How to Crochet the Double Treble Crochet (US)
The US Double Treble Crochet stitch is an incredibly tall stitch that is used mostly in post stitches that are worked several rows below or in patterns that are lacy, where the height is required to create space. Not to be confused with the UK’s Double Treble (which is a US treble), the US Double Treble Crochet may not be a stitch you run into often but is still a stitch you should know and feel confident working, especially if you plan to work patterns with cables or lace.
In this stitch tutorial, we’ll do more than just talk about how to work a US Double Treble Crochet. We’ll talk about the anatomy of the stitch and get into the details so you can feel confident using this stitch in future projects.
The “hardest” thing about the US Double Treble Crochet stitch is making sure you’re following the right terminology. Other than that, it’s just like a double crochet or treble/triple crochet but taller!
The most confusing thing about the Double Treble Crochet is hands down the terminology difference between US and UK abbreviations and terms.
In US terms, which we are using here, the Double Treble Crochet is a stitch that is even taller than our treble (or triple) crochet. However, when using UK terms, they’re referencing what we consider a treble crochet.
Clear as mud, right?
This is one of the reasons it is so important to check the abbreviations and terminology used in a crochet pattern.
This is very similar to the US and UK having different meanings for the “double crochet”. In the US, it is a stitch that is 2x as tall as our single crochet. In the UK, it’s the same thing as our single crochet.
If you’re following a pattern written in US terms that uses a Double Treble Crochet stitch but you crochet it like a UK Double Treble Crochet (our treble crochet), your project will end up wonky and not looking like the designers sample.
What is the US Double Treble Crochet stitch (dtr)?
The Double Treble Crochet stitch (abbreviated to “dtr”) is like a cousin to the US double and treble crochet stitches. Just like the treble crochet is taller than the double crochet, the Double Treble Crochet stitch adds even more height to the stitch.
You likely won’t see this stitch often when following crochet patterns unless you’re working patterns that instruct you to work front post stitches several rows below, patterns that have cables or very lacy patterns.
If you’re here to learn how to Double Treble Crochet so that you can learn how to work it as a front post stitch or as a front post stitch several rows below, don’t worry! I have tutorials for those, too!
What stitches should I know before I try a dtr?
Before you try this crochet stitch, you should know the basic crochet stitches. This means you should know and feel at least somewhat confident creating chains and working single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and treble crochet stitches.
Essentially what this means is as long as you can work a double or treble crochet and understand the technical parts to working a double or treble crochet (how to insert your hook into a stitch, how to yarn over, how to pull through loops, etc.), you can work a Double Treble Crochet.
There’s nothing super advanced or fancy to this crochet stitch. It’s easier than it sounds!
How to Double Treble Crochet – US Terms
This Double Treble Crochet stitch tutorial will show you step-by-step how to work this stitch with photos along the way. There will be arrows and dots to help identify the steps as clearly as possible.
Ready to get started? Let’s go over the technical stuff first.
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YARN AND HOOK USED IN THIS TUTORIAL
To practice the US Double Treble Crochet, you can use any yarn you like! Choose a hook size that corresponds with the yarn weight you’re using and you’re good to go.
In my tutorial photos, I’m using Bernat Maker Home Dec in colorway Aqua and my Furls Ebony Streamline Wood 8mm (M).
TURNING CHAIN FOR THE US DTR
For the Double Treble Crochet stitch, the turning chain should be either 4 or 5 chains. “Either” is used here because some crocheters prefer shorter turning chains so that there isn’t as wide of a gap between the chains and the stitch and others prefer a taller turning chain.
This is similar to how some crocheters prefer a chain 2 as a turning chain for a double crochet and others prefer a chain 3.
There’s really no right or wrong answer for the turning chains. Choose either that you prefer – 4 or 5 will be fine.
WRITTEN DOUBLE TREBLE CROCHET INSTRUCTIONS
To work a Double Treble Crochet (dtr), you will:
Yarn over hook 3 times. Insert hook into indicated stitch, yarn over and pull a loop through. You will have 5 loops on hook. Yarn over and pull through 2 loops a total of 4 times.
Step by Step Instructions
Now that we have the technical stuff out of the way, let’s walk step by step through how to work the Double Treble Crochet stitch.
For this tutorial, I am using a swatch of 12 double crochet with 4 rows worked. This is to show the height difference between the double crochet and the Double Treble Crochet. You absolutely can work this stitch on chains.
Typically you would follow the pattern instructions but, for practice, you can chain any amount that you prefer and then place your first dtr in the 5th or 6th chain (depending on your preferred turning chain).
Let’s get started:
To begin this row using the Double Treble Crochet stitch, I have chained 4 as I prefer shorter turning chains.
We will work our first Double Treble Crochet (dtr) in the first stitch.
To begin, we will yarn over 3 times. When you have properly completed this, you will have what looks like 4 loops on your hook.
Insert your hook into the indicated stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop.
We now have 5 loops on our hook. Yarn over and pull through the first two loops (marked with black dots in the image).
With this step completed, we will have 4 loops remaining on the hook.
I’ve highlighted the first two loops that we pulled through in pink and yellow, so that we can see how they settle. You can see how these highlights look similar to a single crochet.
Now, yarn over and pull through the next 2 loops on the hook (marked with black dots in the image).
With this step completed, we now have 3 loops remaining on the hook.
At this point, we have reached the height of a double crochet.
Now, yarn over and pull through the next 2 loops on the hook.
TIP: Because the Double Treble Crochet stitch is so tall, tension can get a bit wonky and loose here.
To keep your tension from getting too loose, it helps to pinch the part of the stitch that has already been worked (the part that looks like a double crochet which a black arrow points to in the image).
As we continue working this stitch and it gets taller, we would continue to pinch the tallest part of the stitch to ensure it doesn’t get too loose.
With this step completed, we now have 2 loops remaining on the hook.
At this point, we have reached the height of a treble crochet.
Our last step of this stitch is to yarn over and pull through the remaining 2 loops.
We now have a completed US Double Treble Crochet!
From here you can continue placing dtr’s in each stitch across, so that you can get into the groove of working these tall stitches.
It can take some practice to get used to the tension change and you may find that your stitches are super loose, especially at the top of the stitch, when you first learn.
Don’t worry, the more you practice the more even they’ll become!
Here I have worked a total of 6 Double Treble Crochet stitches.
You can see just how much taller they are than the double crochets below. They’re 2x the height!
There’s a ton of space between these stitches which make them very loose and lace like.
Because of their height and the space between them, you can see why they typically wouldn’t be used for most projects that aren’t intended to be lacy or require the height or length for cables.
Here I have finished the row with 6 treble crochet to show the difference in height between the treble crochet and the double treble crochet.
The arrow on the right points to the 6 Double Treble Crochets and the arrow on the left points to the 6 treble crochets.
The Double Trebles are essentially taller than the treble crochets by the height of one single crochet.
So, what do I do now?
To continue practicing the Double Treble Crochet stitch, you can simply continue practicing the stitch on swatches so that you can ensure you get your tension even. Make sure to pinch the part of the stitch that has already been worked as it helps to hold everything in place.
Once you’re comfortable with the US Double Treble Crochet, you can move on to learning how to work it as a front post stitch. Then, you can begin learning how to front post double treble crochet 2 rows below!
That’s all there is to the US Double Treble Crochet!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that you can move forward crocheting all your favorite patterns that use Double Treble Crochet stitch with confidence. 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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