Victorian Abbreviations and Explanation of Terms

for Knitting and Crocheting

Ever wonder exactly what instructions Victorian ladies were given that produced such wonderful results? Below is a list of Victorian abbreviations and explanations of terms found in a 1895 Brainerd and Armstrong Embroidery Lessons book.

P. — Means to purl or seam

N. — Narrow by knitting two stitches together

K. — Knit plain

S. — Slip or take off one stitch without knitting.

S. and B. — Slip and bind, slip one stitch, knit the next and pass the Slipped stitch over the stitch knitted
T. T. O. — Throw thread over needle

Cast off. — Same as bind off — knit two stitches, pass first over second and repeat

C. S. — Chain stitch (crochet). Make a loop or slip knot and pass the hook through it, throw the thread over the hook, and draw it through the loop already made

S. S. — Slip stitch. Draw loop through one or more stitches on the crochet needle

S. C. — Single crochet. Put the hook through the foundation chain, or a stitch in the preceding row, throw thread over the hook, draw through the loop, thread over the needle again, and draw through the two loops on the hook

D. C. — Double crochet. Throw thread over the hook and insert the latter into a loop, thread over, and-draw through the loop. You will have three loops on the hook, thread over the hook, draw through two loops, thread over and draw through two more

T. C. — Treble crochet. This is exactly the same as d. c., but is thrown twice over the needle instead of once, and the stitch is completed by drawing the thread three times through two loops

Round. — To complete the circuit once around

Repeat. — Do the same thing over again, whether one or a series of stitches

Row. — Once across

* Marks a point in a work which is referred to again as in a repeat.<

Crocheting seems to have reached a degree of perfection, and still there are some who do not understand it; these are the ones we hope to reach and profit by the rules and suggestions in this article

Chain stitch is the foundation of all crochet work and should be done rather loosely, as working on it tightens it, and it is apt to give the work a puckered appearance.

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