Front Loop Single Crochet (scflo): How to Crochet It (Video + Pattern)

Front loop single crochet (scflo) is ordinary single crochet with one change: the hook goes under the front loop of the stitch only, instead of under both loops. The unworked back loop stays on the surface as a horizontal ridge, so the fabric comes out striped with fine lines and a little more stretch than regular single crochet.

It's a beginner stitch. If you can single crochet, you can do this in one row. The thing that makes it work is looking at the top of each stitch: it has two loops, a front and a back, and you always go under the one closest to you.

The fabric is softer than regular single crochet and stretches lengthwise.

Watch: Front Loop Single Crochet Video Tutorial

Watch how the hook slides under just the front loop and leaves the back loop sitting on top of the row as a ridge.

What You Need

Yarn: worsted (medium) weight, as in the swatch. A smooth, light-colored yarn makes the front and back loops easy to tell apart, which is the whole skill here.

Hook: 5.0 mm (US H-8), or the size that gives you the listed gauge.

Abbreviations (US terms): CH = chain; SC = single crochet; SCFLO = single crochet in the front loop only; st(s) = stitch(es).

Stitch multiple: any number of stitches, plus 1 chain to start. The swatch uses 23 chains for 22 stitches.

Front Loop Single Crochet Written Pattern

Size: 6"x6"

Gauge: 4x4 = 14sts x 16 rows

Yarn: 28g or 40yds of DGY worsted weight recycled silk

Crochet Hook Size: 5.00mm

Abbreviations: CH - Chain; SCFLO - Single Crochet

Note: CH 3 counts as first stitch.

Pattern:

CH 23

Row 1: Working into the 2nd CH from the hook, SC. Repeat Across. CH 1 and Turn. (22 sts)

Row 2: Working into the front loop only, SC across (SCFLO) CH 1 and Turn. (22 sts)

Row 3: SCFLO across. CH 1 and Turn. (22 sts)

Rows 4-26: Repeat Row 3. (22 sts)

Bind off and weave in ends.

Step-by-Step: How the Stitch Works

1. Chain 23 and work a plain row. Row 1 is regular single crochet into the second chain from the hook and across: insert, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through two. You'll have 22 stitches. Chain 1 and turn; in this swatch the chain 1 is not counted as a stitch.
2. Find the front loop. Look at the top of the first stitch. There's a V made of two strands. The strand nearest you is the front loop; the one behind it is the back loop.
3. Insert under the front loop only. Slide the hook under that near strand and nothing else. Yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through two. That's one scflo.
4. Repeat across. Work scflo into every stitch to the end of the row for 22 stitches. The back loops you skipped stay visible as a ridge along the row.
5. Chain 1, turn, repeat. Every row from here on is the same. Because you turn each row, the ridges alternate sides, which gives the fabric its stretch.

Tips and Common Mistakes

• Grabbing both loops by accident. It happens most at the start of a row when you're in a hurry. If a row has no ridge, you worked under both loops.
• Losing the last stitch. The last stitch of each row is easy to miss. Count 22 after every row.
• Front means front of the work. The front loop is always the one closest to you on the row you're working, no matter which side of the fabric faces you.
• Either side can be the right side. The ridges show on both faces, on alternating rows, so it's reversible.
• It stretches more than regular sc. Working one loop lets the rows pull apart. That's a feature for hats and cuffs, but measure your swatch unstretched.

What to Make With the Front Loop Single Crochet Stitch

• Ribbed hat bands and beanies in worsted weight. The horizontal ridges and stretch make it a stand-in for knit ribbing. How to crochet a beanie walks through the shaping.
• Washcloths in worsted cotton, where the ridges add scrub.
• A soft scarf in sport or DK weight silk, worked lengthwise so the ridges run along the scarf.
• Cuffs on sleeves and mittens in DK or worsted, worked flat and seamed.

Related Stitches

• Single Crochet Stitch — the base stitch, worked under both loops
• Slip Stitch in the Back Loop — the same one-loop idea with slip stitch, for a tighter knit-look rib
• Ribbed Half Double Crochet — the taller version of this ribbing
• Browse every crochet stitch tutorial

Yarn for This Stitch

The ridges show best in a smooth, solid-colored yarn. Darn Good Twist Sport Weight Silk Yarn, recycled silk hand-dyed by artisans in India, makes a soft, drapey scarf in this stitch; browse it with the rest of our sport weight yarn. For hat bands and washcloths as swatched, use a worsted weight yarn.

If you'd like a new skein to practice on every month, Yarn of the Month sends three hand-dyed skeins with a knit and crochet pattern written for them, $29 a month plus shipping.

Front Loop Single Crochet FAQ

What's the difference between front loop and back loop single crochet?
Only which strand you work under. Back loop (scblo) leaves the front loop on the surface and makes a slightly deeper ridge; front loop leaves the back loop. Both make a stretchy, ribbed fabric.

Does front loop single crochet curl?
Very little. It lies flatter than regular single crochet, and a wet block takes out any lean at the edges.

How much yarn does scflo use?
About the same as regular single crochet, since the stitch is identical. The 6-inch swatch uses roughly 40 yards of worsted.