25 Crochet Terms Defined

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I’m working my way through the creation of 25 lists of 25 things for crocheters. This week’s challenge is to define 25 crochet terms. Here’s the list I came up with.

  1. Amigurumi. The cute little Japanese-inspired crochet animals that are so popular to make in the round.
  2. CAL. This acronym stands for Crochet-along. As the name suggests, this is a project in which a number of people each crochet the same pattern at the same time, often from different locations. It’s a great way to gain a sense of community while crocheting and to create some deadlines for yourself.
  3. Cro-hook. This is a special crochet hook that has hooks on both ends. It is used to create “double-sided crochet” which is similar to Tunisian crochet (see below).
  4. Color Flashing. When patterns (such as zigzags) appear in your crochet work because you are using variegated yarn (see definition below). This may be intentional or unintentional.
  5. Filet Crochet. A type of crochet that looks lace-like. It uses only two stitches – chains and double crochet stitches – and the lace design is created by making groups of stitches separated by spaces.
  6. Freeform Crochet. Artistic, creative crochet that you do for self-expression. It is not pattern based and may not follow standard rules of crochet.
  7. Frog. When a crocheter says that she is frogging her work, it means that she’s ripping out all the stitches. (Note that frog can also be a noun referring to button-like closure added to some crochet work but typically frog is used as a verb in crochet.)
  8. Guerilla Crochet. Guerilla art refers to art that is taken into the streets and placed publicly. The most well-known guerilla art is graffiti. Guerilla crochet specifically refers to the act of doing this with crochet (rather than spray paint, for example). Similar to yarn bombing.
  9. Hank. This is what you get when you buy yarn and it comes in a ring that’s folded over on itself, usually in figure eight fashion. It’s how most of the good quality yarn is sold (although some of it is sold in skeins). It is the kind that needs to be wound into a ball before it can be used.
  10. Irish Crochet. This is a lacy style of crochet typically made with fine threads and small hooks (but not always). It is characterized by making separate motifs and then connecting those motifs atop a netted or mesh fabric that you crochet.
  11. Knooking. This new craft seems to be what a lot of crocheters are obsessing over right now!
  12. LYS. Short of “local yarn shop” or “local yarn store”.
  13. Novelty Yarn. All of the “unusual” yarns that are getting more and more common – the non-traditional yarn like silk ribbon yarn and eyelash yarn and metallic fibers and ruffle yarns.
  14. Plarn. This word comes from the combination of “plastic” and yarn”. May people use rceycled plastic bags to crochet (especially to crochet eco-art). Plarn is the material that is used.
  15. Scrumble. A small portion of crochet that is joined with other scrumbles in freeform crochet art (see definition above).
  16. Skein. An oblong bunch of yarn that is ready to be used without having to be wound into a ball (unlike a hank). I actually usually say skein when I mean hank. You?
  17. Stash. This is, of course, all of that yarn that you have in your closet (and wherever else) that you haven’t used yet and may not even have a planned project for.
  18. Stashbusting. All of the yarn that you have that you have not used is your “stash”. Stashbusting means working on a project that uses up some of this stash, especially the leftovers from other projects.
  19. Tarn. This word comes from the combination of “T-shirt” and yarn”. It refers to the yarn product made by cutting a T-shirt up into strips and using it to crochet. Tarn is often used to make rugs and bags.
  20. Tunisian Crochet. This type of crochet (also sometimes called afghan crochet) uses hooks that are longer than traditional crochet hooks. It involves holding loops on the hook as you work (so it is sometimes called a blend between knitting and crochet). It creates a dense, thick fabric.
  21. Variegated Yarn. Yarn with color variations throughout the skein. There are many different types of variegated yarn (such as self-striping and dip-dyed yarn) but variegated refers to all of them as a whole.
  22. WIP. This acronym stands for “work in progress” which of course many of us have several of going on at once!
  23. Yarn bombing. This is street art or “fabric graffiti” that uses yarn as its medium. It is also called Yarnbombing and yarnstorming. Similar to guerilla crochet.
  24. Yarn crawl. An event in which a group of people go from one yarn store to the next all throughout a city. It’s similar to a pub crawl with yarn instead of drinking.
  25. Yarn diet. When you stop or limit your yarn buying in order to conserve your budget while using up your stash. Therefore this term goes hand-in-hand with stashbusting.
Kathryn

San Francisco based and crochet-obsessed writer, dreamer and creative spirit!

1 thought on “25 Crochet Terms Defined”

  1. I have a crochet pattern that reads group, dc in next 14 dc, chain 5, skip next 2 dc, dc in next 14 dc group, dc in next 2 dc; repeat from * what does group mean?

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