French abbreviation · Crochet and knitting
What does aug mean in crochet and knitting?
aug means increase — 2 stitches in one.
In French: augmentation — 2 mailles dans la même maille
How to work it
An increase, written “aug” in a French pattern, adds one stitch to the round. In crochet the most common form is two stitches worked into the same stitch of the round below, and that is what the abbreviation means unless the pattern says otherwise.
Work the stitch the pattern uses, usually a single crochet, into the next stitch as normal. Do not move on. Insert the hook into the very same stitch again and work a second stitch. You now have two stitches standing on one.
The two stitches sit side by side and share a foot. Then continue to the next stitch of the round below. An increase adds exactly one stitch to the total, because one stitch was replaced by two.
In knitting, “aug” is less precise, because there are several ways to add a stitch: knitting into the front and back of a stitch, or lifting the yarn between two stitches. A knitting pattern usually names the method in its notes; follow that one.
In a pattern
Tour 3 : *1 ms, 1 aug* 6 fois (18)
Take the French round “Tour 3 : *1 ms, 1 aug* 6 fois (18)”. “Tour 3” means the third round. The asterisks enclose a group to repeat. “1 ms” is a single crochet in the next stitch. “1 aug” is an increase in the stitch after it: two single crochets in the same stitch. “6 fois” says how many times to work the group. Each group uses two stitches of the round below and gives three. The bracket says 18: the previous round had 12, six groups add six stitches, so you end with 18.
US or UK?
The gesture is identical, only the abbreviation changes. “Aug” is the French one; American and British patterns write “inc”, for increase. So aug (French) equals inc in both conventions. The stitch used inside it does change its name: an increase in single crochet reads “sc” in an American pattern and “dc” in a British one.
Common mistakes
- Putting the second stitch in the next stitch instead of the same one. Then you have not increased, and the total does not change. The two stitches must share a foot.
- Putting all the increases in the same place. If the pattern says to space them out, the fabric will bulge as a corner; with a pattern that makes a flat circle, the disc turns into a hexagon. Follow the position of each increase.
- Forgetting that an increase is one abbreviation but two stitches. When you count the round, count both stitches. A round that should have 18 will otherwise seem to have 12.
A tip
Increases hide in a round because the two stitches look like two ordinary ones. Mark the first stitch of the round with a marker, and count the total against the bracket every time you come back to it. If you are off by one, look at the last increase you made.
Try it with a row from your pattern
Here is a row that uses it. Replace it with a row from your pattern: every abbreviation the reader knows is underlined, and its meaning shows on hover.
Tour 3 : *1 ms, 1 aug* 6 fois (18)