I’ve been obsessed with crochet diagrams and have downloaded hundreds of them (I am not exaggerating). Geometric designs appeal to me and crochet is particularly conducive to this style.
Patterns done in symbols allow me to visually see the completed design and I can read the pattern (and crochet) even when the entire pattern is written in another language. I’m not always sure what the language even is, but symbols allow me to interpret it much like notes in sheet music.
Using just symbols it would be possible to crochet these designs.
There is a common problem my crochet friends encounter even when a pattern is in English. You see, the U.K. side of the world and the U.S. side have different names for the same stitches. Who is right? I have to lean toward the U.K. side, because crochet originated in Europe before coming to the U.S. (as did my ancestors). However, I was born in the US and learned crochet in US terms, so that is what I still use. Whenever there’s confusion on the pattern, look at the country where the pattern is published. But even better is a graph – because the symbols are universal and the same no matter what names they’re given.
To help with the “code” symbols provide, I have a chart.
These are just the basic stitch symbols. There are crochet symbols for almost any stitch combinations you can think of! I love this crochet “language.” What do you think?