Half Double Crochet
How do I make a half double crochet? You came to the right place to find out! I have compiled and illustrated over some photos of my own work to show you exactly what to do. I have also provided commentary on each photo to explain to you exactly what I’m doing and why. I know for me, when I am learning something new, I like to learn the why because it helps me remember the method. If you prefer to crochet along with me, Check out my video tutorial!
Watch the Video Tutorial Here!
Scroll Below for the Written Instructions.
Step 1 - Wrapping my Yarn and Inserting my Hook
To start this swatch, I am going to chain 12 + 2 . Once I have my foundation chain established, I will wrap my yarn around my hook, over the top, and find the third stitch from my hook.
The reason I chain + 2 is because these two additional chains will act as the starting edge of the first row.
I will show you where to place your stitch if you are working in a previous row and not the foundation chain farther below.
Indicated in Step 6.
A - This is the path I will take to place my hook into the third chain from the hook, after I wrap my working yarn around my hook.
B - This is the third chain from my hook.
C - This is my working yarn.
Step 2 - Wrapping my Yarn for the Second Time
Keeping the yarn wrapped around my hook, I have inserted my hook into that third chain from the hook, which I found in Step 1. Now, I will wrap my yarn around the hook once again, this time on the other side of the chain stitch.
A - This is my working yarn.
I have indicating where I wrapped it before the chain Stitch and after the chain stitch.
B - This is the chain I have just inserted my hook into.
C - This is the third loop on my hook.
This is also the original loop on my hook.
Step 3 - Exiting the Chain - Part A
Now I am going to pull that yarn I just wrapped around my hook, and exit my hook through the chain stitch I initially entered into.
A - This is the Chain I initially inserted my hook into.
B - This is the path I am taking to pull my working yarn through the chain stitch
C - This is my working yarn which I am pulling through the chain stitch.
This is going to be the first loop on my hook once I completely pull it through the chain stitch
D - This is going to be the second loop on my hook once I completely pull my working yarn through the chain stitch.
E - This is going to be the third loop on my hook once I completely pull my working yarn through the chain stitch.
Step 2 - Exiting the Chain - Part B
There are now three loops on my crochet hook.
A - This is the first loop on my hook.
This was previously the working yarn I wrapped around my hook and pulled through the Chain Stitch.
B - This is the second loop on my hook.
C - This is the third loop on my hook.
Step 3 - Wrapping my Yarn for the Third Time
I am now going to wrap my yarn up and around my hook once again.
A - This is the direction I will wrap my yarn around my hook
B - This is the first loop on my hook.
C - This is the second loop on my hook.
D - This is the third loop on my hook.
E - This is the path I will take to pull my working yarn through all three loops on my hook
Indicated in step 4
Step 4 - Pulling Through all Three Loops
With that yarn wrapped around my hook, I will now pull it through all three loops on my hook.
A - This was the first loop on my hook.
B - This was the second loop on my hook.
C - This was my working yarn.
D - This is the path I am taking to pull my working yarn through those three loops.
Step 5 - First Half Double Crochet Complete
With that last loop remaining, I have now completed my first double crochet!
Step 6 - Half Double Crochet on a Half Double Crochet
To start the second row, once I have placed a half double crochet in the last chain stitch of my foundation, I will chain two and then turn my work so I can crochet back the other way across all of the half double crochet’s I just made.
A - This is the path I will take to place my hook into the top of the last Half Double Crochet of the previous row.
The space I am pointing to is the top of the half double crochet directly below.
B - This is the space I am going to place my hook into, after I wrap my yarn around my hook, to begin my half double crochet.
C - This is your working yarn which you are going to wrap around your hook before inserting it into the top of the last Half Double Crochet of the previous row.
Finished!
Here is the final swatch of my two rows of Half Double Crochets.
DC - I have included my Double Crochet Swatch for reference, to display the size and stitch differences between the two.
You can find the tutorial for the Double Crochet Swatch Here.
HDC - This is the Swatch I have made for the Half Double Crochet tutorial.
Front - The top row of the swatch, is what the front of your stitch will look like. Some crocheters refer to this as the “right” side.
The red lines indicate the bundles of loops you go through in steps 5 and 7
Back - The bottom row of the swatch, is what the back of your stitch will look like. Some crocheters refer to this as the “wrong” side.
Chain -This is the very bottom of the swatch, below the two double crochet rows. This is referred to as the foundation chain.
Number 1 -This is the direction I went when crocheting the bottom row.
Number 2 -This is the direction I went when crocheting the top row.
Number 3 - This is the edge of the swatch.
This edge consists of the two chains I made at the of the end of first row before turning my work and starting on my second row, as illustrated in step 9.