crochet 101 :: half double crochet part II

Crochet 101 is a series of crochet tutorials where I will teach you how to complete the basic stitches needed to crochet.

Hi :) 

How is practice going?

Yesterday we learned how to make a half double crochet.

Today's lesson is:

Let's get started!

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You will need:

*Yarn

*Hook

In this post, I show you where to look for what type of hook you will need for your yarn.

Step 1:

Start with your first row of half double crochet stitches. For this tutorial, I have made 11 half double crochets (like in the first half double crochet lesson).

Step 2:

Yarn over your hook.

Step 3:

Pull the yarn over through the loop on your hook...

...until it is completely through the loop. You have just chained 1 for your turning chain.

*PLEASE NOTE: Normally with the half double crochet, you would make a chain 2 for the turning chain and that chain 2 would count as a stitch. I prefer to chain 1. You can choose to chain 2 if you prefer, but this tutorial will show a chain 1 because that is how I crochet.

Step 4:

Turn your work (in the direction showed by the purple arrows in the picture above).

You are now looking at the back of your first row.

Before we begin step 5, I want you to notice the way the half double crochet stitches look when you turn your work:

This is looking at the back of the work (1 set of loops)...

...and this is looking at the top of the work (when you tilt the work toward you; another set of loops).

I have marked the stitches with purple 'v's to show you that it can get confusing where you are supposed to be inserting your hook once you've turned your work.

*You are going to be working the stitches into the top loops, shown in the second picture, NOT in the back stitches shown in the first picture.

Step 5:

 Turn the work towards you, so you can see the loops you are going to be working your stitches into.

Yarn over.

 You will be inserting your hook into the second chain from your hook (marked with the purple circle in the picture above).

*NOTE: If you are going to chain 2 for your turning chain, you would turn your work at the end of row 1 as usual, and you will work your first stitch of the second row into the 4th chain from the hook.

We skip the first stitch directly under the chain (3rd chain from the hook) because the chain 2 acts as our first stitch. Since the chain 2 is located directly above the first stitch in the row, there is no need to add a stitch there.

(I hope that made sense!)

Step 6: 

 Insert your hook.

Step 7:

 Yarn over.

Step 8:

 Pull the yarn through.

 You now have 3 loops on your hook.

Step 9:

 Yarn over.

Step 10:

 Pull the yarn through all 3 loops.

 You have completed your first half double crochet of row 2.

Repeat steps 5-10 across, until you get to the last stitch:

I have turned it so that you can see both top loops of the turning chain/last stitch.

For the next step, I like to insert my hook through both loops of the turning chain (shown in the purple circle) before moving on to the next row, but a lot of tutorials and YouTube videos show inserting your hook into one loop only... If it is easier for you to insert your hook into only one of the loops of the turning chain, then do that instead. For this tutorial, I will show how to insert the hook into both loops because that is how I crochet.

Step 11:

Yarn over.

Step 12:

Insert your hook into the loop(s) of the turning chain.

Step 13:

Yarn over.

Step 14:

Pull the yarn through the loops.

You should have 3 loops on your hook

Step 15:

Yarn over.

Step 16:

Pull the yarn through all 3 loops on the hook.

You have now completed your second row of half double crochet! 

*For rows 3 and up with the half double crochet, if you are going to chain 1 for your turning chain, you will not count it as a stitch, and therefore will not be crocheting into that turning chain. If you do, you will be adding a stitch to every row and making your work uneven. So row 2 is the only row where we work a stitch into the turning chain (which I've showed you in this tutorial).

Below is a video I made to show these steps in action. I have slowed the video down so that every step is seen. I have also added music to the video because I filmed this video with my phone and I have no idea how to mute the background while recording. Feel free to mute if piano is not your thing lol

Enjoy!

That's it for this week's Crochet 101 lessons. We will pick back up next Tuesday when we will be learning the double crochet stitch!

Come back tomorrow for a regularly scheduled post!