P3tog (purl three together) is a double decrese and is similar to K3tog but is worked on the purl side of the fabric. It is exactly as it sounds…….you purl 3 stitches together, decreasing your total number of stitches by two. It is just like making a regular purl stitch but you work through three stitches instead of one.

How to work a P3tog decrease

So I have cast on 10 stitches and worked a few rows in stocking stitch, on the next purl row the instructions are :

P1, P3tog, purl to end.  (8 sts)

I have purled the first stitch of the row and am now ready to work P3tog:

Step 1

Step 1 – Insert the right hand needle through the next three stitches on the needle, through the front of the stitches from right to left (as you would if you were purling a normal stitch).

Step 2

Step 2 – Pass the yarn counter clockwise around the right hand needle (as you would if you were purling a normal stitch).

Step 3

Step 3 – Pull the yarn through the three stitches, slipping them off the left hand needle.

A double descrease completed.