Are you looking to take your crochet skills up a notch with learning how to crochet in the back loop only (blo)? It is a great crochet technique for any crocheter to learn.
With blo, you can create ridges and lines of texture on a crochet fabric or garment that will give it an entirely different look than if you used both front and back loops.
Working exclusively with the back loops also results in nice lines of stitches that looks like knitted ribbing. It’s just this knitted look that makes working blo such an attractive option for crocheters!
In this blog post, I’ll be explaining what exactly BL crochet stitches is and going over all the materials needed to crochet in this way along with step-by-step instructions for each type of stitch: BL single crochet stitch, BL half double crochet stitch, BL double crochet and BL treble crochet stitch.
The photo below shows swatches of each of the back loop stitches.
What are Back Loop Crochet Stitches?
Back loop crochet stitches are variations of regular basic crochet stitches.
These include the back loop single crochet, back loop half double crochet, back loop double crochet and back loop treble crochet.
You can also crochet back loop stitches of the tall crochet stitches.
The only difference is that you work into the back loop of the stitch only, instead of the whole stitch.
It is important to difference it from crocheting into the front loop only.
Materials Needed
To crochet back loop stitches you can use any crochet hook size and yarn. If you’re following a crochet pattern, use the crochet hook and yarn suggested to get the correct gauge.
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Features of the Crochet in the Back Loop Only Stitches
Learning how to crochet in the back loop only of stitches are a great beginner technique to learn as a crocheter.
It’s not more difficult than crocheting into the whole stitch and opens up a lot of possibilities when it comes to crocheting unique crochet pieces.
The features of the back loop stitches are:
- Just as easy as the regular basic stitches: One of the main great benefit and feature of the back loop stitches is that it’s not that different from crocheting into the whole stitch. Once you learn how to identify the back loop it’s just as easy and doesn’t take more time.
- Creates crochet ribbing: Crocheting ribbing is often a wanted result in different crochet projects, like crochet clothing and accessories. All of the back loop stitches creates crochet ribbing, however the back loop single crochet has the most classic look and is therefore most common.
- Creates ridges: Each of the back loop stitches creates ridges and edges that can be prominent features of crochet designs without using it for crochet ribbing.
- Creates texture: When used, crochet in the back loop only will create beautiful texture to any crochet fabric.
- Can create a fold line: When crocheting into the back loop, you will create a great way to fold e like fold lines on hems.
- Can be used to crochet cuffs: Crocheting cuffs with back loop stitches looks great, especially with the back loop single crochet.
- Great for crochet edges: Any of the back loop crochet stitches looks amazing as edges on any crochet project.
- There’s no right or wrong side: When crocheting through the back loop (tbl) there are no wrong side of your work, which means these stitches work well for crochet blankets.
The Different Types of Back Loop Crochet Stitches
Most crocheters come across the Back Loop Single Crochet Stitch at some point when crocheting projects, because it’s widely used to crochet ribbing.
However you can crochet in the back loop only on all of the basic crochet stitches, including the half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc) and treble crochet (tr).
You can even crochet through the back loo of the taller of the basic stitches, like the double treble crochet.
Below you can find written instructions and links to detailed step by step stitch tutorials, with a photo and video tutorial for the back loop single crochet, back loop half double crochet, back loop double crochet and back loop treble crochet.
You can also find the video tutorials on my YouTube Channel.
1. Back Loop Single Crochet Tutorial
The BLsc stitches is a great way to crochet the ribbing when worked back and forth in rows.
The steps of the Back Loop Single Crochet Stitch
- Insert crochet hook into back loop only
- Pull up a loop
- Yarn over
- Pull through the 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Repeat steps 1-4 to crochet another back loop single crochet
2. Back Loop Half Double Crochet
The back loop half double crochet crochet is a great way to crochet a textured stitch with ridges and ribbing when working in rows.
The steps of the Back Loop Half Double Crochet Stitch:
- Yarn over
- Insert crochet hook into back loop only
- Pull up a loop
- Yarn over
- Pull through the 3 loops on the crochet hook
- Repeat steps 1-5 to crochet another back loop half double crochet
3. Back Loop Double Crochet
The back loop double crochet is a great way to crochet ribbing.
The steps of the Back Loop Double Crochet Stitch:
- Yarn over
- Insert crochet hook into back loop only
- Pull up a loop
- Yarn over
- Pull through 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Yarn over
- Pull through the last 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Repeat steps 1-7 to crochet another back loop double crochet
4. Back Loop Treble Crochet
The back loop treble crochet is a great way to crochet a ridged fabric with a variation of a basic crochet stitch.
The steps of the Back Loop Treble Crochet Stitch:
- Yarn over 2 times
- Insert crochet hook into back loop only
- Pull up a loop
- Yarn over
- Pull through 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Yarn over
- Pull through 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Yarn over
- Pull through the last 2 loops on the crochet hook
- Repeat steps 1-9 to crochet another back loop treble crochet
Abbreviations for the Back Loop Stitches
There are many different ways to abbreviate the back loop stitches in crochet patterns. Some of the common ways are:
- BLsc, BLhdc, BLdc, BLtr: In this way of abbreviating BL stands for back loop, then you have the abbreviation for the stitches. In this case single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet.
- sc-blo, hdc-blo, dc-blo, tr-blo: In this case you have moved the abbreviations for the stitches in front and blo stands for back loop only.
- blo-sc, blo-hdc, blo-dc, blo-tr: This is the complete opposite of the previous example, but the meaning is the same.
- BLO sc, BLO hdc, BLO dc, BLO tr: This is also a way of writing it, similar to the examples above.
Ways To Incorporate Back Loop Crochet Stitches Into Crochet Projects
There are many ways you can incorporate crochet in the back loop only stitches in different crochet projects.
The most known stitch is the back loop single crochet, which are often used to crochet ribbing for edges on crochet sweaters, hats and crochet mittens, like cuffs.
However crocheting through the back loop only can be used in all kinds of crochet projects to create texture and a different look, like softly ribbed crochet garments, blankets and cowls.
The stitches doesn’t have to be used consecutively after each other and can be used in combinations with front loop stitches, crochet post stitches and regular basic crochet stitches.
The front + back loop single crochet stitch combo creates a beautiful texture and is a great example of the result crochet in the back loop only can give.
