How to Read and Understand Baby Crochet Patterns?

People are spending lot of their hard-earned money on their clothing needs. As majority of the commonly used clothed have become costlier these days, people have started to look for alternate source. And the search ended with Crochet where in you can make your own dress materials with ease and with little investment.

Fortunately, you get a variety of patterns free over internet and from other sources such as books and e-magazines. There are patterns to suit each and every individual, be it the taste or affordability or preference.

It is also known that mothers are spending a lot of money in buying dress material for their newborn child. Now, free crochet patterns for babies are available and are specially made to fit and suit the taste of every mother.

So before you grab the opportunity of getting a free crochet pattern for your baby’s clothes, it is better to get to know some details about the pattern sizes and types as any such knowledge can result in your bringing out a better crocheted baby cloth.

Here is the list:

Learn the Standard Crochet Abbreviations

When you start with your first free pattern, you may not be able to understand the instructions fully because they will not be given in detail. This is one of the disadvantages with the free pattern. As people cannot afford to give a very detailed set of instructions in a free pattern, it is better you learn to understand the abbreviations used so as to interpret them correctly. As many patterns, be it free or not, use abbreviations, and it is always better you first learn them before hand.

Get the Meaning of the Asterisk

All crochet instructions do have a lot of asterisks interspersed throughout. All these asterisks are placed with a purpose and denote certain actions or points in the instruction.

Asterisks are used to denote the starting line of the instructions, which will be employed more than one time. For example, if you come across a line in the pattern instruction that says “rep between ** three times”, then you have to work on the instructions for another three times after you have worked on it once initially. Yes, that would be 4 repetitions overall.Be Aware (not beware!) of Brackets

Any bracket symbols that are used in instructions of any pattern have special meaning and are intended to explain things more. The explanations are provided within two parentheses.

Parentheses

In certain cases you may need to repeat a stitch for certain number of times and such instructions are furnished within two parentheses. In any normal instruction set you will find such indication in numbers enclosed within two parentheses immediately.

Further, parentheses are also used for denoting the size of the pattern as well as size of the clothing. Any special directives are also provided within two parentheses.

Learn to Read Yarn Labels

Before starting your crochet project, you should know the kind of yarn that has to be used in the specified project. Further, you should also know the meaning of the markings that are made on the labels of any yarn. Normally, details such as texture, colour code, length, ply and name of the yarn are mentioned on the labels of any yarn.

Select the Hooks Judiciously

There are varieties of hooks depending upon sizes and materials with which it is made. There are also patterns that recommend specific types of hooks. Depending upon the size and material of the hook, the loops that are made also will vary and hence you should be in a position to choose your hooks correctly.

Though getting a free baby crochet pattern may be easy it may not be easy to crochet them unless you know the fundamentals. Now that you know many things about the pattern and instructions, you may well try your hand on few baby crochet patterns.