Where Should Your Crochet Hook Go?

මෙම ලිපියේ සිංහල අනුවාදය මෙතනින්

Hello beginner, welcome to the wonderful world of crocheting.

So you watched some basic videos on youtube, you are ready and steady with your yarn and hook. Maybe you have mastered the chain as well and also started with basic stitches like single crochet or double crochet(if you are on UK terms). You managed to do the first row – well done by the way, you are doing great.

But what’s next? Where should you insert your hook when doing the 2nd row? That’s where this tutorial would come in handy for you. In this tutorial I will explain you the parts of a crochet stitch. And you will learn where you insert your hook and how it will affect the look of your crocheted piece.

So let’s start…

Anatomy of a crochet stitch

Let’s start with single crochet.

Single crochet is the first ever stitch most beginners learn. Look at the following pictures.

1. This is the top view of a row of stitches, it looks like a chain. See the horizontal V shaped loops that follows each other? Those are called top loops.
2. The side of the V thats facing you is the front loop.
3. And the side of the V thats facing away from you is the back loop.
4. This is the post of the stitch. Which indicates how tall a stitch is.
5. Here you can see how a number of rows done with single crochet look like.

Now let’s take a look at half double crochet stitches.

1. top loops – same as single crochet.
2. front loop – same as single crochet.
3. back loop – same as single crochet.
4. This is the post of the half double crochet. Can you see it’s slightly more taller than the single crochet?
5. This is how a number of rows done with half double crochet look like.

Then moving on to double crochet, the most commonly used stitch in crocheting.

1. top loops – same as single crochet.
2. front loop – same as single crochet.
3. back loop – same as single crochet.
4. This is the post of a double crochet. Can you see the height of double crochet stitch is almost as twice as a single crochet?
5. Here is how a number of rows done with double crochet look like.

Where to start?

Now that we know the anatomy, let’s learn where exactly our hook goes when making a stitch.

Remember the top two loops of a stitch?
Usually we should insert our hooks through both loops to make a stitch unless otherwise stated on the pattern.

Unless pattern has stated otherwise?

If you are supposed to work on front loops of your piece the patterns use the abbreviation FLO – Front Loop Only
If you are supposed to work on back loops of your piece the patterns use the abbreviation BLO – Back Loop Only

What’s the difference?

BLO and FLO stitches are just the same as regular crochet stitches. The only difference is where you insert your hook.

Front Loop Only

With right side of your work facing you, insert the hook through only the front loop leaving the back loop empty. This will create a ridge on the wrong side of your work.

Back Loop Only

With the right side of your work facing you, insert the hook only through the back loop, leaving the front loop empty. This will create a ridge on the right side of your work.

How to find the next stitch where you should work on?

For a right handed crocheter, the next stitch you should work on is usually the one left to the one you completed. For a left handed crocheter the next stitch you should work on is usually the one right to the one you completed. Spot the horizontal V shaped top loops and the insert your hook through both of them or either one of them as the pattern has stated.

I hope this tutorial cleared many doubts you had. Please comment below your questions if you have any.

Happy Crocheting!