Converting Patterns
How to tell the difference between UK and US patterns, and the easy way to convert them.
There are certain things to look for to tell whether the pattern is UK or US terms. The following table shows the main differences.
| UK Patterns | US Patterns | |
| Hook Sizes | Usually metric sizes. | Usually letters. |
| Yarn thickness | Usually 3-ply, 4-ply, Double Knit or chunky. | Usually fingering, sport, worsted or bulky. |
| Stitches | htr | sc, hdc. |
| Other terms | miss, yoh, ss | skip, yo, slst |
Here are the stitch conversions
|
UK |
US |
|
dc htr tr dtr miss yoh tension |
sc hdc dc tr skip yo gauge |
The easiest way to convert the patterns is to copy and paste the text into a word document, then use the "Replace" tool.
Make sure you set it to "Find whole words only" other wise you will end up changing letters in the middle of other words. Click on "More" to find this option.
It is important to change the stitches in the right order.
| UK to US | US to UK |
|
dc - sc htr - hdc tr - dc dtr - tr miss - skip yoh - yo |
tr - dtr dc - tr hdc - htr sc - dc skip - miss yo - yoh |
You can also change the language on the document to the one you are converting to, then do a spell check. This will alter things like colour/color.
This will not be a perfect conversion as there are other minor differences but it will make the pattern so much easier to understand, especially if it is an intricate one.