English abbreviation · Crochet
What does trtr mean in crochet?
trtr means triple treble crochet.
In French: triple bride
How to work it
trtr is the British triple treble: a tall stitch with three yarn overs before the hook goes in. An American pattern writes the same stitch “dtr”, and a French pattern “triple bride”.
Yarn over three times, insert the hook into the stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop: five loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through two loops, four times, until one loop remains.
It is a stitch for openwork and edgings: a few rows of it make a lot of height with little yarn.
In a pattern
Row 5: ch 5 (counts as trtr), trtr in each st across, turn (20)
“Row 5: ch 5 (counts as trtr), trtr in each st across, turn (20)” starts with five chains that reach the height of the stitch and count as the first one, as the brackets say. Then one trtr goes into each stitch to the end of the row; you turn the work and should have 20 stitches, the turning chain included.
US or UK?
trtr only exists in British notation, so its presence tells you the whole pattern is British: its dc is an American sc, its tr an American dc, and its dtr an American tr. The American name of trtr is dtr. The US ↔ UK converter rewrites the pattern in one convention or the other.
Common mistakes
- Reading the other stitches of the pattern in American terms because they look familiar. In a British pattern, every stitch shifts by one step.
- Letting the wraps slip off the hook before inserting it. The stitch comes out shorter and the row uneven.
A tip
Tall stitches lean if the turning chain is too tight. Chain loosely, or make one chain more than the pattern says if your first stitch always looks shorter than the others.
Frequently asked questions
Is trtr the same as dtr?
trtr (UK) is the same stitch as dtr (US): three yarn overs. But a British dtr is a shorter stitch, with two.
How many chains does a row of trtr start with?
Usually 5, as in the example. The pattern says whether they count as a stitch.
British notation
“trtr” only exists in British notation. A US pattern writes “dtr” for this stitch.
Try it with a row from your pattern
Here is a row that uses it. Replace it with a row from your pattern: every abbreviation the reader knows is underlined, and its meaning shows on hover.
Row 5: ch 5 (counts as trtr), trtr in each st across, turn (20)