How to Read Crochet Patterns: Identify What Stitches Go where
The biggest challenge for those who are learning how to read crochet patterns is identifying what stitches go where. The problem occurs because the information is all mixed together.
In this article, I'm going to talk about a little pattern snippet that looks like this:
Crochet Pattern Example
By the way, this pattern started with a Chain 209! That's a real challenge to count - a hint is to put a stitch marker of some form every 20 chains, so that you don't have to go all the way back to the beginning to count.
If you want to try this little piece of pattern, chain a multiple of 6 stitches plus 5 more. For example, 23 or 29 or 35 stitches would be sufficient for a trial.
The above bit of pattern is identified as a Foundation Row, which tells you a couple of things: first, the project is worked in Rows, not Rounds; and second, this is the row that gets worked into the beginning chain.
The WHAT in the pattern
This version of the pattern highlights the type of stitch. Ignore the rest for now.
Crochet Pattern with the WHAT highlighted
Notice that once you just focus on what stitches are going to be used in this row, a very simple pattern emerges: you will just be alternating DC and CH 1.
The WHERE in the pattern
This version of the pattern highlights where a particular stitch is to be worked. Like before, ignore the rest for now.
Crochet Pattern with the WHERE highlighted
This is not quite as simple as the WHAT example. In this WHERE example, there's something special at the very beginning: "in the 5th ch from hook". There's also something special at the very end: "in last ch". But in the middle, it just keeps repeating the sequence of "Miss next 2 ch" and something "in next ch". So every third chain, something is worked into it.
Combining the WHAT and the WHERE
So now you know that you are working something into every third chain, after that initial something into the 5th chain from the hook. And you know that you are alternating Double Crochet stitches and Chain 1's.
DO NOT BE TEMPTED to simply assume that you should put a DC into every third chain, and work a Chain 1 between DC's. These are just the basic building blocks for this pattern.
Let us now look at this pattern a bit closer.
First, let's break it out by isolating the beginning, the repeat, and the ending, as described in the article on identifying repeats in a crochet pattern.
Crochet Pattern with Repeats Isolated
In this picture, the individual components are aligned in a manner that is a bit easier to understand than the way it was shown originally.
Also in this picture, a special section of the pattern is highlighted.
Let's talk about this pattern in more detail.
The beginning is pretty straightforward: work a Double Crochet in the 5th chain from the hook and then Chain 1 stitch. This is starting that little sequence of "DC. Ch 1." Note that it tells you where to work the DC (into the 5th chain from the hook). Note also that it doesn't say anything about where to do the "Ch 1" - that's because a Ch 1 is not worked into any stitch.
The repeat is identified by an asterisk or star(*). Working the repeat starts off fairly easily: work a Double Crochet into the 3rd chain from wherever you worked the previous stitch (or, as the pattern says, miss the next 2 chains, and work a Double Crochet into the next one). Then do another "Ch 1". Again, that little WHAT sequence of "DC. Ch 1.". And the WHERE sequence of "Miss next 2 chains, and something into the next chain."
Now it gets more interesting.
It start with another "Miss next 2 ch". Then there's the highlighted section: (1 dc. Ch 1) 3 times in next ch. This means that the next chain is going to have a total of THREE DC's in it. Do it like this: work 1 double crochet into the next chain, chain 1, work 1 double crochet into the SAME chain, chain 1 again, work 1 double crochet into the SAME chain, and finally chain 1.
This maintains that little WHAT sequence of "DC. Ch 1.". And the WHERE sequence of "Miss next 2 chains, and something into the next chain.". The big difference is that a BUNCH of stuff goes into the next chain.
The pattern tells you that the sequence of "(1 dc. Ch 1) 3 times in next ch" is called a SHELL. Throughout the rest of the pattern, you will see the word "shell" a lot - when you see it, just do this sequence again.
Now go back to the asterisk (*), and do everything between the * and the word "Rep" over and over again, until there are only 6 chains left.
The ending starts off just like the repeated section. The only difference is what goes into that last stitch - it is actually just a part of a shell: "(1 dc. Ch 1. 1 dc) in last ch.". There are only TWO double crochets in that last chain, and there is no final "Ch 1".
By the way, the two double crochets in the last chain end up mirroring the stitches in the beginning section, where it said to work a double crochet in the 5th chain from the hook. Normally, double crochets are worked into the 4th chain from the hook, which matches the fact that a "Ch 3" at the beginning of a row is usually considered to be a double crochet. Since the pattern writer is asking for an extra chain, you can interpret the beginning as being equivalent to a "DC. Ch 1. DC." into the same chain. At least, that's what it will look like.
Photo of the project from the Example Crochet Pattern
Okay, it's finally time to reveal what this bit of pattern will look like. Here it is:
Crochet Pattern Example crocheted
Does it look like what you expected after reading about this pattern?
Conclusion
Once you have the skill of analyzing the WHAT and the WHERE in a crochet pattern, you will probably find that it's not quite so difficult.
