Lesson 4: Half-Double Crochet

Welcome to Lesson 4 of Crocheting in Metal. If this is your first visit to my crochet lessons, you might want to start with Lesson 1 found here. I will be building on skills and terminology learned in the previous lessons. You can find last week’s lesson on Single Crochet here.

I hope everything is going well and you have got a handle on single crochet (sc). In today’s lesson, I will explain how to make a Half-Double Crochet which is abbreviated as hdc. The half-double is a bit taller than single crochet and the finished “fabric” is more flexible and soft than single crochet.

Half-Double Crochet Sample

In this lesson, I will make a nine stitch, nine row panel of half-double crochet. I am using a no.8 hook and 30 gauge copper wire. I will also use the scribe, wire cutters, and needle-nose pliers.

Abbreviations
st - stitch
lp - loop
ch - chain
yo - yarn over
sc - single crochet
hdc - half-double crochet

Base Chain
Start out by making a base chain of 11 stitches.

base chain

Row 1
To start your first row of half-double crochet, yarn over.
Remember, your base chain does not count as a row.

yarn over

Insert the hook into the fourth chain from the hook.

insert in 4th chain from hook

Yarn over again.

yarn over

Draw the loop through the chain. You will have three loops on your hook at this point.

three loops on hook

Yarn over again.

yarn over again

Pull the yarn over through the three loops on the hook. You just made your first half-double crochet.
Now, pulling through the three loops can sometimes get a little tricky and takes some practice. Pay attention to the way you turn the hook so that you only grab the new yarn over and pull it through.

first hdc done!

Now you start the next hdc. Yarn over.

yarn over

Insert the hook into the next chain. Yarn over and pull up the loop. You have three loops on your hook again.

three loops on hook

Yarn over and pull the yarn over through the three loops on the hook.

three loops on the hook and yo

You have now made two hdc!

Repeat the [yo, pull up lp, yo, pull through] six more times to finish out the row.Now you have a row of eight half-double crochet plus one turning chain which adds up to eight stitches.

row 1 is complete

 Chain 2.

make the turning chain (ch 2)

Open Up the Stitches
Pull out your hook and grab your scribe.

pull out the hook

Insert the scribe into the top of each half-double crochet. Remember to skip the base of the turning chain, just like you did for the single crochet.

opening the stitches

Here you can see the scribe pushing through the top part of the hdc. Be sure to pick up both loops. The top of the stitch will look like a teardrop, just like with the single crochet.

top of hdc stitches

Be sure to open up the top of the turning chain from the row below. It looks a little different from a regular stitch. If you aren’t sure, count your stitches. You should open seven half-double stitches and the top of the turning chain.

top of turning chain

Now, insert your hook back into the last chain stitch. Be sure to check that the live side of the wire is closest to you. Turn the work and you are ready to go back the other way.

check for the live side of the wire

Row 2
Take a look at your work and remember the parts. Notice the base of the turning chain.

turn work and find the base of the turning chain

To start your second row of hdc, yarn over.

yo

Insert your hook into the first stitch (skip the base of the turning chain).

insert the hook

Yarn over again and pull up the loop. You have three loops on the hook.

three loops on the hook

 

Yarn over.

yo

And draw the yarn over through all three loops.

row 2 - first hdc

Repeat [yo, insert hook, yo, draw up lp, yo, draw yo through three loops] seven more times to make a total of eight hdc in the row.

row 2 is done

Chain two and pull out the hook.

Open the Stitches

row 2 - hook out

Use your scribe to open the top of the stitches, including the top of the turning chain.

opening the stitches

Row 3 and Beyond
Put your hook back in, turn the work and keep repeating row 2 until you have nine rows completed.

working row 3

Finishing Up the Last Row
On the last stitch of the ninth row. Work just like every other hdc.

last stitch of row 9

Draw your loop through the three stitches.

draw the last loop through

Clip the wire with your wire cutters.

cut the wire

And pull the loop all the way through.

pull the tail through with the hook

You now have a nine stitch, nine row sample of half-double crochet.

crocheting part is done

Stretch and flatten your sample with your fingers. Sometimes I use my scribe to tidy up the loops of the base chain.

stretch the work

the stretched and flattened piece

Tie in your ends and clip and tuck the tails just like you did on the single crochet. Pat yourself on the back and do a little happy dance.

You can stitch your samples to little pieces of notecard and write down what stitch you used, how many stitches and rows, wire gauge, and hook size. They will come in handy later for reference and as gauge swatches for writing your own patterns.

all done!

This is a picture of the single crochet from last week and the half-double sample from today. The half-double is much taller than the single.

single and half-double crochet

Abbreviations
Your new abbreviation for this week is hdc for half-double crochet.

The instructions for this lesson in abbreviated format are as follows:

start: ch 11
row 1: hdc in 4th ch from hook. hdc 7 sts. ch 2, turn.
row 2: hdc 8 sts. ch 2, turn.
rows 3-8: repeat row 2.
row 9: hdc 8 sts. Cut off and draw up lp.

Thank you for joining me. I hope you are having fun. Remember, you are always welcome to leave questions and comments here or on my facebook page: annabellejonesjewelry. See you next week for Double Crochet!

If you are curious about how I use crocheted metal in my own work, be sure to check out my website: www.annabellejones.net and my etsy shop: annabellejones.