All crochet patterns follow a general format or layout, but designers can sometimes write differently from others. Here’s a quick guide to reading and understanding the free amigurumi patterns I design and post on my website!

Hi everyone!

Crochet patterns usually follow a general format. Title, tools, abbreviations, gauge, and subsections for the pieces you need to crochet. No matter where you look, everyone writes their crochet patterns slightly differently whether you follow the UK or US terms.

As a crochet designer, I realize that not everyone will be able to easily understand my patterns. Although I try and make it as simple as possible, here is a quick guide to get you started!

Reading Crochet Patterns

When following along with my free video game crochet patterns and more, I follow this format every time:

• Title

• Yarn & Tools needed

• Abbreviations used in the pattern

• Gauge of pattern

• Pattern

• Subsecttionss of the pattern (Body, Head, etc)

Title:

This is what I call my finished crochet pattern.

Yarn & Tools Used:

From the brand of yarn I used to design a pattern down to everything I used to create the finished product, this is the section where you’ll find everything you need to recreate a crochet pattern.

Abbreviations:

If abbreviations weren’t used when writing crochet patterns, things would get a little wordy and difficult to read. Instead of writing “single crochet twice into this stitch” a designer will write “sc twice into this st”. Keep in mind there a various ways that could be written as well and some designers use more abbreviations and symbols than others when designing their crochet patterns.

Gauge of Pattern:

Gauge is a measure of the size of your stitches, encompassing both the width and height. It consists of two components: stitches and rows, indicating the dimensions of your stitching. Dive deeper into the world of crochet gauge with this helpful blog by Craftsy!

The Pattern:

Finally, you get to the meat and potatoes: the crochet pattern. This is where you’ll find the written instructions to recreate what the designer did to make the finished product.

Pattern Subsections:

To make a crochet pattern easier to follow, a designer will split it up into sections. This is especially true for amigurumi patterns. For example, amigurumi patterns are split up into sections on how to crochet the head, arms, legs, etc.

I hope this helps you follow along with my crochet patterns as well as those from other designers! I have a variety of free amigurumi patterns available from beginner to expert to get you started.

If you'd like to learn how to write crochet patterns following this format, grab my "Learn How to Write Crochet Patterns" template.

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