Stitch of the week tutorial #2 for the paired half-double crochet

Welcome back to stitch of the week!

Last week I was supposed to release this stitch–the paired half-double crochet stitch–however, I was going through a lot of prep for hospital procedures and surgeries.  Here’s a little bit of background:

I recently suffered from colo-rectal cancer while I was pregnant (three years ago!), and this caused an emergency situation with birthing.  Two surgeries were done back to back to remove the cancer, which worked.

I then was diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome, which basically means that my risk of obtaining more cancer in various other places is extremely high.  My doctor told me never to have more children because of the emergency situation in which I gave birth and also because of cancer that popped up during my pregnancy.

I decided that since I was not allowed to have kids, why continue to suffer each month?

So, I had a hysterectomy done this week to prevent cancer and any other bad situations from happening–at least in that spot.

Also, this post may contain affiliate links; these are at no extra cost to you.

Now that we’re all caught up….

Here’s the tutorial that was promised last week:

You will need to gather any yarn, but I do recommend using a medium-weight yarn such as Red Heart Super Saver in any color or two colors you’d like.

A 5mm hook (if you’re using medium yarn) or hook is suggested by the yarn label.

Abbreviations:

CH(s)–chain(s)

ST(S)–stitch(es)

YO–yarn over

*to*–repeat the instructions that appear between *’s

REP–repeat

HDC–half-double crochet

PHDC–paired half-double crochet

HDC2TOG–half-double crochet two together (decrease)

Instructions:

This stitch is worked very similar to the paired single crochet from last time, except instead of single crochet, we’re using half-double crochet in an hdc2tog format!

To get started, put a slip knot on your hook, and for the purpose of the swatch size, chain up any number plus 1.

Row 1: hdc in 2nd ch from hook, yo, insert hook into the same stitch you just worked and pull up a loop, hold it.

Yo, insert hook into next stitch and pull up another loop–you now have 5 loops on your hook–yo and pull thru all 5 loops.  You have just made your first PHDC stitch.

*Yo, insert hook into the same stitch you just worked in, pull up a loop and hold it, yo, insert hook into next stitch and pull up a loop, yo, pull through all 5 loops on the hook*, repeat from *to* to the end, finishing with a PHDC stitch being completed in the final stitch of the row.

Row 2: ch1, turn.  HDC in 1st st, *yo, insert hook into stitch you just worked in, pull up a loop and hold it, yo, insert hook into next stitch and pull up another loop.  Yo, pull thru all 5 loops on the hook*, rep from *to* to the end, just as you did for row 1.

Row 2 is the repeat for this pattern.

Pretty simple!

I do not recommend this stitch for garments or baby blankets as it is far too rigid.

I do recommend using it with cotton yarn and making kitchen and bath projects with it.  It’s a sturdy stitch that makes a sturdy fabric.  Coming soon, we have some nifty quick and easy patterns using this stitch to get you started!

Be sure to check us out as I upload yet another stitch of the week this week!

LINKS:

PDF DOWNLOAD: https://sunflowercottagecrochet.com/tutorials/stitch-of-the-week/