English abbreviation · Knitting
What does tbl mean in knitting?
tbl means through the back loop.
In French: par le brin arrière
How to work it
Tbl stands for “through the back loop”. In knitting, it asks you to work a stitch by going into its back leg instead of the front one. The stitch comes out twisted, which gives a firmer and more defined line of knitting.
For a knit stitch, written “k1 tbl”, put the right needle into the stitch from right to left, behind the left needle, so that it enters the back leg of the stitch. Wrap the yarn as usual and pull the loop through.
For a purl stitch, written “p1 tbl”, the idea is the same: go in through the back leg of the stitch, and work the purl as you normally would.
The twist is wanted, and it is the reason the pattern asks for it. It is used in twisted rib, and wherever the pattern wants a stitch to stand out as a crisp line. A stitch that was put on the needle the wrong way round is also set right by working it tbl.
In a pattern
Row 3: *k1 tbl, p1; rep from * to end.
Take the row “Row 3: *k1 tbl, p1; rep from * to end.” “Row 3” is the third row. The asterisk opens a group of two instructions. “k1 tbl” knits one stitch through the back loop. “p1” purls one stitch, plainly. “rep from * to end” asks you to start the group again until the end of the row. The result is a twisted rib: the knit columns are narrow and crisp, and they stand out against the purl columns between them.
US or UK?
Identical. American and British patterns both write tbl, with the same movement. Do not mix it up with crochet, where the back loop is written “blo”: in crochet the loop is one of the two at the top of the stitch, not a leg of a knitted stitch.
Common mistakes
- Going in through the front. The stitch is then ordinary, and the twisted rib turns into a plain one. After a few rows the columns look softer than the pattern’s picture.
- Twisting every stitch of the row when the pattern asked for only some. Tbl applies to the stitch that comes just before it, not to the whole row. Read the instruction up to its comma.
- Working the stitch tbl, then finding it hard to enter on the next row. The twisted stitch is tighter. Keep a relaxed hand, and keep the stitches near the needle tips.
A tip
Say the instruction aloud: “knit, back leg”. Then look at the stitch before you enter it. The leg that sits farther from you is the back one. A mark at the start of the row keeps the rhythm of the rib, and the knitting needle sizes page of this site helps if twisted stitches feel tight.
Try it with a row from your pattern
Here is a row that uses it. Replace it with a row from your pattern: every abbreviation the reader knows is underlined, and its meaning shows on hover.
Row 3: *k1 tbl, p1; rep from * to end.