Front Loop Only vs Back Loop Only: What FLO and BLO Do in Crochet

FLO means "front loop only" and BLO means "back loop only". Instead of putting your hook under both strands at the top of a stitch, you go under just one of them. The strand you skip stays unworked and shows as a thin horizontal line across your fabric, which is why patterns use FLO and BLO to make ridges, sharp edges, stretchy ribbing and spots to attach something later.

Which loop is the front, and which is the back?

Look down at the top edge of your work. Every stitch shows a little sideways V, sitting like a chain lying along the edge. Each V is made of two strands:

• The front loop is the strand closest to you.
• The back loop is the strand farther away from you.

Normally you slide the hook under both strands of the V. For FLO you go under the near strand only, and for BLO under the far strand only. Then you make the stitch exactly as usual. A single crochet worked in the back loop is still a single crochet. Only the entry point has changed.

One thing that trips people up: "front" and "back" are always relative to you, not to the fabric. If you turn your work, the loop that was in front is now in back. This matters a lot in rows, and less in amigurumi, where you never turn.

It also does not change with your hand. Left-handed or right-handed, the front loop is still the strand nearest you.

What FLO and BLO actually do to the fabric

Working one loop does two things at once. It leaves the other loop sitting free on the surface, and it lets the fabric hinge at that point, because the new stitch is only attached by one strand instead of two.

• BLO: the unworked front loops face you and form a clear horizontal line. In amigurumi, one round of BLO is the classic way to make a crisp corner, like the edge where a flat base turns up into the side wall of a cup, a basket or a hat crown.
• FLO: the unworked back loops sit on the far side, which on a stuffed piece is usually the inside. FLO is often used where a pattern wants a defined fold or edge on the outside, or when it will come back later and crochet a brim, frill or skirt into those leftover back loops.
• BLO in rows: because you turn every row, working BLO on every row puts a ridge on alternating sides. The result is a squishy, stretchy ribbing that is a favourite for hat bands and cuffs.

A real example from a Yon lesson

In our Echo the Bat lesson, round 14 of the body is written like this:

Rnd 14. FLO [sc, inc] x 6 (18)

Read it piece by piece. "FLO" at the front applies to every stitch in the round. The brackets hold a repeat: one single crochet, then one increase. "x 6" means do that pair six times, and "(18)" is the stitch count you should have at the end. In the video, you insert the hook into the front loop of each V only, then move the stitch marker up at the end.

If brackets and counts in parentheses still feel unclear, our guide to brackets, parentheses and asterisks in crochet patterns breaks that notation down in detail.

How patterns write it (and the scope trap)

You will see these instructions in a few forms:

• "FLO" or "BLO" at the start of a round, applying to the whole round
• "BLO sc in next 6 sts", applying to those six stitches only
• "Working in back loops only for this round", spelled out in full
• "FL" and "BL" in some older or UK-written patterns

The most common mistake is not the stitch itself. It is the scope. A beginner sees "BLO" on one round and keeps working BLO for the next three, or sees "BLO sc in next 6" and does the whole round that way. Before you start a round, ask: where does this instruction stop? If the pattern does not say, it almost always means that round only.

Do not confuse the back loop with the back bump of a chain, either. The back bump lives on the underside of a foundation chain, not on top of a finished stitch. Our post on the back bump of a chain covers that one.

Common FLO and BLO problems

1. The line wobbles. You probably slipped back to both loops for a stitch or two. Count the unworked loops; there should be one for every stitch in the round.
2. The piece has holes you did not want. You may be working one loop by accident on every round. Check that your hook goes under both strands on normal rounds. Our guide to why amigurumi gets holes walks through this and other causes.
3. The ridge is on the wrong side. Your piece may have flipped inside out a few rounds earlier. Here is how to tell the right side from the wrong side.

Practise reading it before you stitch it

Most FLO and BLO mistakes are reading mistakes, not hand mistakes. The Pattern Trainer in the Yon Crochet app teaches you to read crochet notation round by round, so lines like "Rnd 14. FLO [sc, inc] x 6 (18)" stop looking like code. For any other abbreviation you meet, keep our crochet terms glossary open in another tab.

Ready to try it on a real piece?

The easiest way to learn loop work is to watch a hook do it slowly. Every Yon Crochet beginner kit comes with yarn, a hook, safety eyes, stuffing and a full video lesson, with a left-handed version of every lesson, mirrored so the hook and yarn move the way they will in your left hand. When you are ready for FLO, Echo the Bat is waiting. Questions first? Our FAQ has you covered.