Once in awhile a student will have difficulty with a pattern that doesn’t seem to make sense – that is until you check the country of publication. The US and the UK use different terms for the same stitch. For example, US single crochet, is a UK double crochet.
There are other clues: A UK publication will use the term treble crochet and double treble crochet. A US publication will use the terms double crochet and triple crochet. I have attached a translation cheat sheet if you should need to convert a pattern.
Why this inconvenient language barrier between American English and British English crochet exists isn’t very clear. It also stirs some internal turmoil.
You see although I was born on American soil, my DNA is British Isles through and through. Generations ago, I had family that came into the U.S. from Canada, and others from England and Ireland. Historically it appears that crochet came from the England and Ireland regions.
On one hand, I would argue the UK established crochet terms before the Americans established their own code so it would only be proper to go back the original language for the sake of unity and correctness. On the other hand, I learned to crochet from American books and patterns and have always used their terms.
Fortunately there’s no need for a duel over crochet language. If you run across a pattern that just doesn’t make sense, check the publication country. If that’s the issue then simply use the chart – and a pen – to translate the pattern.
