Need help with my crochet chart

Hi everyone,  

since not even my crochet-savvy grandma could really help me, you’re my last hope :-) 
Okay, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but I’ve just started crocheting a vest—or rather, I’m about to start one—that has a border made of granny squares. And in the crochet chart, right at these squares, there’s a symbol I’m not quite sure how to decipher. It’s for the first round right after the magic ring. This round consists of symbols for double crochets, but two of them are always “connected” at the top by just a single horizontal line, so the whole thing looks like a star. Between each “point” there’s a dot, meaning a chain stitch. I would have guessed that this simply means alternating 2 double crochets and 1 chain stitch, but I’m not entirely sure. The star shape and the way they’re grouped by the horizontal line are confusing me. 

I hope I’ve explained this clearly enough and that you can help me. 

Thank you so much in advance

Sophie  

Hi Sophie,

could you possibly sketch the symbol and post a photo of it here?
I think that would help us assist you better!

Best regards

Hi,
yes, of course—I could have done that right away.

To me, these look like 2 double crochets worked together (= cluster stitches) followed by one chain stitch each.

Yeah, I agree

Thank you so much! I had a feeling I wasn’t quite right :-) 

Exactly, 2 double crochets worked together!

Hi again, 

Thanks to your help, I’ve now crocheted the first squares. However, I do still have a question about the double crochets worked together—namely, in the first pair, the first “double crochet” consists of chain stitches. How do you finish that off together? I haven’t managed to find a solution by trial and error, and so far I’ve just been crocheting the second double crochet as usual....

Thanks and best regards 
Sophie