The front post double crochet symbol in crochet charts
An ordinary double crochet with a hook drawn at its foot. The symbol tells you where the hook goes, not which stitch to make.
- US name
- Front post double crochet
- UK name
- Front post treble
- In the editor
- Front post double crochet
What it looks like in a chart
A double crochet — top bar, post, one slash — whose post continues down past the base into an almost-closed loop. That loop is the instruction: instead of going into the top of the stitch below, the hook goes around the whole post of that stitch, front to back to front, so the new stitch sits raised on the near side of the fabric.
Which way the loop is drawn is the entire difference between this symbol and its back post twin. On Craft Yarn Council’s key the front post loop is open at the upper left; the back post loop is its mirror image, open at the upper right. The rest of the symbol — the post, the bar, the single slash — is identical, because both stitches really are just double crochets.
How it is used
- Ribbing, alternating front post and back post stitches so the fabric folds into vertical ridges.
- Cables and basketweave, where columns of raised posts cross or block against a flat background.
- Textured mandala and doily rounds, where a ring of front post stitches lifts one round proud of the next.
Worth knowing
Post stitches do not change your stitch count. Each one still consumes exactly one stitch of the round below — it just wraps around it instead of entering its top. If your count drops, you have skipped the stitch the post belongs to.
Craft Yarn Council’s master list has post versions of most stitches — FPsc, FPhdc, FPdc, FPtr, FPdtr and the back post equivalents. The chart symbol follows the same recipe every time: draw the stitch, add the foot loop.
The UK name is a trap worth naming. Because UK treble is US double crochet, a US FPdc is a UK FPtr — and a US FPtr is a UK FPdtr. The abbreviation FPtr means two different stitches depending on the system, in exactly the way plain dc does.
Common questions
What does the hook shape at the bottom of a crochet symbol mean?
It marks a post stitch. The hook goes around the post of the stitch below rather than into its top. A loop drawn open at the upper left is a front post stitch; the mirrored version, open at the upper right, is a back post stitch.
What is the difference between front post and back post double crochet?
Which side of the fabric the hook travels on. A front post stitch is worked around the post from the front, so it sits raised toward you; a back post stitch goes around from the back and pushes the post away from you. The two symbols are mirror images of each other.
Does a front post double crochet count as a stitch?
Yes, and it uses up one stitch of the row or round below — the one whose post it wraps. It does not increase or decrease your count.