There are about nine or ten main stitches that are the most commonly used and, of them, four or five are probably used the most.
Most common US stitch abbreviations:
- ch - chain
- bpsc (or bpdc, bptc) - back post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
- dc - double crochet
- dtr - double treble crochet
- hdc - half double crochet
- fpsc (or fpdc, fptc) - front post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
- sc - single crochet
- sl st or ss - slip stitch
- tc - treble crochet
- trtc - triple treble crochet
Most common UK stitch abbreviations:
- ch - chain
- dc - double crochet
- dtr - double treble crochet
- htr - half treble crochet
- rtrb - raised treble back
- rtrf - raised treble front
- ss - slip stitch
- tr - treble crochet
Other standard, non-stitch related abbreviations:
These may be used on their own or in conjunction with the abbreviations above.
- bp - back post
- dec - decrease
- fp - front post
- inc - increase
- rep - repeat
- rnd(s) - round(s)
- RS - right side
- st - stitch
- tog - together
- WS - wrong side
- yo/yoh - yarn over/yarn over hook
Also, many patterns use an asterisk (*) to mark a repeated section of work.
There are other terms that some sites may define like pc (popcorn) or cl (cluster) but these should be defined in your pattern because what each pattern considers a popcorn stitch or cluster will vary greatly. They are non-standard, so look for a section in the instructsion that breaks up these terms into their smaller parts for you.