The double crochet symbol in crochet charts
A T with one slash. The workhorse of doilies, granny squares and lace, and probably the symbol you will draw most.
- US name
- Double crochet
- UK name
- Treble
- In the editor
- Double crochet
What it looks like in a chart
A vertical post with a bar across the top and one diagonal slash across the middle of the post. That one slash is the whole identification: no slash is a half double, one slash is a double, two is a treble.
The slash corresponds to the single yarn over you make before inserting the hook. Every taller post follows the same accounting — a treble takes two yarn overs and carries two slashes, a double treble takes three and carries three — so once you have this symbol, the rest of the family reads itself.
Read this before you follow the pattern. US double crochet (dc) is called a treble (tr) in the UK — and UK double crochet (dc) is the shorter stitch a US pattern calls single crochet. The abbreviation dc is genuinely ambiguous on its own. Check whether the pattern mentions single crochet anywhere: if it does, it is US.
How it is used
- Granny squares, where clusters of dc separated by chain spaces build the whole motif.
- Doily and mandala rounds — most published doily charts are dc posts and chain arcs and very little else.
- Shells, fans and V-stitches, which are groups of dc worked into one stitch or chain space.
- Any fabric that wants height and openness without going full lace.
Worth knowing
On an in-the-round chart, dc posts fan outward from the center like spokes. That is not decoration — the symbols are rotated so each one points the way the stitch actually leans in the finished fabric.
Common questions
What does the T with one slash mean in a crochet chart?
A double crochet in US terms, which UK patterns call a treble. The single diagonal slash across the post is what distinguishes it from a half double crochet (no slash) and a treble (two slashes).
Is US double crochet the same as UK treble?
Yes. US double crochet (dc) and UK treble (tr) are the same stitch. Confusingly, UK double crochet is a different, shorter stitch — the one US patterns call single crochet.
How do I tell double crochet from treble on a chart?
Count the diagonal slashes on the post: one slash is a double crochet, two slashes is a treble. The treble is also drawn taller.