How To Make a M1BL & a M1FL Increase

Watch the video above to see how to make a M1BL and M1FL increase! More info on this increase can be found below.

What is an M1BL or M1FL Increase?

The M1BL (Make One Backwards Loop) and the M1FL (Make One Forwards Loop) are directional knitted increases that are extremely useful and easy to do. For some reason, they are used in knitting patterns less frequently, however they are a great alternative to many of the more commonly known increases (M1, yarnover, etc.) and can be use in many applications such as top down raglans.

 M1BL - Make One Backwards-Loop

Also sometimes referred to as the M1L-Loop increase, and for a little extra confusion, I’ve also seen it referred to as the M1A (make one away), the e-loop increase, and a few other names as well. It’s made in the same manner as the Backwards-Loop Cast-on which you might be more familiar with. This increase leans toward the left.

Loop your working yarn around the right-hand needle so that the right leg of the stitch wraps over the front of the needle. Pull yarn tight so that this loop is very snug on the needle.

When working into this stitch on the next row / round, knit or purl it as usual.

M1FL - Make One Forwards-Loop

Also sometimes referred to as the M1R-Loop increase. For some reason this right leaning counterpart to the M1BL is less commonly known and is difficult to find instructions for! This increase leans towards the right.

Loop your working yarn around the right-hand needle so that the left leg of the stitch wraps over the front of the needle. Pull yarn tight so that this loop is very snug on the needle.

When working into this stitch on the next row / round, knit or purl it through the back loop.

Why use an M1BL or M1FL increase?

This increase looks very similar to a typical M1R or M1L increase, however it’s constructed differently. The M1BL / M1FL method of increase is made using only the working yarn, whereas the M1R / M1L uses a bar of yarn from the row below.

In the swatch above I’ve worked a typical M1R (make one right leaning) increase, and then 6 stitches later I worked an M1BL increase. I highlighted a few of both increases in red. At first glance you can see that these two methods of increases look very similar. However upon closer inspection you will notice that the M1R is smaller, and the stitches on either side of it (highlighted in green) are slightly smaller too, whereas the M1BL creates a larger stitch, and the stitches on either side of it (green) are relatively all the same size and match the stitch size of the rest of the swatch. This is because the M1R is made by pulling up a strand of yarn from the row below which tightens the surrounding fabric.

Since the M1BL is created with the working yarn only, none of the surrounding stitches are pulled tighter and the knitting looks a lot neater (in my opinion!). You can see that the column of stitches to the right of the M1BL is very straight and tidy, but the column of stitches to the left of the M1R is more bumpy looking and alternates between a big stitch and a little stitch! This is not necessarily a bad thing, and can be quite decorative if done consistently, however sometimes it can distort a surrounding stitch pattern.

One thing to keep in mind is that the M1BL / M1FL increase is a looser increase, so be sure to tighten it up well on your needle when you’re making it so gaps don’t form.

If you’re interested in giving the M1BL and M1FL increase a try, we used both of them in our Pincord Mittens Pattern!

Disclaimer!

I’ve seen a few other tutorials around the internet that identify these increases as leaning in the opposite direction than what is shown in this tutorial (they identify the M1BL as right leaning and M1FL as left leaning). While this is not necessarily incorrect, I personally feel it makes the most sense to identify these increases as leaning in the same direction as the M1R / M1L. It seems less confusing this way! Right leaning or left leaning though, it really doesn’t matter too much how you identify and use these increases, just work them in a consistent manner and your knitting will look awesome!

-Kiyomi :)