Once upon a time, I learned to crochet. And later, I learned that I could crochet beautiful things–if I could read a pattern. But at that time, I didn’t know how to read a pattern, or where I could learn to read a pattern. I had a book someone gave me of crochet patterns, but everything was condensed and looked like a lot of funny short hand with numbers, and whether or not there were diagrams to help, I can’t recall but that book wasn’t helpful for a beginner.
I grew, and left crochet by the wayside because I could only crochet squares and rectangles and well, there are only so many blankets and scarves one can make.
I grew up entirely, and one day stumbled across a book for beginners about learning to crochet visually. And I learned to read patterns, and learned there was a huge online community of crocheters and designers.
I know that every day someone picks up a crochet hook and wants to learn to crochet. And the 2020s are an entirely different era for crocheters than the days when I first learned to crochet in the 1990s–thanks to the World Wide Web.
But beginners still struggle. And one thing many beginners struggle with is reading patterns. Some people don’t even learn to read patterns, but prefer to watch a video tutorial and follow along as they crochet. Now, video tutorials are a powerful teaching tool, but learning to read a pattern is really important in my opinion. I won’t get into that now, as it’s a topic unto itself, but instead, I can offer you beginners a really easy way to never forget what stitch is which, or how to make it.
I’m giving you a cheat sheet. You can use this a book mark, keep it clipped to your printed pattern, have it tucked into your project bag and use it as a quick reference. You won’t always need this cheat sheet–over time, learning to read patterns will become second nature, but while you are learning, it’s going to help you out a lot to have a quick tool at your fingertips.
Did You Know?
The stitches included on this cheat sheet are the names of stitches in US terms. They are:
- the chain stitch
- the single crochet stitch
- the half double crochet stitch
- the double crochet stitch
- the treble crochet stitch
These are the five basic stitches used in crochet, and although they are known by other names in UK terms, they are the same stitches crocheters all over the world use.
What’s really important to note is that these are the stitches that you use to create ALL crochet stitches. If you want to crochet the linen stitch, or lovely shell stitches, you need to master these stitches and then learn how to combine them to create a shell stitch or other stitches. Mastering these five stitches is essential in crochet.
So how do you grab this cheat sheet? There’s an easy peasy button!
I hope you keep on crocheting and that this little cheat sheet helps you on the path of learning to read patterns.
How will you use this cheat sheet? Let me know in the comments below!
