Extended Half Double Crochet (+ Decreases!) Photo Tutorial

Love half double crochets but wish they had a little more height? You’ll love the Extended Half Double Crochet!

Perfect for anything from wash cloths to scarves to baby blankets, the Extended Half Double Crochet is as tall as a double crochet but includes all of the wonderful texture of a half double crochet. Amazing, right?

This image shows two swatches made using only Extended Half Double Crochet stitches. One swatch is made in a white yarn and is larger, worked halfway through a row. The other swatch is smaller and worked all the way through a row. They are laid flat together on a jute placemat with a plant in the corner.

What is an Extended Half Double Crochet?

Abbreviated to ehdc, the Extended Half Double Crochet is a modified version of a half double crochet.

One slight change in how we make the stitch creates a taller stitch with a little more drape but keeps all of the gorgeous texture of the beloved half double crochet.

The extra height of this stitch helps projects come together that much quicker than a half double crochet. Plus, this tall version of the half double crochet provides incredible drape that the half double crochet just isn’t capable of.

What stitches should I know before I try ehdc?

As long as you know the basic stitches (such as chain, single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet), you’ll find the ehdc super easy to learn.

The Extended Half Double Crochet is like a hybrid of a half double crochet and a double crochet. You’ll see what I mean when we get into the tutorial but prior knowledge of how to work these stitches will be very helpful in learning the Extended Half Double Crochet.

How is this stitch abbreviated?

The Extended Half Double Crochet is abbreviated to ehdc. You may sometimes see it as: eHdc, eHDC, Ehdc, etc.

Where or if certain letters are capitalized typically doesn’t matter and the designer will include an explanation for their abbreviations, of course.

This image shows two swatches made using only Extended Half Double Crochet stitches. One swatch is made in a white yarn and is larger, worked halfway through a row. The other swatch is smaller and worked all the way through a row. They are laid flat together on a white background with a plant in the corner.

Extended Half Double Crochet Photo Tutorial

This tutorial will walk you through how to work an extended half double crochet step-by-step with photos along the way. There will be arrows and dots to help identify the steps as clearly as possible. There will also be photo tutorials for how to increase the stitch and how to decrease the stitch, such as ehdc2tog and ehdc3tog.

Ready to get started? Let’s go over the technical stuff first.

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YARN AND HOOK USED IN THIS TUTORIAL

In my tutorial photos, I’m using Bernat Maker Home Dec in colorway Aqua and my Furls Ebony Streamline Wood 8mm (L-11).

To practice making the extended half double crochet stitch, you can use any yarn and hook you like. I like to use big yarn so it’s easy to see in tutorials, but you can use whatever you like for practice.

STITCH MULTIPLE

This stitch does not require any specific stitch multiple. Similar to a single crochet, half double crochet or double crochet, this stitch works by placing 1 ehdc into each chain or stitch across.

This stitch does, however, require turning chains. You will need 2 turning chains at the start of each row to build the necessary height for this stitch. The chain 2 does not count as a stitch for the ehdc.

This also means you would also want to add 2 chains to your starting chain to accommodate the height of the stitch.

So, if you want a swatch that is 10 stitches wide, you would need 12 chains to start. 10 chains for the stitches + 2 turning chains to accommodate the height of the stitch. You will start in the 3rd chain from the hook and will have 10 total stitches.

WRITTEN PATTERN EXAMPLE

Ch 22

Row 1 – Place 1 ehdc in 3rd chain from hook and each chain across. (20)

Row 2 – Chain 2 (does not count as a stitch), turn. 1 ehdc in first stitch and each stitch across. (20)

Repeat Row 2 until project is desired height or length.

Extended Half Double Crochet – Text Instructions

Below, we’ll walk through a detailed step-by-step Extended Half Double Crochet photo tutorial. However, it can be helpful to have the text instructions first.

To make an ehdc, you will: Yarn over, insert hook into indicated stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop. 3 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through first loop on hook only. 3 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through all 3 loops. Ehdc complete!

Extended Half Double Crochet – Step by Step Photo Tutorial

A note about this tutorial: I work in the back bump of the chains almost always. This technique gives projects a much more professional finish, the bottom of the chains are easier to work into for borders, etc. You will see me working in the back bump of the chains for Row 1. If you don’t know how to do this, you can check out my Crochet in Back Bump of Chains tutorial. You can work into the chains as you normally would without messing anything up, though. 🙂



Chain any amount of chains you’d like to use to practice this stitch. In this tutorial, I have chained 16. This means I will have 14 stitches across the row.

To begin a row of Extended Half Double Crochet stitches, we will start in the 3rd chain from the hook. This stitch requires 2 turning chains, so we skip the 2 chains closest to the hook and start in the 3rd.

This image shows the first steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet as specified in the text.

To start the ehdc, we will: Yarn over and insert hook into the indicated chain. Then, yarn over and pull a loop through the chain. You will have 3 loops on hook, just like the start of a half double crochet or double crochet.

The image above has two pictures. In the top image, I have yarned over (a white arrow points to the yarn over) and I am prepared to insert the hook into the 3rd chain (black arrow goes through it).

The bottom image shows the hook inserted into the chain and I have yarned over (a white arrow points to the yarn over). Now I can pull this loop through. 3 loops are on my hook as shown in the top picture in the image below.

This image shows the next steps in crocheting an ehdc as specified in the text.

Now, we yarn over and pull through the only very first loop on hook (the loop closest to the tip of your hook) as the white arrow in the bottom picture of the image above indicates.

Once complete, you will have 3 loops on hook. You can see this step completed in the next image.

Notice how this differs from a half double crochet or a double crochet. For a half double crochet, we would yarn over and pull through all 3 loops. For a double crochet, we would yarn over and pull through the first 2 loops.

For the Extended Half Double Crochet, we yarn over and pull through only 1 loop. This slight modification builds extra height and makes this stitch different from a half double crochet or double crochet.

This image shows the next steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet as specified in the text.

The image above has the same picture twice so you can see it both with and without a highlight. What we’ve done so far is essentially create a vertical chain 1 that gives this stitch its extra height.

A yellow V highlight in the image above indicates this “vertical chain 1” that creates the extra height.

This image shows the next steps in crocheting an ehdc as specified in the text.

Now, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops as the white arrow in the image above indicates. This is just like the last step of making a half double crochet.

This image shows the next steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet as specified in the text.

We now have one finished ehdc! You can see in the image above how at the top of the stitch, it looks very similar to a half double crochet. But at the bottom, where it was worked into the chain, there’s an extra vertical loop that creates extra height.

Let’s place an ehdc in the next chain together and summarize the steps.

This image shows all the steps in making an extended half double crochet all in one image as specified in the text.

Step 1, Picture 1: Yarn over, insert hook into next chain (black arrow points to the next chain), yarn over and pull up a loop. 3 loops on hook.

Step 2, Picture 2: Yarn over and pull a loop through only the first loop on hook (white arrow goes through the first loop). 3 loops on hook.

Step 3, Picture 3: Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on hook (white arrow goes through all 3 loops).

Picture 4: Ehdc complete!

You can now continue practicing making ehdc stitches by placing 1 ehdc in each chain across the row.

This image shows one row completed using only ehdc stitches.

Here’s a finished row of Extended Half Double Crochet stitches.

Starting a New Row with Extended Half Double Crochet

Starting a new row using an Extended Half Double Crochet is as straightforward as placing any of the other basic stitches.

We will chain 2 and turn. This chain 2 does not typically count for an ehdc, so we will place our first ehdc into the very first stitch.

This image shows the start of a new row using extended half double crochet stitches.

The Extended Half Double Crochets in Row 2 (and all following rows) are worked exactly the same as they were in Row 1. The only difference is it’s worked into the top of a stitch and not into chains.

You can see my first ehdc of Row 2 in the image above.

This image shows 2 rows completed using ehdc stitches.

Here’s what a finished Row 2 using Extended Half Double Crochet will look like. The resulting texture using ehdc’s is subtle yet very pretty.

Does the ehdc have a 3rd loop like a half double crochet?

Yep, sure does! In the image below, I’ve highlighted some of the 3rd loops of the Extended Half Double Crochet in yellow so they’re easy to see.

Because the Extended Half Double Crochet works very similar to a normal half double crochet, there is still the 3rd loop that hangs out just below the top of the stitch.

This image shows the location of the 3rd loop of an extended half double crochet as specified in the text.

If desired or instructed in a pattern, you can work into only the 3rd Loop to create a pretty, chain like texture on the front of the work. Working in the 3rd Loop of a half double crochet is a very popular technique and it can definitely be done using ehdc, too.

This image shows the anatomy from the top down as specified in the text.

Here’s a closer look at the anatomy of this stitch. I’m holding the row vertically so we can see the work from the top down to get a better view of the stitches and the anatomy.

The top of the stitches are highlighted with pink V’s. The two loops that make up this V are the front and back loop. To work place a stitch into an Extended Half Double Crochet as a normal stitch, you will use both of these loops as the black arrow indicates.

The 3rd Loops of the Extended Half Double Crochet are highlighted with yellow lines. You can see how these 3rd Loops sit below the top of the stitch, slightly diagonally. You won’t use this loop at all unless instructed to or you specifically want to use the loop to create a different texture.

Can I increase using ehdc stitches?

Yes, absolutely! Increasing the Extended Half Double Crochet is as easy as any of the other basic stitches.

You would simply place more than 1 Extended Half Double Crochet into the indicated stitch to increase as desired or instructed.

This image shows what an increase would look like using ehdc stitches.

Here’s what an increase looks like using 2 Extended Half Double Crochet placed in 1 stitch. This increases your stitch count by 1.

You can, of course, add more or less stitches as desired or instructed to in a pattern.

Can I decrease using Extended Half Double Crochet (ehdc2tog or ehdc3tog)?

Yes, absolutely! Decreasing a stitch is a little more involved than simply placing several stitches into one stitch, so let’s go through a couple of decreases together.

Extended Half Double Crochet 2 Together (ehdc2tog)

The ehdc2tog (Extended Half Double Crochet 2 Stitches Together) makes 2 stitches into 1 stitch.

To make an ehdc2tog, you will:

This image shows the steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet 2 together, ehdc2tog, as specified in the text.

Yarn over, insert hook into the indicated stitch (black arrow, top picture in image above), yarn over and pull a loop through. 3 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through the first loop on hook only (white arrow, middle picture in image above). 3 loops on hook (bottom picture).

This image shows the steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet 2 together, ehdc2tog, as specified in the text.

Yarn over, insert hook into the next stitch (black arrow, top picture in image above), yarn over and pull a loop through. 5 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through the first loop on hook only (white arrow, middle picture in image above). 5 loops on hook (bottom picture).

This image shows the steps in crocheting an ehdc2tog as specified in the text.

Yarn over, pull through all 5 loops as the white arrow in the image above indicates. Ehdc2tog complete!

This image shows a completed ehdc2tog.

Extended Half Double Crochet 3 Together (ehdc3tog)

The ehdc3tog (Extended Half Double Crochet 3 Stitches Together) makes 3 stitches into 1 stitch.

To make an ehdc3tog, you will:

Yarn over, insert hook into the indicated stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through. 3 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through the first loop on hook only. 3 loops on hook.

Yarn over, insert hook into the next stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through. 5 loops on hook. Yarn over, pull through the first loop on hook only. 5 loops on hook.

Note: The steps above are exactly the same as the ehdc2tog. Review the photos for these steps of the Extended Half Double Crochet 2 Together above if needed.

This image shows the steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet 3 together, ehdc3tog, as specified in the text.

Yarn over, insert hook into the next stitch (black arrow in image above), yarn over and pull a loop through. 7 loops on hook (see image below).

This image shows the steps in crocheting an extended half double crochet 3 together, ehdc3tog, as specified in the text.

Yarn over, pull through the first loop on hook only (white arrow in image above). 7 loops on hook (see image below).

This image shows the steps in crocheting an ehdc3tog as specified in the text.

Yarn over, pull through all 7 loops as the white arrow in the image above indicates. Ehdc3tog complete!

This image shows a finished extended half double crochet 3 together or ehdc3tog.

So, what do I do now?

To continue practicing the Extended Half Double Crochet, you can simply continue making swatches of the stitch for practice. Practice increasing (placing several stitches into one stitch) and decreasing (ehdc2tog or ehdc3tog) too.

You can easily make washcloths, hand towels, baby blankets or anything else you can think of using this stitch.

If you’re feeling adventurous and are an intermediate crocheter you can try my Millie Hanging Baskets or my Millie Throw Blanket (coming soon)! Note: These are NOT beginner patterns and beginners will find these patterns out of their skill level.

The Extended Half Double Crochet (and the ehdc3tog!) are also used fairly often in the Tranquility Blanket CAL, so you can test your Extended Half Double Crochet skills while making a gorgeous blanket of 12 gorgeous parts.

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Thanks so much for hanging out with me today!

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Shannon | Designer & Editor

Shannon helps crocheters find their next project and build their skills with in depth tutorials and crochet patterns on her blog, theloopholefox.com.

With more than a decade of crochet experience, Shannon knows that understanding why we do something matters just as much as how we do it. She teaches new techniques and crochet stitches in depth so you can crochet with confidence.

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