While based on US crochet terminology, Image Overlay Crochet (IOC) uses the same abbreviations and punctuation as any crochet pattern written in US or UK crochet terminology.
To clarify the abbreviations and punctuation used throughout any Black Sheep Crochet pattern, please refer to the table below.
| st/sts | stitch / stitches |
| ch/chs | chain / chains; ch1 - make 1 chain, ch2 - make 2 chains... |
| ch-sp | chain space - a space that is created by making several chs in a row |
| lp/lps | loop / loops |
| yo | yarn over - make a loop around the hook or grab the yarn with your hook |
| FLO | front loop only - sts made in the front loop only of the indicated st |
| BLO | back loop only - sts made in the back loop only of the indicated st |
| fp | front post st - followed by the kind of stitch that will be made around a stitch from a previous round |
| bp | back post st - followed by the kind of stitch that will be made around a stitch from a previous round |
| rs/RS | right side of the work |
| ws/WS | wrong side of the work |
| 'x' sc / dc | work 1 sc / dc in each of the next 'x' stitches |
| 2tog/2TOG 3tog/3TOG | 2 or 3 sts worked together; the number of legs determines the "x"TOG |
| [ ] | square brackets indicate hard-core repeats for 1 side of the square, consisting of multiple instructions |
| ( ) | bold parenthesis indicate lower level repeats (i.e. (2 sc, sc in BLO) ) OR a group of sts that will be worked into the same st or sp (i.e. (sc, ch2, sc) into the corner sp) |
| ( ) | normal weight parenthesis indicates a group of sts that will be worked into the same st or sp (i.e. (sc, ch2, sc) into the corner sp) |
| * | asterisks indicate notes / tips / alternatives within the written pattern OR hardcore repeats for 1 side in the photo tutorials |
| sum/st marker | stitch marker (this could also be a hairpin or even just scrap yarn) |