Stitch Swatch Sampler Swatch 13: Herringbone Half Double Crochet

SWATCH 13:  HERRINGBONE HALF DOUBLE CROCHET

Herringbone Half Double Crochet

 This stitch will add an interesting texture to your finished project.  You may find it a bit fiddly to do, but the texture it creates just may be worth it.  Give it a try and see!  It is created similarly to the half double crochet, but instead of working a yarn over, drawing a loop through the stitch, and then drawing a new loop through the remaining stitches on the hook, the loop that has been drawn up in the stitch is drawn through the first loop on the stitch, then a new loop is drawn through the remaining 2 loops.  See instructions below.

Ch 14 (multiple of 1, plus 2 turning chains)

Row 1:  HBhdc in 4^th ch  and in each st across row.  Turn work.  12 sts.

Row 2:  Ch 2 (counts as st), HBhdc in next st and in each st across row.  Turn work.

Rep Row 2 until piece measures 4 inches.

To work the Herringbone Half  Double Crochet:  Yo, draw up loop in st, immediately draw loop through first loop on hook, yo and draw through last 2 loops on hook.

Abbreviations:  Ch  chain  HBhdc  Herringbone half double crochet  st  stitch  Rep  repeat  

                           yo  yarn over

Herringbone Half  Double Crochet Pro Tips:

·              When turning the work, turn the right edge of the swatch to the back, then to the left.  This seems to create a smoother edge on almost every stitch I have tried.

·                Note that, unlike most other stitches we have done, you do not yo after drawing the loop through the stitch of the previous row.  Just draw that same loop through the first of the two loops on the hook, then yo and draw through the two remaining loops.

·                 Experiment with the position of your hook as you draw it through the stitch and the first loop on the hook.  It may be possible to find just the right position to do this in one fluid swoop; otherwise, draw through the stitch and the loop on the hook in separate motions.  I find that turning the hook so the opening faces the previous stitch is the most advantageous position.

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Stitch Swatch Sampler Swatch 12: Half Double Crochet

SWATCH 12:  HALF DOUBLE CROCHET

Swatch 12:  Half Double Crochet

Half double crochet can be a little trickier to work than the other stitches, because you are drawing your loop through more loops on the hook as you work it.  But if this stitch is new to you, you will find that you will develop a “feel” for it, and it will become comfortable with practice.

To work a half double crochet:  Yo hook, insert hook into next st, draw up loop in st, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Ch 15 (multiple of 1, plus 2 turning chains)

Row 1:  Hdc in 4^th ch  and in each st across row.  Turn work.

Row 2:  Ch 2 (counts as st), hdc in next st and in each st across row.  13 sts.  Turn work.

Rep Row 2 until piece measures 4 inches (My swatch has 10 rows).  Break off; weave in ends.

Abbreviations:  ch  chain  dc   st(s)  stitch(es)   hdc  half double crochet  Rep  repeat   yo  yarn over hook

Half Double Crochet Pro Tips:

• ·         When drawing the hook through 3 loops, make sure the open part of the hook is facing down (toward the starting chain), not toward you.  This will allow the hook to slide through all 3 loops more easily, without catching on them.
• ·         When turning work, bring the right side of the work to the back, then to the left instead of turning the work as though you were turning a page in a book.  This just makes a nicer edge in my opinion…try it and see which you like better.
• ·         Be sure to work your last stitch of the row into the turning chain, not into the top of a stitch.  This will create a smoother selvedge edge.

Stitch Swatch Sampler Swatch 11: Step Stitch

SWATCH 11:  STEP STITCH

This stitch uses front and back post dc’s to create a diagonal step design in the fabric.

Ch 16 (Multiple of 6 plus 2, plus 2 turning chains)

Row 1:  Dc in 4^th ch from hook and in each ch across.  Turn.

Row 2:  Ch 2, (fpdc in next 3 sts, bpdc in next 3 sts) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.

Row 3:  Ch 2, (fpdc in next 2 sts, bpdc in next 3 sts, fpdc in next st) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.  Turn.

Row 4:  Ch 2, (bpdc in next 2 sts, fpdc in next 3 sts, bpdc in next st) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.  Turn.

Row 5:  Ch 2, (bpdc in  next 3 sts, fpdc in next 3 sts) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.  Turn.

Row 6:  Ch 2, (fpdc in next st, bpdc in next 3 sts, fpdc in next 2 sts) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.  Turn.

Row 7:  Ch 2, (bpdc in next st, fpdc in next 3 sts, bpdc in next 2 sts) twice, hdc in top of turning ch.  Turn.

Row 8:  Rep Row 2.

Row 9:  Rep Row 3.  Break off; weave in ends.

Abbreviations:  ch  chain  dc  double crochet  fpdc  front post double crochet  bpdc  back post double crochet  st(s)  stitch(es)  pdc  post double crochet  hdc  half double crochet  Rep  repeat  yo  yarn over hook

To work a hdc:  Yo hook, insert into st, yo and draw loop through st, yo and draw through all 3 loops.

Step Stitch Pro Tips:

• ·       Note that the stitch pattern has groups of 3 fpdc’s and 3 bpdc’s for the body of the fabric.  The only place this is different is at the edges, where the diagonal lines come up against the straight selvedge edge.  So after you have worked any partial groups (1 or 2 pdc’s) at the right edge, you can happily work along in groups of 3 until you get close to the left edge.  My instructions were written to make the swatch easy to work; but if you are working a larger fabric, it may be easier to think in terms of the 3 pdc groups.
• ·       These instructions could be alternatively written using asterisks, instead of the repeated parentheses sections.  If they were written that way, Row 3 might have been written as follows: 

          Ch 2, fpdc in next 2 sts, *bpdc in next 3 sts, fpdc in next 3 sts.  Rep from * across, ending 

          bpdc in next 3 sts, fpdc in next st, hdc in last st.  This way of writing the instructions shows the 

          3-pdc repeat really well, but would have been awkward, as there would only have been one

          repeat.

• ·         See Swatch 10 instructions for how to work fpdc and bpdc sts.