from the pattern itself. In the Krowshea Studio, members will be able to:
- Build a pattern round by round and watch its chart draw
- Point at a stitch on the chart to see what it is, and click it to find its line
- Step through the chart one stitch at a time
- Print the chart, its key and every round