How To Read Crochet Stitch Charts, Part 2: Uncommon Stitches - A free step-by-step crochet tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

Technique Tuesday Crochet Tutorial – Introduction to Crochet Charts, Part 2: Uncommon Stitches

3/3/2015

Technique Tuesday - Step-by-step crochet and knitting tutorials by Shibaguyz Designz

Introduction to Crochet Charts, Part 2: Uncommon Stitches

Technique
How To Read Crochet Charts – Uncommon Stitches

What is it?

As we said in last week's Technique Tuesday Crochet Tutorial Introduction to Crochet Stitch Charts, Crochet Stitch Charts are the visual representation of the physical stitches you make with your hook and yarn. Further, Crochet Stitch Charts are also a visual representation of the written crochet pattern.

This week, we are going to be covering types of stitches and their corresponding symbols that you might not see in every Crochet Stitch Chart you come across. Even though these stitches weren't used as often in the past, they are now being used with greater frequency and, if you are reading any of the patterns we publish either in books, magazines, or the Shibaguyz Designz pattern line, you will DEFINITELY see these stitches and symbols.

How To Read Crochet Stitch Charts, Part 2: Uncommon Stitches - A free step-by-step crochet tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

NOTE: This week's tutorial builds on our tutorial from last week. Do yourself a favor and go back to last week (OH! Time travel!!) and read that tutorial. Here's the link:

Introduction to Crochet Stitch Charts

Click the "Read More" link below for the full tutorial.

Why Use It?

Crochet Stitch Charts are most helpful as a visual aid. They give a visual representation of both the written pattern and the physical stitches you make. When used together, the written crochet pattern and the Crochet Stitch Chart are two complimentary pieces; the Written Crochet Pattern describes the stitches and the Crochet Stitch Chart shows you the stitches.

Whether learning a new stitch or interpreting a particularly tricky or dense text, Crochet Stitch Charts can be used to "read" the pattern more easily.

For a breakdown of the basics of Crochet Stitch Charts, make sure you go back and look over our Technique Tuesday Crochet Tutorial from last week:

Introduction to Crochet Stitch Charts

To Work Today's Tutorial
No special materials or tools to make today's tutorial! All you need to do is follow along. If you want to stitch along, you can grab your favorite hook and yarn and make the stitches using the chart as we go. Working the stitches in this tutorial while learning the symbols will help develop those neural connections in your brain that will make the information stick better. So… yeah… Stitch On!

Skillz Used
Foundation Single Crochet Stitch (Fsc) – See our tutorial for How to make the Foundation Single Crochet Stitch

Foundation Half Double Crochet Stitch (Fhdc) – See our tutorial for How to make the Foundation Half Double Crochet Stitch

Foundation Double Crochet Stitch (Fdc) – See our tutorial for How to make the Foundation Double Crochet Stitch

First Double Crochet Stitch (First-dc) – See our tutorial for How to make the First Double Crochet Stitch

Break It Down
Since you already went through last week's Technique Tuesday Crochet Tutorial, you know this already. But it bears repeating here… just as a good reminder:

Each physical and written stitch has a corresponding symbol that represents that stitch. To read a Crochet Stitch Chart, all you have to remember is…

See a symbol, make a stitch!

1. Foundation Single Crochet (Fsc)

We will start here at the base of our chart with foundation stitches. Specifically, this is the symbol for a Foundation Single Crochet stitch. Yup… this is one of those "when you see it" moments. Since a Foundation Single Crochet stitch makes a "chain" AND a Single Crochet stitch in one pass, the symbol for a Foundation Single Crochet is a fusion of the Chain Stitch symbol and the Single Crochet symbol.

OH!! There is it! Yup… when you see it… you SEE it…

It kind of looks like a Single Crochet stitch riding a UFO… no? Just us?? Maybe we watch too much X-Files.

See a symbol, make a stitch!
When you see this symbol in a Crochet Stitch Chart, you make one Foundation Single Crochet Stitch for every one of these symbols you see.

If you aren't familiar with the Foundation Single Crochet stitch, make sure you check out our tutorial here: How To Make the Foundation Single Crochet Stitch

2. Foundation Single Crochet Stitch Chart

And here is what the Foundation Single Crochet Stitch looks like when used in a Crochet Stitch Chart. Note that the bottom row is labeled as a Foundation Row with the arrow pointing in the direction of your work.

See a symbol, make a stitch!
This chart tells us to make 7 Foundation Single Crochet stitches, then turn our work and make a Step Up Chain (chain 1). Then, for Row 1, make 7 Single Crochet stitches in the tops of the Foundation Single Crochet stitches from the Foundation Row. Row 2 and 3 are, again, 7 Single Crochet stitches with a Step Up Chain (chain 1) at the beginning of each row.

The written pattern for this chart would read:
Foundation Row: 7 Fsc, turn.
Row 1: Ch 1, sc in each stitch across, turn.
Row 2-3: Repeat Row 1.

3. Foundation Half Double Crochet (Fhdc)

This is the Foundation Half Double Crochet stitch symbol. Again, once you see it…

The Foundation Half Double Crochet stitch symbol is the fusion of a Half Double Crochet stitch symbol and a Chain symbol. See it there? Yup… a Half Double Crochet stitch riding on top of a UFO. We just can't see anything else…

See a symbol, make a stitch!
When you see this symbol in a Crochet Stitch Chart, you make one Foundation Half Double Crochet Stitch for every one of these symbols you see.

If you aren't familiar with the Foundation Half Double Crochet stitch, make sure you check out our tutorial here: How To Make the Foundation Half Double Crochet Stitch

4. Foundation Half Double Crochet Stitch Chart

And here is the Foundation Half Double Crochet stitch used in a chart. You can see our little UFO riding stitches down there on the bottom of the chart in the Foundation Row.

See a symbol, make a stitch!
This chart tells us to make 7 Foundation Half Double Crochet stitches, turn our work, and then make a Step Up Chain (chain 1). Row 1 is 7 Half Double Crochet stitches made in the tops of the Foundation Half Double Crochet stitches you just made in the Foundation Row. Finally, Row 2 and 3 start with a Step Up Chain (chain 1) and then we make 7 Half Double Crochet stitches in the tops of the stitches from the previous row.

The written pattern for this chart would read:
Foundation Row: 7 Fhdc, turn.
Row 1: Ch 1, hdc in each stitch across, turn.
Row 2-3: Repeat Row 1.

5. Foundation Double Crochet (Fdc)

Moving up in stitch size, we have the Foundation Double Crochet stitch symbol. Once again, since the physical stitch creates a Base Chain AND a Double Crochet at the same time, the stitch symbol reflects that fusion. See here the Double Crochet stitch riding atop the Base Chain stitch (still looks like a UFO… just sayin'…).

See a symbol, make a stitch!
When you see this symbol in a Crochet Stitch Chart, you make one Foundation Double Crochet Stitch for every one of these symbols you see.

If you aren't familiar with the Foundation Double Crochet stitch, make sure you check out our tutorial here: How To Make the Foundation Double Crochet Stitch

6. First Double Crochet (First-dc)

Okay… before we go to the Crochet Stitch Chart that includes the Foundation Double Crochet Stitch, we need to cover another of our uncommon stitches: the First Double Crochet Stitch.

For the how, why, and when of this FAB stitch, go to our tutorial here:
How To Make the First Double Crochet (First-dc) Stitch

You are going to LOVE how neat and tidy this stitch makes your crochet borders. Seriously… go check it out. We'll wait…

And you're back! Good. Don't you LOVE the results? No more wonky crochet edges EH-VAR!!

Now that you're up to speed, here is the symbol for that FAB little stitch, the First Double Crochet Stitch. Just like the others, the First-dc stitch symbol breaks down just like the stitch reads. You have a Single Crochet stitch with two Chains on top.

NOTE: When this stitch is used in a chart, no Step Up Chain is used. But, since you've already checked out our tutorial for How To Make the First Double Crochet (First-dc) Stitch, you already knew that.

See a symbol, make a stitch!
When you see this symbol in a Crochet Stitch Chart, you make one First Double Crochet Stitch for every one of these symbols you see. But, since this is only used at the beginning of rows, where a Double Crochet is the first stitch of the row, you will only ever be making one at a time.

Again, if you aren't familiar with the First Double Crochet (First-dc) stitch, make sure you check out our tutorial here: How To Make the First Double Crochet (First-dc) Stitch

7. Double Crochet Chart with Foundation Double Crochet and First Double Crochet Stitches

This chart has all of that Double Crochet fun wrapped up in one place. Included in this Crochet Stitch Chart are the Foundation Double Crochet stitch as well as the First Double Crochet stitch.

See a symbol, make a stitch!
At the bottom of the chart is the Foundation Row with 7 Foundation Double Crochet stitches. Turning our work and getting on with Row 1, we have our First Double Crochet stitch followed by 6 Double Crochet stitches. Row 1 is, of course, made in the tops of the Foundation Double Crochet stitches we just made in the Foundation Row. Row 2 and 3 are repeats of Row 1 made in the tops of the Double Crochet and First Double Crochet stitches of the previous row.

NOTE: You probably notice the absence of any Step Up Chain stitches. But of course! When you use a FAB stitch like the First Double Crochet stitch, you don't NEED to chain up! Neat… tidy… clean… love it!

The written pattern for this chart would read:
Foundation Row: 7 Fdc, turn.
Row 1: First-dc, dc in next st and in each stitch across, turn.
Row 2-3: Repeat Row 1.

TAADAA!!

A Final Word… or two…
Uncommon… not-so-uncommon? It depends on what the pattern writing standards are for the company that is putting out the pattern you are reading. Generally, written patterns and Crochet Stitch Charts are the VERY similar and they all get us to the same stitches in the end… which is the important part! Just be aware that there are these Uncommon Stitches out there that are being integrated into our stitch dictionaries and are improving how we make our finished crochet projects. And, as we said, if you are using any of our patterns in our books or individual patterns, we use these stitches and symbols all the time. So… yeah… not uncommon for us at all!

In the end, it's all about improving our skillz as makers and being proud of the work we do with our hands and hooks. Whatever works the best for you… do it! One of the best parts of creating is that there is always a new skill to learn or a new technique to try out or master. If we keep ourselves open to learning and trying new techniques, we can expand our skillz and become even better at our craft!

Thanks for dropping by for another Technique Tuesday! Our goal is to build the skillz of our FAB fiber community here on the web and it's always great to hear from you all that what we are doing is helping you and your fiber friends.

Check back weekly for our Technique Tuesday features and make sure you check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Those links are down there at the bottom of the post. We'd love to hear from you!

Stitch On!
S&J

Oh hey… before you go… Here are a few more pages we thought you might be interested in. Click on any of the photos below… enjoy!