What does 12 patt repeats mean in crochet?

In many patterns there is a portion of the pattern that is repeated across the row. That is called the pattern repeat. The pattern should specify this in some manner. It might be in parenthesis, or it might say at the end of the section (pattern stitch) In this case, you are being asked to work the pattern stitch (or repeat) 12 times consecutively. It is helpful when you complete the row as you can easily count the repeats rather than the individual stitches.