Tips about reading patterns

So my penguin beanie was put on hold so I could make another (but different) owl beanie for my friend’s soon to be born bub. Using this different pattern made me realise that like with most things there is no standard way to write a pattern.

When you start a new row or round, usually you make a number of chains before you make your first stitch. This is called a turning chain. For example, if your first stitch is a double crochet (UK) then you make one chain first then make a double crochet. I have found that some patterns assume you know this and some include it. In addition, for those that include the chains, some put it at the beginning of the row and some at the end! The following three examples are all written differently but should have the same results.

Example 1 – No Chains
Row 1 – 10 dc
Row 2 – 10 dc
Row 3 – 10 dc

Example 2 – Chains at the start
Row 1 – ch, 10 dc
Row 2 – ch, 10 dc
Row 3 – ch, 10 dc

Example 3 – Chains at the end
Row 1 – 10 dc, ch
Row 2 – 10 dc, ch
Row 3 – 10 dc, ch

Stitch	No. of Stitches
Slip stitch	0
Double crochet	1
Half treble	2
Treble	3
Double treble	4
Triple treble	5

As well as written patterns you can have diagrammatic patterns. It would seem that pretty much all charts are the same and internationally recognised, it is just the names of the stitches that are different. I found a great blog that has a free crochet course (which I am yet to try) which has a great diagram on the main stitches symbols. Crafty minx’s lesson 21 is all about reading these charts. The stitch names are the American, however by looking at her diagrams, I actually think the UK terms fit better. For example, the double treble has two diagonal lines and the triple treble has three diagonal lines.

I have found that the more different patterns from different sources that I do, the easier they are to read and pick out the variations that different writers have. I am also finding that I can modify the patterns slightly if required. For example, my original Oh Boy Oh Boy pattern I made I uses an acrylic wool for the beak and it just looked a little odd next to the bamboo cotton yarn I used for the rest of the beanie. I then found some yellow cotton yarn which looked similar to the bamboo yarn so I used this for the beak on the Repeat Crafter Me version. However, this yarn was thinner and no matter what size hook I used, this beak looked out of place. I was able however to use the pattern for the Oh Boy Oh Boy beak with this thinner yarn and it looks so much better.

My Challenge

I have always loved making things whether it was cakes, knitting, sewing, but I had never tried crochet. Last year my husband and I were blessed with a gorgeous baby boy. Before he was born I started trying to make various items, quilts, bootees and decided I would learn to crochet. My mother-in-law is excellent at crochet but being on the other side of the world was not going to help me in my quest. In addition to this I want to start my own home business. I haven’t decided yet what it will be but I would love for it to be crafty. A complete change from banking (my former career) and not likely to pay off the mortgage, but it would be lovely to make some money to pay for treats for the family and a good excuse to make things that I may not necessarily need.
So my challenge is this, teach myself to crochet in the snippets of spare time I have whilst looking after my bub with the possibility of selling items in the future. I will share books and websites I have found useful. Although this will be mainly crochet I might include other crafty bits and pieces. I have already learnt the basics so I will cover those first and then I will record my learning experience.
If there any stitches you want to learn in particular let me know and I can put it on my learning list.