📚 What you’ll learn
How to match written instructions with their symbols.
🎥 Watch
📋 Instructions
- Study the lesson’s pattern along with its matching diagram symbols.
- Observe how each written stitch corresponds to a specific symbol and how the diagram shows exactly where that stitch is placed.
- In written instructions, repeats appear in parentheses, between two * * or with phrases like "repeat” while in diagrams they’re shown with brackets or repeat boxes.
- Compare the written row and its diagram side by side to reinforce stitch placement, stitch count, and the overall rhythm of the pattern.
- Then use the row numbers on the chart to understand both the order of the rows and the direction you should read them:
- Odd-numbered rows are read right to left.
- Even-numbered rows are read left to right.
- Finally, check whether the design is double-sided. If the front and back differ, the chart will label the right side (RS) and wrong side (WS) so you always know which direction you’re working.
🔑 Key tips
- Work slowly — matching each stitch to a symbol builds muscle memory for reading diagrams.
- Highlight or annotate repeats in both formats.
- This skill makes it easier to follow any crochet pattern in the future.
🏋️ Practice
- Written → Diagram
- Turn this short written row into a diagram: ch 1 (turning chain), sc, hdc, dc, tr, dtr, tr flo, fp dc, hdc middle bar, sc blo
- Draw the symbols in order on paper for an odd-numbered row (symbols are read from right to left).
- Draw the symbols again for an even-numbered row, reversing the reading direction (symbols are read from left to right).
- Include any stitch modifiers (FLO, BLO, middle bar) in your diagrams.
- Diagram → Written
- Using the diagram below, write the instructions row by row, including stitch names and counts.
- Follow the row direction indicated: odd-numbered rows may read right to left, even-numbered rows left to right.
- Ensure your written instructions can be followed without seeing the diagram.
🎯 Goal
You can confidently interpret the written instructions, match them to their diagram symbols, and understand the stitch structure without physically crocheting.