After publishing our research on Double Crochet Stitches (Part 1) and Single Crochet Stitches (Part 2), I received numerous inquiries regarding both traditional and untraditional techniques for Half Double Crochet. So, Part 3 of our crochet study is dedicated to Half Double Crochet stitches, let's delve into the details.

Can one use Yarn Over and Hook Over (or Yarn Under) to create hdc? Absolutely. hdc can be made in both traditional and nontraditional ways, although the outcomes may vary slightly from my previous 2 posts.

The Process of Making

	Yarn Over Method (Traditional) – Yarn over, insert the hook into the stitch, Yarn Over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through all loops on the hook.
	Hook Over Method (Untraditional) – Yarn over, insert the hook into the stitch, Hook Over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through all loops on the hook.

Appearance 

So, will the joining seam be impacted by using the hook over method with hdc stitches? It worked well with dc and sc stitches, but not so much with hdc. The seam in untraditional hdc hat base will be less slanted, but not completely straight.

The reason is that in addition to offset stitch placement, hdc stitches lean towards your dominant hand as you work. So, traditional stitches are no longer straight but are leaning in same direction as the offset stitches, increasing then angle of slanted seam. Untraditional stitches are now straight and do not compensate for the offset stitch placement, resulting in slightly slanted seam.

RIGHT Handed Crochet Yarn Over Method (Traditional)	RIGHT Handed Crochet Hook Over Method (Untraditional)

Preventing Slanted Seams

To prevent slanted seams, turn after each round when working hdc projects. This compensates for slanting by working in the opposite direction. Alternatively, you can work in spiral rounds without joining to avoid seams.

Interesting Facts

Unlike other crochet stitches, the top of a hdc stitch is formed by a set of double-sided V’s. For right-handed crochet, the first row of front-facing V’s is pointing in the clockwise direction and the second row of back-facing V’s is pointing in the counterclockwise direction.

For left-handed crochet, the first row of front-facing V’s is pointing in the counterclockwise direction and the second row of back-facing V’s is pointing in the clockwise direction.

Each set of front and back-facing V’s has 1 mutual bar in the middle. The front-facing V’s are where you normally insert the hook to complete a regular hdc. For a change, you can improvise and create different textures by inserting the hook differently. Although, be aware that the improvised hdc stitches may also compromise your gauge.

Hdc under 3 loops:

You can insert the hook under all 3 top loop of hdc, which is basically a space between stitches. In addition to a lovely texture, you can get a relatively straight-ish seam by using the untraditional (hook over) method.

Hdc in third loop: 

Insert the hook under the third (back-facing) loop, leaving the front-facing V unworked. This will create a gorgeous knit-like texture and can be done using both, traditional and untraditional methods.

Traditional or Untraditional?

First of all, check your gauge if you are trying to decide which method to use, as the height of your stitches could be slightly different for traditional and untraditional hdc. If the gauge is not important, choose what is more comfortable for you, but do not switch styles in the middle of your project…work the entire item using the same method.

• Traditional hdc stitches create an extremely slanted joining seam, but they are easier to crochet if you have tendency for sore wrists. When you combine these stitches with other traditional stitches while working in rows (ex: 1 row of hdc, turn, 1 row of sc), your edges might be slightly slanted as traditional sc will not compensate slanting of traditional hdc.
• Untraditional hdc stitches are straight and therefore, they are great to be combined with traditional dc and sc stitches, that are also straight.