Welcome Flock & Friends to Episode 3 of the Write That Crochet Pattern Podcast!

I’m going to finish up our discussion on crochet industry standards! Honestly, I could probably record three or four more episodes on this topic.  But I’m afraid if I nerd out too deep, I might lose your attention. 

Ways to Listen:

SPOTIFY, YOUTUBE

 

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Links Mentioned in This Episode

Writing Repeats in Your Crochet Pattern: Intro
How to *Properly** Use Asterisks When Writing Repeats
How to Write Repeats Using [Brackets], {Braces}, & (Parenthesis)

 

Transcript of Podcast

Intro:

For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Cherie Mellick, and I’m the crochet tech editor behind Sweet Bird Crochet. As a crochet tech editor, I specialize in helping designers publish patterns that are not only accurate but also clear, polished, and easy to follow. My mission is to empower crochet designers through education and mentorship so they can design and write patterns with excellence.

Thank you for joining me for today’s episode. Go ahead and grab your latest project, your favorite drink, and listen in as you crochet!

Topic Intro:

In episode 002, I laid the foundation of industry standards and shared why we have industry standards in crochet. I shared with you about the Craft Yarn Council, how they were formed, and who makes up that trade council. I also talked about yarn standards, hooks standards, and abbreviations. Today, we will cover the final three standards: Project Levels, Gauge, and Repeats. I would also cover sizing, but that discussion deserves an entire episode. 

Segment 1: Industry Standards for Project Levels

Let’s first talk about Project Levels. Some designers call them pattern levels, and others refer to them as skill levels. Whatever terminology you use, what matters most is the information you list beneath the heading.

One common concern designers have when submitting their patterns for tech editing is whether they have labeled the project level correctly. 

When I first ventured into designing and writing crochet patterns, I dealt with the same concern! 

I made the mistake of thinking that the skill level listed on my crochet pattern was a direct representation of my own ability as a crocheter. I assumed that if my pattern was labeled as “Easy,” (I’m making air quotes here) it meant that I didn’t know how to crochet very well…like, that I was just a beginner. And who wants to buy a crochet pattern from a beginner!?

When I began to learn about and understand industry standards, specifically for listing project levels, I quickly realized that these classifications were not a reflection of my personal abilities or expertise as a crocheter.

Instead, they served as a guideline to help my customers know what they were getting themselves into when they purchased my pattern.

What Are The Standard Project Levels?

There are four project levels a crochet pattern can fall into. When you write your crochet pattern, I highly recommend using one of these four standards. I’m going to go over the four levels and their definitions first THEN I’ll share how you can determine which one your pattern fits into. 

The first level is Basic: These will be projects that use basic crochet stitches, and could also include basic increases and decreases.

The second level is Easy: These are going to be projects that include simple stitch patterns, simple color work, and/or simple shaping.

The third level is Intermediate: These will include projects that have more involved stitch patterns, more difficult color work, and/or more involved shaping.

The fourth and last level is Complex: These will include projects that have complex stitch patterns, intricate color work, and/or complicated shaping using a variety of techniques and stitches simultaneously.

These levels offer clear and concise explanations, but many designers may find that their patterns don’t fit neatly into any one level. It’s possible that their designs might fall in the “in-between” of a level, or perhaps they’re not sure exactly how to determine which level their pattern is.

How To Determine Which Level Your Pattern Falls Under:

Your crochet pattern will fall into the Basic Project Level IF:

1. You only use a basic stitches throughout your design. So that would include the slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, and even a treble crochet.  But not a combination of any of the stitches. So, it would have only one stitch throughout your entire pattern. 
2. Your design shouldn’t include any color changes. Your project should be one color. 
3. Your design only uses basic increases and decreases. 

Your crochet projects will fall into the Easy Project Level IF:

1. You use a basic combination stitches throughout your design.
2. You use front and back post stitches.
3. You use colorwork in your project. This color change can occur in a new row/round or within the same row/round.
4. You use more increases/decreases to create shaping in your fabric.

Your crochet projects will fall into the Intermediate Project Level IF:

1. You use more than just the basic stitches in your design. These stitches include (but aren’t limited to) Tunisian crochet, bobble stitch, popcorn stitch, waffle stitch, back or front loops, herringbone stitch, crocodile stitch, iris stitch, and the list goes on!
2. You use crochet techniques like large clusters, multiple increases/decreases across a row/round, and numerous stitch patterns.
3. You use a lot of colorwork in your fabric to create designs and images.

Your crochet projects will fall into the Complex Project Level IF:

1. You use complex stitches in your design. Complicated stitches include lover’s knot, diamond waffle stitch, star stitch, interlocking zigzags, crossed stitches, Celtic weave, feather and fan stitch, cable work, floating stitches, and the list goes on!
2. You use complex crochet techniques like filet crochet, bead crochet, Intermeshing, Cro-Tatting, etc.
3. You use an assembly of multiple pieces. Examples would be garments and more involved amigurumi patterns.

I hope that was helpful. Of course, if you’re still not sure, let your tech editor know and they can help you determine what standard level to list.

Segment 2: Industry Standards for Repeats

Honestly, writing repeats in a crochet pattern can be super confusing. BUT…using repeats simplifies your instructions and makes them so much easier to read and follow. Could you imagine if you wrote out the entire line of instruction that used a single crochet and double crochet repeat? It would read something like this:

Row 3: sc in first st, dc in next st, sc in next st, dc in next st, sc in next st, dc in next st, sc in next st, dc in next st, ….put beats to this and we’ve got a crochet rap. 

It would be incredibly hard to follow, and most of your readers would give up on your pattern before they even started crocheting! So, using standard repeats is going to solve the confusion and make your pattern much more enjoyable to consume. 

Crochet patterns have two primary types of repeats: stitch repeats and row repeats. Stitch repeats take place within a single line of instructions, while row repeats involve repeating one or several rows for a specific number of rows.

Row or Round repeats literally means to repeat the entire row/round of crochet instructions again. Depending on the pattern, this row/round repeat may mean to repeat the same row/round multiple times, or it might mean to repeat several rows/rounds over and over again.

Stitch repeats are when a certain number of stitches are repeated within one line of instruction. How you use stitch repeats in your pattern will all depend on the complexity of your repeats. Some repeats can be super simple, while others will look like complex math equations!

When writing stitch repeats, you may need to use different ‘repeat punctuations’ to show the beginning and end of each repeat. The punctuation you use will vary depending on the type of repeat you want to write.



Let me clarify what Repeat Punctuations are: Repeat punctuations are used in place of the repeated line of instruction. These punctuations can be accessed on any keyboard. There are 5 different punctuations you can use to indicate stitch repeats. The asterisk *; the double asterisk **; curly brackets {  }; square bracket [  ]; and parenthesis (  ).

The single asterisk (*) is the simplest of all repeat punctuations, and you would think its use is pretty straightforward, right? No, ma’am. It’s not. If a designer is unfamiliar with how to incorporate this tiny star into their written pattern properly, it could throw off the entire design.

At its core, the asterisk serves as a warning flag, signaling the beginning of a repeat in one line of instruction. It’s sort of like shorthand, helping you to condense instructions and reduce the clutter in your pattern. When the asterisk is used effectively, it can enhance the readability and comprehension of your pattern AND help your readers navigate your repeats easily!

For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to all instructions as rows, but the same rules apply when you write your pattern in rounds.

Did you know the word asterisk in Greek means “little star.” It’s often used as a multiplication symbol in calculators and spreadsheets. Keeping that in mind, using it for repeat sequences in a crochet pattern is fitting. We place that little star anywhere we want our stitches to multiply across our row! To use this little star repeat punctuation into your crochet pattern, you will hold the shift key on your keyboard and press the number 8. If your laptop or desktop keyboard has a numeric pad, you could also find that the little star has its button right above the number 9.

When to Use One Asterisk (*)

You should use one asterisk (*) in your line of instruction to indicate the beginning of your repeat sequence. Make sure you’re using a limited number of stitches that repeat only once.

Example: Ch 1, sc in first st, *ch 1, sk 1, sc 1; repeat from *across. 

I would love to give examples for each repeat punctuation in this podcast, but I think it would get too complicated since I can’t actually show you my example. However, I have written series of blog post covering each repeat punctuation, how to use them in your pattern, and give examples for each one. 



You can find the links to the blog posts in the show notes by going to sweetbirdcrochet.com/industrystandardspart2 or if you’re listening on YouTube, I’ll link them in the description box.

Back to the single asterisk. When your repeat sequence is repeated to the end of your row, you can list your ending instructions in several ways. Here are a few examples:

Repeat from * to end
Repeat from * across
Repeat from * around

If your repeat sequence is interrupted at the end of a row, you can still use a single asterisk (*) for your instructions. The only thing that would change is how you word your ending instructions. Example: 

Ch 1, sc 3, *ch 2, sk next st, sc in next st; repeat from * to the last 3 sts, sc 3, turn.

When your repeat sequence is interrupted and NOT repeated to the end of your row, you can list your ending instructions in several ways. Here are a few examples:

Repeat from * until X sts remain
Repeat from * until the last X sts
Repeat from * X more times

Don’t Forget to Use a Semicolon

The semicolon is like the superhero of sentence structure. It saves your writing from looking and sounding choppy and masks transitions. This superhero connects two independent clauses that are closely related to each other. For example, “I love crochet; it’s my favorite craft.” The two clauses could be separate sentences, but the sentence flow would get interrupted. The semicolon shows a break in what’s being said but makes the transition flow smoothly.

The semicolon works the same way when writing crochet repeats. It indicates a break or interruption in the flow of instructions but makes the transition flawless. 

Using the semicolon at the end of your repeat sequence will indicate that a shift is about to happen, and it will help the structure of your sentence transition smoothly. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use the power of the semicolon at the end of your repeats.

When to Use Two Asterisks (**)

Double asterisks (**) are often used when a pretty long repeat occurs in your line of instruction. However, the last sequence repeated won’t be a complete repeat. The double asterisks (**) indicate that the repeat sequence will stop. 

This will be better understood in the blog post because I walk you through it step by step. 

When Not to Use Asterisks

Do not use asterisks if no groups of stitches repeat in your line of instruction. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? However, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Sometimes, designers can confuse their line of instructions for repeats. If you look at instructions for an amigurumi doll, it might read

*inc* repeat from * to * around.

Yes, they are repeating increases all the way around, but this is NOT a stitch repeat that requires an asterisk. It would be better to write it out: 

inc in each st around.

The same goes for lines of instructions that are simple enough not to use repeat punctuations, like

dc in each st across.

Then we have (parenthesis), {braces}, and [brackets]

Using these may feel a bit more complicated than the standard asterisk but I promise that once you understand how each of these punctuations operate, you’ll be properly using them in your patterns without issue!

Since crochet patterns are a fun form of math equations, it makes perfect sense for designers to use these repeat punctuations. In mathematics, the symbols parenthesis, curly brackets, and square brackets are all called brackets. These brackets are used to group numbers and operations to bring clarity to a sequence of actions that need to be performed.

Brackets indicate that what is enclosed within them has higher priority. Something to keep in mind whether you’re working on a math equation or writing a crochet pattern: brackets always come in pairs. There has to be an opening bracket to indicate the beginning of the term and a closing bracket to indicate the ending.  Let’s discuss each bracket type and how to use them in a crochet pattern!

Parentheses or Round Brackets

In English grammar, parentheses can be used in a sentence to provide additional information or to separate a phrase from the rest of the sentence. In mathematics, parentheses are used to group numbers and operations together, helping us to understand what needs to be done to complete the calculation. Using parentheses in a crochet pattern is similar to how they are used in both grammar and math equations.

How to Type the Parenthesis on a Keyboard

Did you know that the word ‘parenthesis’ in Greek means ‘a putting in beside’? This makes perfect sense when you understand how parentheses work in a crochet pattern. To use this repeat punctuation in your crochet pattern, you need to hold the shift key on your keyboard and press the number 9 for the left or opening parenthesis and the number 0 for the right or closing parenthesis. You can hold the alt key and type in 0040 for the left parenthesis and 0041 for the right parenthesis.

Using Parenthesis to Group Stitches

(Parenthesis) are most commonly used to group stitches that should be worked together. The Craft Yarn Council describes parenthesis as ” working instructions within parentheses as many times as directed or working a group of stitches all in the same stitch or space.” 

When working multiple stitches all in the same stitch or space, you only use parenthesis. You do not use any other repeat punctuation, like square brackets or asterisks. 

[Boxed] or {Curly} Brackets

In English grammar, boxed brackets provide added explanations, corrections, or comments on quoted material in a sentence. Curly brackets, also known as braces, group certain words or sentences together. In mathematics, square brackets are used for more complex grouping of numbers and operations, while curly brackets represent sets.

Using brackets in crochet patterns is similar to math; however, curly and boxed brackets are used in the same manner.

How to Type the Brackets on a Keyboard

Here’s a little nerdy history for you: the first bracket to appear in written English was the chevron 〈 〉? Square brackets made an appearance with some teleprinters back in the 1920s. Curly brackets were not used until the 1960s when the IBM 7030 Stretch was released.

To use boxed brackets, locate the keys that are to the right of the letter P on your keyboard and press either [or] key. Alternatively, you can hold down the alt key and type 91 for the left boxed bracket and 93 for the right boxed bracket. If you wish to use curly brackets, hold down the shift key on your keyboard and press either {or} key that is also located to the right of the letter P. You can also hold down the alt key and type 123 for the left curly bracket and 125 for the right curly bracket.

Using Brackets for Repeats

Brackets are most commonly used within a line of instruction to repeat stitches a particular number of times. The Craft Yarn Council describes brackets as ” work instructions within brackets as many times as directed.” 

It is important to note that when indicating how many times your reader should work the stitches within brackets, you should not use the term “repeat”. This is because technically, they are not repeating anything. When the reader encounters the brackets, they should not complete what is within them until you give them specific instructions. You should tell them exactly what to do with the stitches inside the brackets. For example:

[dc in the next 3 sts, sc in the next 5 sts] 6 times. You want them to work those contained stitches a total of 6 times.

The only time you ever use repeat x times is when you are using asterisks (*).

Curly brackets or braces are used in a similar way as square brackets. They can replace square brackets in a line of instruction, or they can be combined with brackets and parentheses to create repeats within repeats. 

Please check out the shownotes for the Repeat Series I wrote on my blog to see examples of how to use each repeat in your patterns.

Segment 3: Industry Standards for Gauge

The last thing we’re going to talk about in today’s episode is standard gauge in crochet. Gauge is an instrument to take certain measurements according to industry standards. Gauge doesn’t only apply to the fiber world. It also applies to a wide range of things. Let’s take wire for example. All wires have a gauge. When measuring wire, you’re measuring its diameter. This measurement determines the amount of electrical current it can safely carry. These standards were established for the safety of electricians. Another example is film. Film measures gauge according to a specific standard. 

The standard measurements for film stock are 8 mm, 16 mm, and 35 mm. The gauge in film is not a direct measurement but refers to the nominal width of the film, which consists of strips. I’m not a photographer so this one confuses me a bit! The last example is railroads. In the railway system, there’s a thing called track gauge. This measures the distance between two rails of a track. Again, there is a standard system of gauges, and for the railway, there are various gauges. All trains need to have wheelsets that match the gauge of the rails. If they don’t match gauge, then they can’t travel on that track.

In the crochet world, there are also standards. The standard gauge measurement is typically a 4-inch (10cm) square, using a particular yarn and hook size. The instrument we use to measure gauge is called a gauge swatch. There are two parts to measuring gauge: stitch gauge and row gauge. The stitch gauge is the number of stitches across 4 inches of fabric. Row gauge is the number of rows within 4 inches of fabric.



When creating a gauge swatch, I always recommend making your sample bigger than the standard 4 inches. The reason for this is that the edges of crochet pieces can be kind of wonky and won’t give you an accurate measurement or your true gauge. When I create a gauge swatch, I always make my fabric pieces at least 6 inches (15cm) square, so I can measure the middle area which will be my true gauge.

Now, let me clarify something many crocheters (and knitters, too) get confused about: Gauge and tension are not the same! Gauge, as explained already, is the instrument used to take measurements. Tension is how loose or tight the yarn is when you crochet. Gauge measures your tension, and your tension will affect gauge.

When someone says, “I hit gauge” or “obtained gauge,” it means that they were able to crochet the right number of stitches and rows per the standard 4-inch (10cm) measurement. You can never fix gauge because gauge is the standard truth. However, you can fix your tension to match gauge!

Gauge is a vital step in the design process. It doesn’t matter if you design amigurumi or garments. Knowing the number of stitches/rows within the standard gauge measurement will help you determine several things:

1. Your starting stitches: the number of stitches needed to start your project and determine its width.
2. Your row/round count: the number of rows/rounds needed to complete your project to determine its length.
3. How much yarn you’ll need: working some basic numbers from your swatch will help you get the exact yardage needed for your design. No more wasted money!
4. Grading: if your design calls for multiple sizes, these numbers will be a key factor in grading (scaling) your design to smaller or larger sizes.
5. Blueprint for your tech editor: your editor will use these numbers to ensure that all your stitch counts and row counts are accurate and precise.
6. It adapts your pattern: with these numbers, you can modify your pattern using various yarns and hooks while maintaining the integrity of the design.
7. Communicate Clearly: Providing gauge details in your pattern helps crocheters make informed choices about yarn and hook sizes, reducing confusion and potential errors.

Who knew these little pieces of fabric could be so magical?

Conclusion

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode. I know this was a lot of information. Don’t forget to check out the blog posts mentioned in this episode and tune in to my YouTube channel next week because we’re going to dive a little deeper into gauge swatches. I’ll show you how to proper list them in your patterns and how to work them up in rows and in the round.

If you’re new here, take a minute to subscribe, leave a review or a rating, I would love to hear from you. I enjoy sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years about designing and writing crochet patterns with you. Until next time, Write that Crochet Pattern!