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Back bump of the chain

The back bump is the single strand that runs along the back of each chain stitch. Turn the chain over to see it. A first row worked under the back bumps leaves both strands of every chain lying along the bottom edge, so the bottom of the piece looks like the top.

How to work it

  1. Make the chain

    Make the number of chains the pattern asks for.

  2. Turn the chain over

    A chain turned over and seen from the back. The two strands of each chain lie behind, and one strand runs along the middle of each chain in front of them: the back bump. One back bump is marked.

    Roll the chain until its row of V shapes faces away from you. On the side now toward you, each chain shows one strand along its middle. That strand is the back bump.

  3. Count from the hook as usual

    The pattern still names the chain that takes the first stitch, counted from the hook. Count on the bumps: one bump for each chain, and none for the loop on the hook.

  4. Put the hook under the bump

    The chain seen from the back, with its hook end at the right. The hook passes under the back bump of the second chain from the hook, and under nothing else: the bump lies over the hook, and the two strands behind it are left alone. One loop is on the hook.

    Slide the hook under that one strand and nothing else, and work the stitch.

  5. Work along the chain

    Work one stitch under the back bump of each chain to the end of the row.

  6. Look at the bottom edge

    A small piece whose first row was worked into the back bumps. Along the bottom edge both strands of every chain are left whole, a row of Vs, marked here. The top edge of the piece is a row of Vs of the same kind.

    The two strands of every chain lie untouched along the bottom of the row. They make a row of Vs like the ones along the top of a row of stitches.

At a glance

Also called
back hump
Used for
a bottom edge that is left as it is, with no border worked on it; a starting edge that a border or a join will be worked into later
Strands under the hook
One: the back bump alone.
Number of stitches
The same as any other way into the chain: one stitch for each chain worked into.
The edge it gives
Both strands of each chain left whole along the bottom.

A chain is three strands. Two of them make the V you see from the front. The third lies behind them, and that one is the back bump. The usual ways into a chain take the top strand of the V, or the top strand and the bump together. This way takes the bump alone and leaves the V whole.

It is worth doing when the bottom edge will be seen or used. An edge left without a border looks finished, because it matches the top edge. An edge that a border will be worked into, or that will be joined to the last row, has whole Vs to work into.

The other ways into a chain, and how the first row is counted, are on the page about the foundation chain.

When it goes wrong

I cannot find the bumps.
The front of the chain is still toward you. Turn the chain until the Vs face away. The bumps are the row of single strands along the middle of the back.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Questions

Where is the back bump of a chain?
On the back of the chain: the single strand along the middle of each chain stitch, behind the two strands that make the V on the front.
Why crochet into the back bump?
It leaves the V of every chain whole along the bottom edge, so the bottom of the piece matches the top.
Does it change the number of stitches?
No. One stitch still goes into each chain, and the first stitch still goes into the chain the pattern names.
Is the back bump the same as the back loop?
No. The back loop is one of the two strands at the top of a stitch, the one farther from you. The back bump is the third strand of a chain, on its back.

Where to go next

Stitches

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