Reference

Stitch guide

All patterns on this site use US crochet terms. If you learned with UK terms, use the chart below — the names are shifted by one, which trips up almost everyone at least once.

US ↔ UK terms

USUK
chchainchchain
sl stslip stitchssslip stitch
scsingle crochetdcdouble crochet
hdchalf double crochethtrhalf treble
dcdouble crochettrtreble
trtreble crochetdtrdouble treble
skskipmissmiss

Abbreviations

MRmagic ring — an adjustable starting loop for working in the round
incincrease — work 2 stitches into the same stitch
decdecrease — join 2 stitches into one (invisible decrease for amigurumi)
st(s)stitch(es)
rnd / Rround
BLO / FLOback loop only / front loop only
FOfasten off
( ) x nrepeat what's in brackets n times
[24]stitch count at the end of the round
yoyarn over
spspace
RS / WSright side / wrong side

Reading a round

A typical amigurumi round looks like this:

Rnd 3: (sc, inc) x 6 [18]

That means: one single crochet, then an increase — and repeat that pair six times around. You should end with 18 stitches. Using a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round makes counting much easier.