How to Half Double Crochet
Half double crochet is one of the basic crochet stitches. You'll learn this stitch early on in your crochet journey. Moreover, you might find that you use it often even as an advanced crocheter. On the one hand, it's a really easy stitch to learn. On the other hand, it has a lot of versatile applications.
What Is The Half Double Crochet Stitch
In crochet, there are some very basic stitches that are all built essentially the same way. As a new crocheter, you often first learn how to single crochet. You'll insert your hook into your yarn, yarn over, pull through. Taller stitches, such as the double crochet, are built the same way, just with additional yarn overs and pull throughs. You can create a variety of different stitches in this manner, but single crochet and double crochet are almost certainly the first two that you'll learn.
Double crochet, as the name suggests, is twice as tall as single crochet. But then there's half double crochet. This is, as you might guess, halfway between single and double in height.
Why Learn How To Half Double Crochet
The taller that a stitch is, the faster a crochet piece works up. For example, people typically find they can crochet s double crochet scarf much more quickly than a single crochet scarf. However, the taller the stitch, the lacier or more "open" it appears. Therefore, if you want denser, warmer fabric, you typically choose shorter crochet stitches.
The half double crochet stitch is a terrific option because it is taller than single crochet and yet not as open as a double crochet. It works up a little faster. It gives you rows that are a little wider which you'll especially notice if you're working with self-striping yarn, and yet it's still dense and warm. That's one of the main reasons why people learn how to half double crochet.
Other Great Patterns:
Half double crochet is such a common stitch that you'll find it in many different patterns. A few of mine that really highlights it well include:
What you will need:
Hook, I used the H (5.0mm).
Yarn, I used
Optional, use a stitch marker to keep track of stitches if necessary.
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Favorite Crochet Hooks:
HDC Video Instruction
Written Instructions for How to Half Double Crochet
Step 1:
Yarn over.
Step 2:
Insert your hook into the stitch.
Step 3:
Yarn over and pull over a loop. There are now three loops on your hook.
Step 4:
Yarn over and pull through all three loops on the hook.
That's it. You've learned how to half double crochet. Notice that the steps are very similar to a double crochet stitch. However, with a double crochet, step four would have been to only pull through two loops on the hook then repeat, making it taller than the hdc stitch.
Tips and Notes for How to Half Double Crochet
Here are a few helpful things to know about half double crochet:
Turning Chains
At the beginning of a row or round, you typically create a turning chain. The turning chain is a specific height relevant to the height of the stitches. Therefore, when you are about to crochet a row of hdc stitches, you'll start with a turning chain of two.
Working Into the Third Loop
When working your crochet stitches, you typically work through both the front and back loop of the stitch, which is how the half double crochet video tutorial shows you to work this stitch. However, you can vary up your fabric by working into the front loop only or back loop only. For example, you might crochet hdc blo to create a fabric that's got ridges between the rows and also has a bit more stretch than regular hdc. Or you'll see in my Snuggle Puff Crochet Cardigan Pattern then you can alternate FLO and BLO hdc stitches for a really interesting texture.
You can work flo and blo with any of the basic stitches. However, what's really cool about half double crochet is that there's actually a third loop. That's because of the fact that you pulled through all three loops on the hook in the last step of making the stitch. If you work hdc into the third loop, you get a totally different, knit-like fabric. Try it!
Crochet & Tag
I hope you have enjoyed this crochet tutorial!
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