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Basic stitches · Beginner

Double crochet

To double crochet, take the yarn over the hook, push the hook into the next stitch and pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through two loops, twice. It is taller than a half double crochet (UK half treble) and shorter than a treble crochet (UK double treble), and United Kingdom patterns call it treble.

Abbreviation
dc
In UK terms
treble (tr)
Chart symbol
An upright line with a bar across the top and one short slash through it: the chart symbol for double crochet. an upright line with a bar across the top and one short slash through it

How to work it

  1. Yarn over

    One loop on the hook, and the yarn from the ball laid over the hook between the loop and the head of the hook.

    Take the yarn that leads to the ball over the hook from back to front: up behind the hook and over its top toward you. The yarn over stays on the hook beside the loop you started with, and counts as a loop: there are two loops on the hook.

  2. Pull up a loop

    Three loops on the hook: the new loop, which comes up from under the top of the stitch, the yarn over, and the loop that was already there.

    Keep both on the hook. Find the next stitch of the row below, the first one you have not yet worked into. Its top is two strands that lie side by side like a V. Push the hook under both strands, from the side that faces you through to the back. There, at the back of the work, take the yarn over the hook again, the same way, and draw it back through the stitch, to the side that faces you. There are three loops on the hook.

  3. Through two

    Two loops on the hook. The loop nearest the head is the one just drawn through two loops, and below it the stitch is half made.

    Take the yarn over the hook, the same way, and draw it through two of the three loops: the two nearest the head of the hook, which are the first two it comes to. Two loops are left on the hook.

  4. Through two again

    One loop on the hook, above a finished double crochet at the left end of the new row.

    Take the yarn over the hook, the same way, and draw it through the two loops that are left. One loop is left on the hook and the stitch is made.

At a glance

Used for
granny squares and other pieces worked in rounds; shells and other groups of stitches worked into one place
Height
Taller than a single crochet (UK double crochet) and a half double crochet, shorter than a treble crochet
To turn
Chain 3. It counts as the first stitch of the row unless the pattern says otherwise.
On a starting chain
The first stitch goes in the fourth chain from the hook, and the three skipped chains count as a stitch.

On a starting chain, yarn over and work the first double crochet into the fourth chain from the hook. The three chains you skipped stand as the first stitch of the row, so a chain of 22 gives a row of 20: nineteen worked stitches and the skipped chains.

At the end of a row, chain 3 and turn. Because the chain 3 stands for the first stitch, do not work into the stitch at its base: the first worked stitch goes into the second stitch of the row. At the other end, work the last stitch into the top chain of the turning chain of the row below.

Not every pattern does it this way. Some make a turning chain of 2, and some do not count the chain as a stitch. A pattern says which it uses.

Tips

  • Count your stitches each time you finish a row, with the turning chain as one of them when it stands for a stitch.
  • In turned rows, every other row shows the back of its stitches, which does not look quite like the front. The pictures here draw every row alike.

When it goes wrong

My rows gain or lose a stitch.
When the chain 3 counts as a stitch, a double crochet worked into the stitch at its base adds a stitch. Leaving out the last stitch, the one in the top of the turning chain below, loses one. It is an easy one to overlook.
There is a gap at the start of every row.
Some crocheters find a turning chain of 2 tall enough for double crochet, and use it to close the gap.

Left-handed

The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.

Patterns that use it

702 patterns use this stitch: all crochet patterns

Questions

Is double crochet the same as treble?
In United Kingdom patterns, yes: a US double crochet (dc) is written treble (tr) there. The names shift by one, so a UK double crochet is a US single crochet.
Does the chain 3 count as a stitch?
Usually, yes. In single crochet (UK double crochet) the turning chain never counts as a stitch. In double crochet (UK treble) and treble crochet (UK double treble) it counts unless the pattern says otherwise. In half double crochet (UK half treble) patterns differ, so go by the pattern, and where the pattern is silent choose one way and keep to it.

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