Half Double Crochet

Learn How to Do the Half Double Crochet Stitch: Free Instructions With Step-By-Step Photo Tutorial

Half double crochet is one of the easiest basic crochet stitches to learn. You can work half double crochet stitch in rows, rounds, shapes, or freeform. Let’s start out by working one half double crochet stitch; then after that we’ll proceed with working half double crochet in rows and other configurations.

I’m right-handed, and so these instructions show the right-handed way of crocheting this stitch — crocheting across the rows from right to left. If you’re left-handed, you’ll do the same thing I’m doing except that you’ll reverse it; you’ll work from left to right.

Half Double Crochet Instructions: How to Do Half Double Crochet:

The following instructions teach you how to work one half double crochet stitch. Scroll down further if you want a step-by-step tutorial for working an entire fabric consisting of half double crochet.

Begin with an active loop on your crochet hook. You’ll have an active loop if you previously crocheted some chain stitches or other stitches that you want to work into. If you want to crochet directly into fabric or something else, without making a starting chain, you could start by making a slip knot on your hook. This will give you an active loop to work from.
Wrap your yarn or thread over your crochet hook.
Insert the hook into the spot where you want to work your half double crochet. If you’re working into a starting chain, you’ll usually want to work into the 3rd chain from your hook. If you’re working into a stitch, you will usually want to work into both loops of the next stitch to make a standard half double crochet. You can also work half double crochets into chain spaces or other spaces, or into rings, or directly into fabric (for example, around the edges of a tablecloth or pillowcase — although crocheting into fabric is not an ideal beginner’s technique.)
Grab the yarn with your crochet hook and pull it through the stitch or space. You’ll have 3 loops on your hook.
Wrap the yarn over your crochet hook and pull it through all 3 loops.
One half double crochet stitch is complete.

How to Do Half Double Crochet Stitch Worked in Rows

The following step-by-step photo tutorial will show you how to do half double crochet stitch worked in rows. Using this tutorial as shown, without increasing or decreasing, you will be able to make a square or rectangle-shaped fabric consisting entirely of half double crochet stitches. You could make an entire blanket of half double crochet stitch like this — or you could make a scarf, placemats, etc.

Before we get any further, let’s take a quick look at a picture of half double crochet stitches worked in rows.

As you can see, the half double crochet works up into a pleasantly textured fabric that’s basic but has a lot of appeal.

You can work half double crochet in just about any yarn or crochet thread (and there are other innovative materials you could use in addition to these such as fabric strips and wire.)

Begin by Crocheting a Chain.

Remember the chain stitch?< You'll start out by crocheting a series of chains that can be as long as you want.

Half Double Crochet Stitch Tutorial in Progress

The first two of your chains are going to count as your first half double crochet stitch.

To begin crocheting the next half double crochet stitch, take your yarn and wrap it over your crochet hook as shown in the photo above.

You’re going to skip the first two chains from your hook (since those count as the first half double crochet stitch); you’ll insert your hook into the third chain stitch. In the photo at left, you can see the head of my crochet hook pointing to the spot where I am going to insert my hook to work the stitch.

After you’ve inserted your hook through the chain stitch, the next step is to grab the yarn with the hook…

and pull it through the chain stitch.

Here’s how it looks; at this point, you’ll have three loops on your hook.

Wrap the yarn over your crochet hook again…

and pull the yarn through all three of the loops on your hook.

The half double crochet stitch is complete, but you still have more to go to complete a row.

Repeat those same steps again and again and again until you’ve worked a half double crochet into each chain stitch in your starting chain.

When you reach the end of the row, and you run out of chain stitches to work into, end the row by working two chain stitches. These will be your turning chain; they allow you to achieve the correct height for starting your next row of half double crochet stitches.

Next, turn your work over to the other side. This will enable you to crochet back across your row.

Before I explain what I did next, and what you should (or might want to) do next, I’m going to digress for a moment and mention that there are actually about a zillion possibilities for what you could do from here. Crochet is a craft that offers you a lot of freedom. You can vary each crochet stitch in many possible ways; each slight change could result in a different outcome in the way the fabric ends up looking (and performing.)

In my experience, most crocheters work through both loops of each stitch to create what is considered a standard half double crochet stitch. However, you don’t have to do it that way. You could work through the front loops, or you could work through the back loops. Or you could work through a front loop, then a back loop, then a front loop. Or two front loops, then two back loops, then two front loops. Or you could work through different loops (or groups of loops) on alternate rows. See what I mean about possibilities?

When you work from a crochet pattern, the pattern designer might specify which loop(s) to work through. If so, you’re likely to get the best results by following the pattern as it’s written. If nothing particular is specified about which loops to work through, your safest option is to work through both loops.

Next there’s the issue of deciding whether or not your turning chain counts as the first half double crochet stitch in the row. In some cases you might want to count it, and in other cases you might not want to. When you’re working from a pattern, your pattern will probably tell you whether or not to count it.

I’m going to count my turning chain (those two chain stitches I worked before turning the work over) as my first half double crochet stitch in the row. So now I am going to work the next half double crochet stitch in the row. It’s the same steps as before, except that instead of working stitches into my starting chain I am now going to work them into the stitches crocheted in my previous row.

Wrap the yarn over the crochet hook…

Insert the hook under both loops of the top of the next stitch…

…and then grab the yarn with your crochet hook and pull up a loop. You’ll have three loops on your hook.

Wrap the yarn over your crochet hook again…

…and pull the yarn through all three loops on your hook to complete the stitch.

Here’s how the completed half double crochet stitch looks.

Keep making more half double crochet stitches until you get to the end of the row. Be sure to count your stitches to make sure you have the same number that you did in the first row. (If you’re counting your turning chains as stitches, remember to count them too!)

When you reach the end of future rows, you can crochet your last stitch in the row into the turning chain of the previous row; if you’re counting it as a half double crochet stitch, you’ll treat it just like you would treat an ordinary half double crochet stitch.

The Finished Half Double Crochet Fabric — Half Double Crochet Stitch Worked in Rows — Sample Swatch Crocheted and Photographed by Amy Solovay

Here’s another look at how my completed rows of half double crochet stitch look.

So now you’ve learned how to work a solid fabric using the half double crochet. This is a useful fabric; and important one, but it isn’t the only fabric you can create using the half double crochet stitch. You can use half double crochets in combination with other stitches to create many other interesting fabrics as well. Here are some stitch patterns you can make using half double crochet:

Shell Stitch — You combine double crochets, half double crochets and chains to crochet the basic shell stitch.
Puff Lace Crochet Stitch With Half Double Crochet Vs — This lace fabric features fabulous texture created using a combination of puff stitch and shorter-than-usual V-stitches. Usually, the v-stitch is worked using double crochet, but in this version you use half double crochet instead.

Practice Your Half Double Crochet With These Free Patterns:

Now that you’ve learned the half double crochet stitch, there are lots of different projects you can make using the stitch. The following are some beginner-level crochet patterns featuring the half double crochet stitch:

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Page last updated on 11-1-2021. Thanks for visiting!

Posted By: Amy Solovay