The terms that change
US and UK patterns use the same stitches under different names, shifted by one step. A US single crochet is a UK double crochet; a US double crochet is a UK treble. Chains, slip stitches and stitch counts stay the same. The converter swaps whole words and common abbreviations in one pass, so a stitch is never converted twice.
| US term | UK term |
|---|---|
| single crochet (sc) | double crochet (dc) |
| half double crochet (hdc) | half treble crochet (htr) |
| double crochet (dc) | treble crochet (tr) |
| treble crochet (tr) | double treble crochet (dtr) |
| double treble crochet (dtr) | triple treble crochet (trtr) |
| skip | miss |
| gauge | tension |
| yarn over (yo) | yarn round hook (yrh) |
| chain (ch), slip stitch (sl st) | the same |
How to tell which terms a pattern uses
Look for single crochet. It only exists in US terms, so a pattern that mentions sc is American. A UK pattern starts with double crochet as its shortest stitch. Many designers state the terms near the materials list, and some UK designers give both, with the US term in brackets.
Check these by hand
Some words have other meanings: “tr” in a US pattern is a treble, but a sentence that uses “skip” as an ordinary word will still become “miss”. Stitch names inside brand or pattern titles change too. Read the highlighted words once before you start, and keep the original pattern for its stitch counts and diagrams.
Related: US and UK hook sizes · UK yarn weights explained