Category: General

Invisible decreases are, in my opinion, an essential tool for amigurumi or any other crochet project worked in continuous rounds. However, they don’t work when you need to decrease in the back loops of a round. This post will walk you through how I do an invisible decrease in the back loops.

As with all my other tutorials, this is available in multiple formats, as well as in left and right handed versions. If you’re right handed, you can check out that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial, check that out here.

Using the Stitch

This is not a technique I use often, but it still absolutely has its place. I use this when I’m working a round either partially or entirely in the back loops, but also need some decreases in the same round. This allows me to keep that decrease as invisible as possible and keep the front loops out of the equation.

Stitch Structure

In a traditional invisible decrease, we can just go through the front loops of the next 2 (or however many) stitches. This works because the first loop overlaps the second (which overlaps the third, and so on). It’s really easy to maneuver these loops to go through both at once.

This isn’t as much the case for the back loops. The first loop is under the second when we look at it from the front.

This requires us to take a different approach when trying to do an invisible style decrease through the back loops.

Making the Stitch

Since the first loop is under the second loop, we want to start by inserting our hook into the second loop.

Now, we’re going to go back to work into the first loop. This can be tricky, and is absolutely more difficult than a traditional invisible decrease.

We then finish the stitch as normal. Pull up a loop through the stitches your hook is in.

Yarn over, and pull through both loops on your hook.

And that’s an invisible decrease through the back loops! You can absolutely decrease more than just 2 stitches with this, although the more stitches you decrease, the trickier it will be. Just start in the final stitch of your decrease, and work your way backward through the loops.

I hope you find this stitch useful!

Invisible decreases are, in my opinion, an essential tool for amigurumi or any other crochet project worked in continuous rounds. However, they don’t work when you need to decrease in the back loops of a round. This post will walk you through how I do an invisible decrease in the back loops.

As with all my other tutorials, this is available in multiple formats, as well as in left and right handed versions. If you’re left handed, you can check out that tutorial here, or if you prefer a video tutorial, check that out here.

Using the Stitch

This is not a technique I use often, but it still absolutely has its place. I use this when I’m working a round either partially or entirely in the back loops, but also need some decreases in the same round. This allows me to keep that decrease as invisible as possible and keep the front loops out of the equation.

Stitch Structure

In a traditional invisible decrease, we can just go through the front loops of the next 2 (or however many) stitches. This works because the first loop overlaps the second (which overlaps the third, and so on). It’s really easy to maneuver these loops to go through both at once.

This isn’t as much the case for the back loops. The first loop is under the second when we look at it from the front.

This requires us to take a different approach when trying to do an invisible style decrease through the back loops.

Making the Stitch

Since the first loop is under the second loop, we want to start by inserting our hook into the second loop.

Now, we’re going to go back to work into the first loop. This can be tricky, and is absolutely more difficult than a traditional invisible decrease.

We then finish the stitch as normal. Pull up a loop through the stitches your hook is in.

Yarn over, and pull through both loops on your hook.

And that’s an invisible decrease through the back loops! You can absolutely decrease more than just 2 stitches with this, although the more stitches you decrease, the trickier it will be. Just start in the final stitch of your decrease, and work your way backward through the loops.

I hope you find this stitch useful!