How to Crochet Into that Third Loop or Lower Horizontal Bar of Single Crochets

The moral of the story is, if you think you're looking
at the tops of stitches, you probably are. Orbit Cowl

The third loop is required for "camel crochet." It has also been called the hump, bump, nub, lower loop, back-back loop, and lower horizontal bar of the single crochet (sc in the US; double crochet or dc in the UK and Australia). The patterns that result from using this loop in different ways have been called Savvy Single Crochet, and Camel Crochet™. 

Pallas Scarf uses a few kinds of third loop
stitches. Its prominent top loops give this
design a strong impact.

I've listed these alternate names first so that crocheters searching for help have a chance of finding this post! For some reason this loop - a simple part of a simple stitch - is ignored in the crochet how-to books. (Be sure to see the end of this post for a chronological list of books that mention this topic somehow, and some how-to videos!)

It's not that I think beginners need to launch right into using it, but if it were named in a diagram along with other stitchy bits, it would give newbies a stronger foundation for broadening their understanding later. We'd have a common language. Designers wouldn't think twice before using it.

Here's how to find the loop in sc and use it. (Scroll down for hdc.) I've used it in a few of my patterns and want to use it more without confusing people. 

Single crochet stitches. This is a close up of the next photo below. I tinted the third
horizontal loop of the single crochets. The copper needle point is inserted through the
loop from under it, just like you'd do with the crochet hook for a nice ribbed look.

1. Loosely crochet a row of some sc. You already know about the two top loops of a sc, right? They're the ones you crochet the next row of stitches into (unless directed otherwise). The top loop nearest to you is the front loop and the other is the back loop. These loops are labeled consistently in the books.

2. While you're crocheting each sc, you see the front of it. Look closely at how different the back is from the front of the stitch. The main difference is a small horizontal bump strand on the back only, just under the top loop.

The fronts of the dark blue rows are facing us, and their top loops are bent over toward us, because the light blue rows were crocheted into this third loops. We're looking at the tops of their heads.
I crocheted the dark blue rows into both top loops of the light blue sc.

Issue #61 of Crochet
Inspirations Newsletter

Not only can you crochet into that third lower bump loop, you should! For more on the uses and possibilities of this third loop, please see issue #61, "Top Loops Optional," of Vashti's Crochet Inspirations Newsletter.

3. Finish your first row, chain 1, turn. Now the backs of the first row stitches are facing you. Look again for the third horizontal loop of the stitches. Skip the first sc and insert your crochet hook in the third loop of the next sc, from under the loop (not down through the top), then yarn over and pull through the loop. You should have two loops on your hook. Yarn over again and pull through both loops to complete a sc. 

Ever wondered if third loops are used
for the Thirsty Twists Bathmat?
Yes, but not as many as you think.

Three Tips!

It's weird and slow to crochet into this loop at first, but like everything, it gets easier. (I've only used the stitch in small strategic areas of my designs for effect.)

1. Keep stitches loose; use a larger crochet hook.

2. Use a pointy-headed crochet hook. You can even file the head of some of them to customize it.

3. Try this: when you pull up a loop in that third loop and leave it on your hook, pull up on it a bit. I've seen some people make their sc with their hook at an angle - angled toward the beginning of the row (held more horizontally than vertically). This makes a slightly stretched, taller sc with a loosened third loop, making it easier to crochet into.

The key to the effect is that none of the top loops of the first row are covered by stitches in the next row, so they ride along the surface as a neat chained-looking ridge.

Now for the Half Double Crochet (Hdc)

I hear some of you saying, "I do this already with hdc to make a squishy hdc ribbing!" And crocheting into the third loop of hdc is more common (though not as common as you'd think, if the crochet stitch guides are any indication). It's also easier because the third loop of hdc is looser.

These are all hdc. I color-coded the two different kinds of "third loops."
The only one I've used in designs, and have seen others use, is tinted pink.
The lemon-tinted one is worth trying, though. It makes a rib that's less offset
and bent. It's structurally the same as the sc third loop.

Interestingly, that hdc third loop is anatomically different from the sc third loop. (See newsletter #61 about this.) 

I checked about 30 likely books for any explanation of this third loop of sc and/or hdc. Here's a chronological list of the what I turned up. 

If you know of a source that is not on this list, please name it in the comments.

Note: some book titles are Amazon Affiliate links. If you click on them, it helps me out a little. Thanks!

1975: Golden Hands Special #40; Aran Crochet chapter, "Crochet rib stitch: …*work 1sc into horizontal loop below top of the next sc*…" and "Aran rib" (a row of hdc in the back loop only alternates with a row of third loop hdc).

1981: Anne Rabun Ough, New Directions in Crochet; shallow sc on p. 60.

1983/1985: Pam Dawson, Complete Book of Crochet; p. 116 "Single Rib Pattern" with diagram, in "Aran Crochet" chapter. same instructions as in Golden Hands (1975).

1985/1986: Rhoda Ochser Goldberg, The New Crochet Dictionary; p. 114, "Aran Crochet" chapter: same introduction and instructions as in Golden Hands (1975). hmmm...

Third loop crochet tends to be dense and warm; rows of
all sc or hdc in the top loops are too. This speedier third-loop
fabric is a light, airy, stretchy exception. Half Circle Handbag.

1986 Denmark/1995 USA: Lis Paludan, Crochet: History and Technique; p. 233-235, "the loop behind the stitch" and "hook inserted into the little loop under the stitch," with a nice diagram. Two swatches: sc in third loop only with turning, and in the round with no turning. (Interweave Press; out of print)

1990+: Naka Pillman, Camel Crochet™ Basic Instruction Book (and others in the series).

2007: Bendy Carter, Single Crochet from A to Z Sampler Afghan™; pp. 6, 10, 13, 17. Three kinds of fabrics using this loop called "horizontal bar." (Annie's Attic/DRG.)

2007: Helen Jordan, Stitch Collection: Textured Crochet, see p.54-57; "Inserting your hook into different parts of the stitch, when working half double crochet makes quite a difference to the surface of your work."

2008: Karen Whooley, Savvy Single Crochet. (Annie's Attic/DRG.)

2010: Karen Manthey, Crocheting for Dummies; in "Creating Texture in Unexpected Ways," I love the symbols given for the top front loop, top back loop, lower front loop, and lower back loop! States a "back-most loop" can be crocheted into for half double crochets and taller stitches.

2011: Robyn Chachula, Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia; Pattern for "Middle Bar Half Double Crochet." "The middle bar is below the top two loops." "Tip: You can crochet in the middle bar of any stitch taller than half double crochet."

Videos and Recommended Webpages:

------------------------

Karen Whooley's Savvy Single video. Link starts approx. 2 minutes in, when Karen has completed a row of the usual traditional single crochet stitch. She then goes on to show how to do the next row of single crochet in the third loop.

Kim Guzman's information page; includes videos.

See this discussion thread in Ravelry.

Follow the tweets of Camel Crochet.

Camel Crochet video by Bob Wilson.

------------------------

Crocheting Into Foundation Chains (& Other Chain Stitches)

Crochet is all about options. 

I learned only one way to crochet Row 1 into the foundation chains back when I learned how to crochet. I didn't question it for years! 

Nowadays, when a project requires foundation chains instead of a thicker, stretchier alternative, I choose to crochet into the chains different ways. In my crochet patterns I specify how when it matters. 

Usually when I need to specify which chain loop to crochet into, it's the bottom "bump" loop (see the top grey swatch at right). This is the loop that you need to use when doing:

• The "fat-free picots" referred to in this newsletter, 
• The love knot stitch, and 
• The beginning row in some star stitch patterns. Below is a how-to.

Update, Mar. 15 2014: Crochet Inspirations Newsletter issue #58 takes this topic further.

Chain Stitch Anatomy 101

Each chain has three loops.

1. Front Top Loop: the one closest to you as you're about to crochet into it.
2. Back Top Loop: the one farther from you, but still the top part of the chain.
3. Bottom Bump Loop: Turn the chain over to see the third strand on the bottom. It looks different, like a small bump between the two top loops.

When the crochet hook pulls "A" through loop "B-C", 
a loose chain will be completed. The B and C strands
will form the two top loops of the chain. The A strand 
will be the bottom bump loop of the chain. (This image 
also shows the first step in crocheting a love knot.)

You can crochet a stitch into any one or two of these loops. This is how you get the six conventional ways shown in the six swatches in the upper image (i.e., insert hook under X loop or loops of the chain, yarn over and pull yarn through). Next I'll compare four of the six options.

Four Ways to Crochet Into Foundation Chains

Option 1 gives the Starpath Scarf nice edges.

Option #1, The "bottom bump loop" only (grey swatch above) 
This one gives me my favorite finished edge. It's a popular option for those in the know. Neither top loop is used, so they show completely along the finished edge. It creates the same lovely chain-loop look as the other finished edge; in other words, the bottom edge of the first row looks the same as the top edge of the last row. Makes an edging optional, and makes seaming a pleasure.

Option #1 firms up the foundation chain (fch) more than crocheting into a top loop, so depending on the project, I make my chains a bit looser. I don't find it to be more difficult to do; the challenge is in the pattern writing! 

I feel that not enough crocheters notice this third bottom "bump" strand of chain stitches. Even if they do, the term for that loop is not as standardized and well known. This is the main reason I wrote this blog post.

Option #2. The top two loops (blue swatch above) 
This is the way I was originally taught - under both of the top loops of the chain. It results in a finished edge of little "bump" loops because the bottom bump loop of each chain is the only loop that's not included in the next row of stitches. This option tightens up a foundation chain the most. The big reason I would choose this is if I wish to effortlessly unzip the foundation chain later (if done as described in the Burly Bias pattern). Another reason would be if I'm crocheting beads into the fchs.

Flounce Charms: Option #1 required
for their Fat-Free Picots

It makes sense to teach this option to a beginner. The top two loops of a chain stitch actually resemble a chain link, and other crochet stitches have two familiar top loops like chain stitches. Finding the front top loop (FL) or back top loop (BL) of a crochet stitch is a common occurrence for a crocheter, which makes the names for these loop familiar.

Option #3. Two other loops (the top back loop + the "bottom bump" loop, green swatch above) 
I've met some crocheters who prefer this option because It's the recommended option in most of the how-to books, often as an improvement over Option #4. It's a bit firmer and neater looking than #4, and a bit easier than #2. 

Option #4. One top loop (orange swatch): Some beginners are taught to crochet into only one top loop, which is actually the top back loop (abbreviated BL in patterns; or BLO which means "back loop only"). Crocheting into this loop of a fch is helpful for beginners, because it's easier to fish around for only one of the three loops of every chain, especially the BL—it sticks up a bit more than the other top loop (the FL). Another benefit is that the fch firms up less. It's the most discouraged option in the how-to books, though, because it can have a stringy, loopy, or messy look.

Option #4 is used for the Luckyslip Mitts.

I use this option sometimes if I'm crocheting slip stitch ribbing that I'll be seaming with slip stitches later; and sometimes when I crochet rows on both sides of the foundation chain.

Aside from my first choice (Option #1), I also like the rarely used top front loop only - the pink swatch - instead of #2, #3, or #4. It has a stable finished feel, a flat back, and a cute nubby front.

No matter which option you choose, try to pick the same top loop(s) of every chain of the fch, or else the next chain may look weird and your finished edge look irregular.