Basic stitches · Easy
Double treble crochet
To work a double treble crochet in US terms, take the yarn over the hook three times, push the hook into the next stitch and pull up a loop, then yarn over and pull through two loops, four times. It is one step taller than a treble crochet (UK double treble). In a UK pattern the same letters, dtr, mean that shorter stitch, so check which terms your pattern uses.
- Abbreviation
- dtr
- In UK terms
- triple treble (trtr)
How to work it
Yarn over three times
Take the yarn that leads to the ball over the hook three times, each time from back to front: up behind the hook and over its top toward you. With the loop you started with, that makes four loops on the hook.
Pull up a loop
Keep all four on the hook. Push the hook under both strands at the top of the next stitch, from the side that faces you through to the back. Take the yarn over the hook and draw it back through the stitch. There are five loops on the hook.
Through two, four times
Take the yarn over the hook and draw it through the two loops nearest the head of the hook. Do that four times in all. The loops on the hook go from five to four, to three, to two, to one, and the stitch is made.
At a glance
- Also called
- double triple crochet
- Used for
- lace and other openwork, where a tall and open stitch is wanted
- Height
- Taller than a treble crochet
- To turn
- Chain 5. It counts as the first stitch of the row unless the pattern says otherwise.
- On a starting chain
- The first stitch goes in the sixth chain from the hook, and the five skipped chains count as a stitch.
The stitch is a treble crochet with one more yarn over at the start and one more pull through two loops at the end. Every taller stitch is made the same way: one more yarn over, one more pull.
On a starting chain, yarn over three times and work the first stitch into the sixth chain from the hook. The five skipped chains stand as the first stitch, so a chain of 24 gives a row of 20: nineteen worked stitches and the skipped chains.
At the end of a row, chain 5 and turn. The chain 5 stands for the first stitch, so the first worked stitch goes into the second stitch of the row. Finish the row with a stitch in the top chain of the turning chain below.
The posts are long, so the fabric is loose and full of gaps. That is why the stitch turns up mostly in lace and openwork.
The name is where people go wrong. In UK terms, double treble (dtr) is the stitch that US patterns call treble crochet, made with two yarn overs, not three. Look for a note in the pattern that says which terms it uses. One more clue: half double crochet (UK half treble) is a US name, so a pattern that asks for it is written in US terms.
Tips
- Say the loops as you go: five, four, three, two, one.
When it goes wrong
- I lose track of how many times to pull through.
- When the hook comes back out of the stitch there are five loops on it. Pull through two loops four times, and the loops on the hook go from five to four, to three, to two, to one.
- My stitches are taller, or shorter, than the pattern seems to want.
- Check which terms the pattern uses. In a US pattern dtr is this stitch, with three yarn overs. In a UK pattern dtr is the US treble crochet, with two.
- My rows are losing a stitch.
- Every row ends with a stitch in the top of the turning chain below, and that stitch is easy to forget. Count your stitches when the row is done, with the turning chain as one of them.
Left-handed
The pictures show the hook held in the right hand. For the left hand, read each picture as its mirror image.
Variations
- Triple treble crochet (trtr). One step taller again: yarn over four times, pull up a loop, then pull through two loops five times. In UK patterns the name triple treble means the stitch on this page.
Questions
- What does dtr mean in crochet?
- Double treble crochet. In US terms it is the stitch on this page, made with three yarn overs. In UK terms dtr is the stitch that US patterns call treble crochet (tr).
- Is double treble the same as triple treble?
- It depends on the terms. The US double treble crochet (dtr) is called triple treble (trtr) in UK patterns. A US triple treble is a taller stitch still, with four yarn overs.
- How many chains do I turn with?
- Five, and they count as the first stitch of the next row unless the pattern says otherwise.