How to Treble Crochet for Beginners (Easy TR Stitch Tutorial)

The treble crochet stitch creates tall soft crochet fabric with excellent drape and flexibility. Also known as triple crochet, this beginner-friendly stitch works up quickly because it is taller than both single crochet and double crochet. Treble crochet is commonly used for blankets, scarves, shawls, garments, lace patterns, and decorative crochet stitches where lightweight flowing fabric is desired. This tutorial will show you how to treble crochet for beginners step-by-step.

What is Treble Crochet?

The treble crochet stitch is a tall crochet stitch created by wrapping the yarn over the hook twice before inserting it into the stitch. Because treble crochet is taller than double crochet, it creates a softer drape and a lighter fabric. It has larger stitch definition. Best of all your projects will grow fast with this tall stitch.

Learn more beginner crochet techniques in the complete crochet stitch guide for beginners.

How To Treble Crochet for Beginners (Step by Step)

The treble crochet stitch is abbreviated to tr crochet in patterns.

1. Make a Treble Foundation Chain

Start with a slip knot and then make a foundation chain. You can make this as long as you want the width of your crochet fabric to be. Chain 4 more stitches for your turning chain. You need 4 stitches to equal the height of the treble crochet stitch. For practice purposes, try 12 chain stitches. An alternative to creating a foundation chain is to use a foundation treble crochet.

2. Work Yarn Over Twice

Wrap the yarn around the hook twice from back to front. This extra yarn over is what creates the taller height of the treble crochet stitch.

3. Insert Hook

Insert the hook into the fifth chain from the hook. The first four chain stitches form the equivalent of a treble crochet.

4. Yarn Over and Pull

Wrap the yarn over once again and draw this loop through the chain stitch only. You will have four loops on your hook.

5. Yarn Over and Pull Through 2

Wrap the yarn over again and draw through the first two loops only. You should now have three loops on your hook.

6. Yarn Over and Pull Through 2

Yarn over again and draw through the next two loops. Now you will have two loops left on the hook.

7. Yarn Over and Pull Through 2

Wrap the yarn over once again and draw through the last two loops on the hook. You are now left with one loop on the hook.

8. Finish First Row

You have made your first treble crochet stitch. To continue, wrap your yarn over twice, insert the hook into the top of the next stitch, and repeat from step three all over again. Continue all the way along the foundation chain. Do not insert the hook into your slip knot.

9. Second Row Turning Chain

Turn your work around so that the wrong side is facing you, and your stitches will be formed from left to right. (Left-handers may prefer to work from right to left) To turn when you have completed a row, you must bring the yarn up to the correct height. To do this, you must chain 4 every time you turn. This is called the ‘turning chain’.

These 4 chain stitches replace the first treble stitch in the new row. Skip the first stitch of the previous row and work a treble into the second stitch. Insert the hook into the top two loops of each stitch.

10. Second Row

When following a pattern, you may sometimes be instructed to insert the hook into just the front or back loop, but this will give your fabric a different texture and appearance. Standard treble crochet is made by always inserting the hook into both loops at the top of the previous row.

BEGINNER TIP: Always insert the hook under the top two loops of the stitch unless your pattern says otherwise.

How to Finish Treble Crochet

Continue to work into each treble from the previous row, with the last treble being inserted into the top chain of your turning chain. Count your stitches! You should now have 16 treble stitches, counting the turning chain as one treble. Keep checking, and counting your stitches, so that you don’t end up inadvertently increasing or decreasing crochet stitches.

When you have completed the last row and the last stitch, cut your yarn, leaving a tail of about 2” (5cm). Draw this tail through the last loop on your hook and pull it tight. If you want to leave some yarn for stitching up your item, you can leave a much longer tail and just pull it through the last loop in the same way.

Treble Crochet Basics

Abbreviations

In crochet patterns, treble crochet is usually abbreviated as tr. In crochet charts, treble crochet is represented by a tall T-shaped symbol crossed by two diagonal lines.

US vs UK

Because the terminology regarding crochet stitches varies, depending on where your pattern originates from, a US treble crochet is the same as a UK double treble crochet. If you know where the designer of your pattern is from, you can easily convert any UK pattern to a US pattern and vice versa.

United States (US)	United Kingdom (UK)
single crochet (sc)	double crochet (dc)
double crochet (dc)	treble crochet (tr)
treble crochet (tr)	double treble (dtr)

Treble Crochet Techniques

How to Increase Treble Crochet Stitch

To increase, treble 2 stitches into the same stitch below.

How to Decrease Treble Crochet

There are two common methods for decreasing treble crochet stitches.

SKIP DECREASE: This easy decrease method for beginners involves simply skipping a stitch. In this large yarn, it looks like a noticeable hole but in a finer yarn, it can hardly be seen.

TR2TOG: Treble crochet 2 together (tr2tog) creates a smoother decrease with less visible spacing. This method partially completes two stitches before joining them together into one stitch.

Treble Crochet in the Round

Treble crochet is not as common for crocheting circles but can still be used. You will need more stitches to start your ring and chain 4 each time you start a new row.

• Create a magic ring or ch4 and join with a slip stitch.
• Chain 4 to bring up to height.
• Treble crochet 12-14 stitches into the ring.

Treble Crochet Stitch Variations

Once you have mastered the hand movements for the three basic stitches, (single, double, and treble) you have a multitude of stitch possibilities available to you. You can start experimenting with combinations and variations of them. Even the most elaborate crochet patterns are made using combinations of these stitches. Keep that in mind when you are eyeing a scarf made from delicate, exquisite Irish crochet, and feeling that you could not attempt that!

Longer Treble Crochet Stitches

These stitches are made using exactly the same skills as single and double crochet, just wrapping the yarn around the hook more times. They have a more twisted and textured appearance and result in a looser fabric.

If you look at the progression of basic stitches, you will see that each longer stitch simply involves more wraps around the hook each time. So, following this principle, you can continue to make longer stitches by wrapping the yarn around the hook 3, 4 or 5 times, and continuing to draw a loop through over and over, repeating from step four above, until you are left with only one loop on your hook. These stitches are called Double Treble (dtr), Triple Treble (ttr), quadruple treble (quadtr), and so on. They are not used nearly as often as single, double, and treble stitches. Each stitch turns out a little taller than the one before it!

In this picture, you can see how the height of the stitches varies.

Treble Crochet Shells

Crochet shell stitch are a very common variation on treble crochet stitches and create a lovely effect. They are made by working several treble stitches into one space. So a five treble shell will have 5 stitches all worked into one chain, or into one space from the previous row. This causes the stitches to fan out and form a shell-like shape.

If you place a chain stitch in between each shell, it creates a lovely open, lacy stitch that is light and quick to crochet up into fabric. 

Treble Crochet vs Double Crochet

Treble Crochet	Double Crochet
Taller stitch	Medium-height stitch
More open fabric	Slightly denser fabric
Greater drape	More structure
Faster project growth	Moderate project growth
Better for lace patterns	Better for everyday projects

Troubleshooting

Treble Crochet Tips:

• Keep your yarn tension relaxed.
• Count stitches at the end of every row.
• Do not skip the final stitch accidentally.
• Use stitch markers while learning taller stitches.
• Practice the yarn-over movement slowly at first.

Treble crochet may feel awkward initially because of the extra yarn overs, but after a few rows the movement quickly becomes natural.

Problem	Cause	Solution
Holes too large	Loose tension	Use smaller hook
Edges uneven	Missing final stitch	Count stitches
Stitch leaning	Uneven pull-through tension	Relax yarn handling
Fabric widening	Extra stitches added	Skip first stitch after turning chain

Treble Crochet FAQs

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How to Treble Crochet – In Conclusion

The treble crochet stitch creates lightweight crochet fabric with beautiful drape and flexibility. Although the extra yarn overs may feel unfamiliar at first, the stitch quickly becomes rhythmic and easy after a little practice. Because treble crochet works up quickly and creates elegant, flowing fabric, it is especially suitable for shawls, scarves, blankets, lace patterns, and decorative crochet projects.