Front and Back Posts

📚 What you’ll learn

You’ll learn how front post and back post stitches work—where to insert your hook, which direction to yarn over, and how to form stitches like front post hdc and back post dc with confidence.

🎥 Watch

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Front posts

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Back posts

📋 Instructions

Look at your swatches of hdc and dc. Locate the post of a stitch. Remember that the post is the long, vertical column between the top and base.
Practice inserting your hook between the posts of two stitches. Insert your hook from the front, go around the post and pop your hook back out between the next two stitches. This is how you will begin a Front Post stitch. Practice the movement a few times and get comfortable with the motion without making a stitch.
Now insert your hook from the back between two stitches, the tip of your hook is pointing at you. Lay your hook over the next stitch and go back through the next space between stitches. This is how you will begin the Back Post stitch. Practice the movement a few times and get comfortable with the motion without making a stitch.
When making front or back post stitches, work the stitch as usual—yarn over, insert the hook, yarn over, and pull up a loop—the only difference is that the hook goes around the post instead of into the top loops.

🔑 Key tips

Front and back post stitches are made just like regular stitches, the difference is in where they are made.
Both front and back post stitches create beautiful texture, pushing the stitches forward (front post stitch) or pushing them backward (back post stitch).
One great trick to know: If you alternate front post stitches in one row and back post stitches in the next row you will get consistent ribbing along one side. Try this on a small swatch and see for yourself.

🏋️ Practice

Chain 8 (the last 3 chains count as a stitch).
Dc in the 4th chain from the hook and in each chain across the row, turn.
Chain 3 (counts as a stitch), front post double crochet (fpdc) around the next stitch: Yarn over hook (yoh), insert your hook, from front to back, between the first and second stitches then from back to front around that second stitch, yoh, draw up a loop and complete the stitch as you normally would for a dc, continue making fpdc across to the next to last stitch, make each fpdc around the next post following your last stitch, dc in the last stitch, turn.
Chain 3 (counts as a stitch), back post double crochet (bpdc) around the next stitch: yoh, insert your hook, from back to front, between the first and second stitches then from front to back around that second stitch, yoh, draw up a loop and complete the stitch as you normally would for a dc, continue making bpdc across the row to the next to the last stitch, make each bpdc around the next post following your last stitch, dc in the last stitch, turn.
Practice a few more rows like this. Try doing 2 rows of fpdc and 2 rows of bpdc to see the difference it makes in the texture of your fabric.
Pro Tip: Always make the last stitch of the post rows a normal stitch. This balances your sides and keeps the edges neat because your first stitch was a Ch 3. Also remember that this last stitch will be in the turning chain from the previous row.

🎯 Goal

You recognize the post and understand how to create a front post and a back post stitch.

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🧶Mug Cozy

📋 Instructions

Look at your swatches of hdc and dc. Locate the post of a stitch. Remember that the post is the long, vertical column between the top and base.

Practice inserting your hook between the posts of two stitches. Insert your hook from the front, go around the post and pop your hook back out between the next two stitches. This is how you will begin a Front Post stitch. Practice the movement a few times and get comfortable with the motion without making a stitch.

Now insert your hook from the back between two stitches, the tip of your hook is pointing at you. Lay your hook over the next stitch and go back through the next space between stitches. This is how you will begin the Back Post stitch. Practice the movement a few times and get comfortable with the motion without making a stitch.

When making front or back post stitches, work the stitch as usual—yarn over, insert the hook, yarn over, and pull up a loop—the only difference is that the hook goes around the post instead of into the top loops.

🔑 Key tips

Front and back post stitches are made just like regular stitches, the difference is in where they are made.

Both front and back post stitches create beautiful texture, pushing the stitches forward (front post stitch) or pushing them backward (back post stitch).

One great trick to know: If you alternate front post stitches in one row and back post stitches in the next row you will get consistent ribbing along one side. Try this on a small swatch and see for yourself.

🏋️ Practice

Chain 8 (the last 3 chains count as a stitch).

Dc in the 4th chain from the hook and in each chain across the row, turn.

Chain 3 (counts as a stitch), front post double crochet (fpdc) around the next stitch: Yarn over hook (yoh), insert your hook, from front to back, between the first and second stitches then from back to front around that second stitch, yoh, draw up a loop and complete the stitch as you normally would for a dc, continue making fpdc across to the next to last stitch, make each fpdc around the next post following your last stitch, dc in the last stitch, turn.

Chain 3 (counts as a stitch), back post double crochet (bpdc) around the next stitch: yoh, insert your hook, from back to front, between the first and second stitches then from front to back around that second stitch, yoh, draw up a loop and complete the stitch as you normally would for a dc, continue making bpdc across the row to the next to the last stitch, make each bpdc around the next post following your last stitch, dc in the last stitch, turn.

Practice a few more rows like this. Try doing 2 rows of fpdc and 2 rows of bpdc to see the difference it makes in the texture of your fabric.

Pro Tip: Always make the last stitch of the post rows a normal stitch. This balances your sides and keeps the edges neat because your first stitch was a Ch 3. Also remember that this last stitch will be in the turning chain from the previous row.