Glossary
Crochet & Knitting Glossary
New to crochet or knitting? Patterns are full of shorthand — sc, dc, DK, frogging, blocking. This glossary explains the terms in plain language, so you can read any pattern with confidence. Each entry links to related patterns you can browse and make.
Amigurumi
Amigurumi is the Japanese craft of crocheting or knitting small, stuffed toys — animals, dolls, and characters. It's worked mostly in tight single crochet in a continuous spiral so the stuffing stays hidden inside.
Bind Off
Binding off (also called casting off) is how you finish knitting by securing the live stitches so they can't unravel. The standard method knits two stitches, then lifts the first over the second, working across until one stitch remains.
Blocking
Blocking is the finishing step of wetting or steaming a completed piece and pinning it to shape as it dries. It evens out stitches, opens up lace, and sets the final measurements, giving handmade projects a polished, professional look.
Bulky Weight
Bulky weight is a thick yarn (weight category 5) that works up fast on large hooks and needles. It typically knits to about 3–3.5 stitches per inch and is ideal for quick blankets, chunky hats, cowls, and cozy accessories.
Cast On
Casting on is how you create the first row of stitches on a needle to begin a knitting project. The long-tail cast-on is the most popular method, giving a neat, elastic edge. Every knit project starts by casting on the required number of stitches.
Colorwork
Colorwork is any technique that uses two or more yarn colors in a single piece to create patterns or motifs. In knitting, the main styles are stranded (fair isle) colorwork and intarsia; crochet has tapestry crochet and the mosaic technique.
DK Weight
DK (double knitting) weight is a light-medium yarn (weight category 3) that sits between sport and worsted. It typically knits to about 5–6 stitches per inch and is popular for garments, baby items, and all-season projects.
Double Crochet
Double crochet (US terms) is a tall, common crochet stitch: yarn over, insert the hook, pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through two loops twice. It works up quickly and makes a soft, open fabric great for blankets and garments.
Fingering Weight
Fingering weight is a thin yarn (weight category 1) used for socks, shawls, and lightweight garments. It typically knits to about 7–8 stitches per inch and produces fine, drapey fabric with excellent stitch definition.
Frogging
Frogging is unraveling your crochet or knitting to undo mistakes or reclaim yarn — pulling the working yarn to rip out multiple rows at once. The name comes from 'rip it, rip it,' which sounds like a frog's croak.
Garter Stitch
Garter stitch is the simplest knitting fabric, made by knitting every row. It creates a squishy, reversible fabric of horizontal ridges that lies flat without curling — which makes it ideal for beginners, scarves, and garment borders.
Gauge
Gauge is the number of stitches and rows that fit in a set measurement — usually a 4-inch (10 cm) square — with a given yarn and hook or needle. Matching a pattern's gauge is what makes your finished project come out the right size.
Granny Square
A granny square is a small, flat crochet motif worked outward from the center in rounds, usually in clusters of double crochet separated by chain spaces. Squares are joined together to build blankets, cardigans, bags, and more.
Half Double Crochet
Half double crochet (US terms) is a mid-height crochet stitch worked by yarning over before inserting the hook, then pulling through all three loops at once. It sits between single and double crochet, giving a slightly textured, warm fabric.
Hook Size
Hook size is the diameter of a crochet hook, which controls how big each stitch is. Sizes are given in millimeters and US letter/number labels (e.g. 5.0 mm = H-8). A larger hook makes bigger, looser stitches; a smaller hook makes tighter ones.
Magic Ring
A magic ring (or magic circle) is an adjustable starting loop for crocheting in the round. You work the first round of stitches into the loop, then pull the tail tight to close the center hole completely — essential for amigurumi.
Single Crochet
Single crochet (US terms) is the shortest, most basic crochet stitch: insert the hook, yarn over and pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through both loops. It makes a dense, sturdy fabric ideal for amigurumi and washcloths.
Skein
A skein is a unit of yarn as it's sold — a loosely wound, oblong bundle you can often knit or crochet straight from. Casually, 'a skein' just means one commercial ball or hank of yarn, however it's wound.
Stash
A stash is the collection of yarn a crocheter or knitter has bought and set aside for future projects. Managing your stash — knowing what yarn, weight, and yardage you already own — helps you match it to new patterns.
Stockinette Stitch
Stockinette stitch is the most common knitting fabric, made by alternating a knit row with a purl row. It produces a smooth surface of V-shaped stitches on the front and bumpy purls on the back, and naturally curls at the edges.
WIP (Work in Progress)
A WIP is a work in progress — a crochet or knitting project you've started but not yet finished. Makers often keep several WIPs going at once, and a long-neglected one is affectionately called a UFO (unfinished object).
Worsted Weight
Worsted weight is a medium-thickness yarn (weight category 4) and the most popular yarn for crochet and knitting. It typically knits to about 4–5 stitches per inch and suits blankets, sweaters, hats, and most everyday projects.
Yardage
Yardage is the length of yarn a project needs, measured in yards or meters. It's the most reliable way to plan yarn amounts, since skein sizes vary by brand — a pattern calling for 1,000 yards needs 1,000 yards regardless of how it's packaged.
Yarn Weight
Yarn weight is the thickness of a strand of yarn, not its physical mass. Standard categories run from lace (thinnest) through fingering, sport, DK, worsted, aran, bulky, and super bulky (thickest), each suited to different projects and gauges.