Now that you’ve learned how to do the chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, and double crochet, it’s time to learn another important stitch in the crochet world: the half double crochet.  The half double crochet is abbreviated “hdc” in patterns (such as “hdc in each stitch around” or “2 hdc in each stitch”.)  The half double crochet is kind of like a cross between single crochet and double crochet.  It’s excellent for projects, because it’s short and compact like the single crochet, and but it’s larger than the single crochet stitch and takes less time.  It’s also very thick, making it excellent for washcloths.

Make a chain of any length.

Wrap the yarn around the hook…

and insert your hook in the third chain from the hook.

Wrap the yarn around the hook again and bring it up through the chain.  You will now have three loops on your hook.

Wrap the yarn around the hook again…

and pull it through all three loops.

Continue on down the chain.

When turning, you will chain 2 for the starting hdc.