How to crochet double treble stitches and beyond

Learn how to double treble crochet and how to triple treble crochet for super tall stitches!

6 issues of Simply Crochet magazine for £14.99|Save 72%

Published: February 12, 2021 at 9:00 am

Double treble crochet is a simple stitch to learn and is used to create a lacy texture in crochet patterns. A double treble stitch is longer than a treble crochet stitch but shorter than a triple treble crochet stitch. When worked in rows, double treble crochet fabric looks the same on the front and back (see image below). In this tutorial, we’ll show you first how to crochet double trebles in rows, and once you've mastered that we'll go onto triple trebles and beyond!

How to double treble crochet

First things first though, we've got to talk about conversions. If you're at the point of learning double treble and triple treble crochet stitches, you probably already know that there's different terminology used for crochet in the UK and the US. You can find out more in our abbreviations and conversions guide, but many crocheters still get confused when we get onto these really tall stitches. So here's what you need to know.

UK Double Treble Crochet stitch (dtr) = US Treble crochet stitch (tr)

Requires a turning chain of 4ch ● Insert your hook in the 5th chain from hook on foundation ch ● Make your foundation chain your desired number of stitches plus 3ch.

UK Triple Treble Crochet stitch (ttr) = US Double Treble crochet stitch (dtr)

Requires a turning chain of 5ch.● insert your hook in the 6th chain from hook on foundation ch ● Make your foundation chain your desired number of stitches plus 4ch.

You may occasionally see triple treble crochet stitches referred to as a treble treble crochet stitch - but don't worry, it's just a different way of saying it! We always use UK terminology in our magazines and patterns, but it's important to be aware of this when using other pattern! Anyway, let's get started!

How to double treble crochet stitch (dtr)

Step 1

Make a foundation chain the length you need – try practising with about 20-25 chains. You will work the first stitch into the 5th chain from the hook for double treble crochet – remember not to count the loop on the hook

Catch the ball end of the yarn with the hook, so that the yarn wraps anti-clockwise around it (yarn round hook or yrh). Repeat this again so that the yarn wraps round the hook twice. Holding the foundation chain as shown below, insert the hook into the 5th chain along from the hook

How to crochet double treble step 01

 

Step 2

Yarn round hook again and gently pull the yarn through the chain loop, so that you now have four loops on the hook.

How to crochet double treble step 02
How to crochet double treble step 03

Step 3

Yarn round hook again and gently pull the yarn through the first two loops, so you now have three loops on the hook.

How to crochet double treble step 04
How to crochet double treble step 05

Step 4

Yrh hook again, pull the yarn through the first two loops, so you now have two loops on the hook.

How to crochet double treble step 06
How to crochet double treble step 07

Step 5

Yrh again, pull the yarn through the last two loops, leaving one loop on the hook.

How to crochet double treble step 08
How to crochet double treble step 09

Congratulations, that’s your first double treble stitch made! The picture above shows how it should look. Work one double treble into each chain of the foundation chain in the same way.

Step 6

After your first row of double treble crochet, you’ll need to turn your work and make the turning chain. The picture below shows the turning chain worked and ready to continue the second row. The numbers show how to count the stitches of the first row.

How-to-crochet-double-treble-counting

In crochet, you need to make a turning chain (abbreviated as t-ch) at the beginning of every row to bring the hook up to the working height for the next row.

Different stitches need different lengths of t-ch. When working double treble crochet, the t-ch usually counts as the first stitch of the new row. This means you need to work your first double treble stitch after the t-ch into the stitch marked ‘1’ on the picture, skipping the stitch at the base of the turning chain. At the end of each row, work the last stitch into the top of the turning chain on the row below.

To continue with the second row, work the 4ch turning chain (t-ch), which counts as the first stitch of the new row. To work the next double treble stitch of the second row of double treble crochet, yrh twice and insert hook into the top of the 2nd stitch of the previous row, ensuring it passes under both sides of the V-shape, and complete your double treble stitch as normal.

How to crochet double treble step 10

Step 7

Work a double treble crochet into all the stitches across the row in the same way.

How to crochet double treble step 11

Step 8

To finish the row of double treble, work a double treble into the top chain of the turning chain on the previous row.

How to crochet double treble step 12

Step 9

Your second row of double treble crochet is complete. Repeat Steps 1-3 until you have the number of rows you need.

How to crochet double treble step 13

Now that you know how to make a double crochet stitch, it’s easy to make your stitches even longer. It all follows the same basic process. but to increase the hight of the stitch you essentially increase the amount of times you yrh before starting your stitch. We’ll show you how to do a triple treble crochet stitch for you to try!

How to triple treble crochet stitch (ttr)

Step 1

Again start practicing with a starting chain of 20-25 chains. For a triple treble you’re going yrh 3 times, and insert your hook into the 6th chain from your hook

How to crochet triple treble step 01

Step 2

Yrh and pull through your chains, leaving 5 loops on your hook.

How-to-crochet-triple-treble-step-02

How to crochet triple treble step 03

Step 3

Yrh and pull through 2 loops, leaving 4 loops on your hook

How to crochet triple treble step 04

How to crochet triple treble step 05

Step 4

Yrh and pull through 2 loops, leaving 3 loops on your hook

How to crochet triple treble step 06

How to crochet triple treble step 07

Step 5

Yrh and pull through 2 loops, leaving 2 loops remaining on your hook.

How to crochet triple treble step 08 How to crochet triple treble step 09

Step 6

Yrh hook and pull through remaining 2 loops. You’ve now completed a triple treble stitch!

How to crochet triple treble step 10 How to crochet triple treble step 011

Step 7

Continue to make triple trebles into each chain across. When you come to your second row, you will need to make a turning chain of 5ch.

How to crochet triple treble step 12

How to half double treble crochet stitch/How to half triple treble crochet stitch

They’re not very common, but occasionally you might see a pattern tell you to make a half double treble crochet (hdtr) or a half triple treble crochet (httr). These can be a little confusing at first, but they’re actually simple once you know how. Essentially, you do your stitch exactly the same as in the methods above, up until the point where you have 3 loops left on your hook (so once you’ve completed step 3 of the double treble stitch, and step 4 on the triple treble stitch). Then, rather than yrh and pull through 2 loops and yrh and pull through final 2 loops, you instead yrh and pull through all of your last 3 loops.

How to crochet half triple treble step 07

Much like when you make a normal half treble, it’s just a slightly more condensed form of the stitch.  Again the terminology can get a bit confusing, so it’s basically UK Half Double Treble Crochet stitch (hdtr) = US Half Treble crochet stitch (htr), and a UK Half Triple Treble Crochet stitch (httr) = US Half Double Treble crochet stitch (hdtr)

How to make taller crochet stitches

Once you’ve learnt how to crochet double treble crochet stitches and triple treble crochet stitches, you probably won’t come across many taller stitches – but you can make them! Essentially, it’s all about how many times you yrh before starting your stitch.

So for example, if you wanted to make a quadruple treble crochet stitch – yrh 4 times, insert hook through 7th chain, yrh, pull through chain (6 loops on hook), yrh, pull through 2 loops (5 loops on hook), yrh, pull through 2 loops (4 loops on hook), yrh, pull through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yrh, pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), yrh, pull through remaining 2 loops.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial, if you’re looking for more you can find loads of tutorials in our how to crochet section, or why not find out how to do mosaic crochet.