Learn to crochet · lesson 7 of 12 · about 20 minutes

How to treble crochet (UK): the tall, quick stitch

To treble crochet, wrap the yarn round the hook, push the hook into the stitch, wrap again and pull up a loop, then wrap and pull through two loops, twice. In US patterns the same stitch is called double crochet. It’s much taller than a double crochet, so your fabric grows quickly and drapes softly.

Step by step

1. 1Make 12 chains

   Start with a slip knot and make 12 chains. Count the V shapes along the front, not the slip knot and not the loop on your hook. By the end of the row you’ll have 10 stitches.

2. 2Yarn round hook, then into the 4th chain

   Treble starts differently from double crochet: wrap the yarn round the hook first (yarn round hook, or yrh, is the same move as the yarn over in earlier lessons), before the hook goes anywhere. Then push the hook into the 4th chain from the hook. The three chains you skip stand in for the first treble of the row.

3. 3Pull up a loop

   Yarn round hook again and pull it back through the chain only. You now have three loops on the hook.

4. 4Through two, then through two

   Yarn round hook and pull through the first two loops, which leaves two. Yarn round hook once more and pull through the last two. That’s one treble. Say it as you go: “over, in, over, pull up; over, through two; over, through two.”

5. 5Finish the row

   Work one treble into each chain to the end. Count the upright posts, plus the three skipped chains at the start: you should have 10.

6. 6Turn and chain 3

   Turn the work and make 3 chains. In UK patterns this turning chain usually counts as the first treble. So skip the stitch right at the base of the chain and work your next treble into the second stitch, under both loops at the top.

7. 7Last stitch into the turning chain

   Treble along the row. When you reach the end, the last stitch goes into the top chain of the 3 chains from the row below. It can look a bit loose; tug it gently to find the top chain. Count again: 10 stitches.

8. 8When a pattern says otherwise

   Some patterns use 2 or 3 chains that don’t count as a stitch. Then you work the first treble into the stitch at the base of the chain, and you don’t work into the chain at the end. The pattern notes will tell you which. If they don’t, treat the 3 chains as a stitch.

Check your work

• Every row has 10 stitches when you count the turning chain as one.
• Both side edges go straight up instead of slanting in or fanning out.
• The stitches in a row are all roughly the same height.

Common mistakes

Your fabric gets wider each row.

You’re probably working a treble into the stitch at the base of the turning chain as well as counting the chain. Skip that first stitch.

Your fabric gets narrower each row.

You’re missing the last stitch. Work it into the top chain of the turning chain from the row below.

Your trebles come out much taller or shorter than the pattern photo.

Check whether the pattern is in US terms. A US “double crochet” is a UK treble, and a US “treble” is a UK double treble.

Yarn for a first scarf →

Sources: simply-yarn.com, craftyarncouncil.com, craftyarncouncil.com, simply-yarn.com, simply-yarn.com, blog.bellacococrochet.com, blog.bellacococrochet.com, craftyarncouncil.com, simply-yarn.com. Written in UK terms; the US name is in brackets the first time a stitch appears.