Learn to Crochet, Lesson 2: Half-Double and Double

Welcome to the second lesson in the Learn to Crochet series! Today we’re going to learn half-double and double crochet.

Before we get started, how did your wristers go? Were you able to maintain stitch count and tension well enough to get a finished product that worked out? You saw how mine had some rockiness to their beginnings, so don’t feel bad if you had some trouble. What’s important is to keep practicing your stitches; you’ll get better!

If you need a refresher on how to make a chain, go back to the first lesson and brush up. You won’t need to do any single crochet today, but keep practicing it so you don’t get rusty.

I should note that I am using the American crochet terminology. What we learned in the first lesson was single crochet in the US, but in British terms it’s called double crochet (dc). Today we’re going what Americans call half double and double crochet. In Britain these would be treble (tr) and half treble (htr). The stitches are the same; only the names are different.

Let’s get started!

Half Double Crochet (hdc)

I know what it sounds like, and how the math works, but half double crochet (hdc) is NOT the same as single crochet (sc). Don’t overthink the terms, just learn them and the stitches.

To do hdc, you will start with a chain that is one longer than the number of stitches you want to end up with. So, for a swatch 10 stitches wide, chain 11.

Locate the third chain stitch, not counting the one on the hook. You will work into this stitch.

Yarn over, then insert the hook under the stitch you’re working into, yarn over again and pull through. You’ll have three loops on the hook.

Yarn over again, then pull through all the loops on your hook to complete the stitch.

Continue across the chain. To work more rows, you will make a turning chain of two stitches before working your way back.

If you’d like to watch this stitch being made on video, see below:

Double Crochet (dc)

The next stitch we will learn will be double crochet (dc).

This time you’ll start with a chain that’s two longer than the number of stitches you want. For this practice, I chained 12 to get 10 stitches.

You’ll skip the first three stitches and work into the next one.

Yarn over, insert hook into chain, yarn over again, and pull through. You’ll have three loops on your hook.

Next, you’ll yarn over again, and pull through the first two of the existing loops, leaving you with two loops on your hook.

Now yarn over and pull through both of the remaining loops. You have just completed a dc stitch!

Do this all the way across. When you get to the end, you’ll turn and do a turning chain of three.

You can then work a second row.

If you would like video of this stitch, see below:

Bonus Round

We are only learning these two stitches today, but that doesn’t mean more don’t exist! There is also a triple crochet (tc, trc, or tr) stitch. However, I didn’t want to overwhelm or confuse you, especially with terminology. Triple crochet can also be called treble crochet, and in British terms is called double treble crochet. If you are feeling really confident and want to give it a shot, the video is below. You can get written instructions in our Learn section.

What’s Next?

There’s no project this week. Just focus on practicing these new stitches, as well as sc and ch so you don’t get rusty. Next week will be a lesson on patterns and charts, then the following week we will make our second project, the Level 2 Striped Hat. To make that you’ll need two colors of Heartland® or another category 4 yarn and a size J-10 (6 mm) hook.

Finally, our sale on category 5, 6, and 7 yarns started today and runs through February 9. We will be making a project later on that calls for three balls of Wool-Ease® Tonal, which is a category 5, so you may want to grab that while it’s 20% off. The pattern is the Three Color Tonal Cowl.

Happy crocheting!