p2togtbl :: 4 ways
In general, the p2togtbl is to be avoided. That’s my basic attitude. However… in the interest of knitting symmetry sometimes a p2togtbl is the right thing to do.
(This chimes perfectly with the general wisdom (mine) that intended asymmetry is good, unintended asymmetry, bad. Mostly.)
A p2togtbl on the Wrong Side produces an ssk (a left-leaning decrease) on the Right Side. And sometimes that’s just what a knitter wants.
Below are 4 ways to make the p2togtbl.
Sometimes speed is the thing, at others precision – or comfort. Find your preferred method(s).
CLICK ON the tutorial postcard for LARGER images
CLICK ON the tutorial postcard for LARGER images
Closeups of the B Walker way:
1. Purl 1.
2. With yarn in front, slip the purled stitch back to Left Needle.
3. Pass the next stitch over your stitch…
…. and off the needle.
4. Slip the resulting stitch back to Right Needle. Done!
Seen from Right Side
p3togtbl
Similarly, for the even peskier p3togtbl (why would you evah? — well… there could be an emergency):
1. Purl 2 stitches together.
Then work steps 2 – 4 above.
(A. Completed p3togtbl on Wrong Side. B. Completed p3togtbl on Right Side C. sk2p symbol)
A p3togtbl on Wrong Side corresponds to an sk2p on the Right Side, that is, a left-leaning double decrease — slip 1, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over.
Barbara Walker describes this through the back loop technique in A Treasury of Knitting Patterns on pages 233 & 236.
Yarn in photos: Posh Yarn Francesca, a wondrously soft, single ply mix of merino, alpaca and silk.
Project glimpsed: A 6-row stripe Ziggurat pullover in DK weight.
27 Comments
I always knew there must be an easier way of doing these stitches. Thanks very much Asa
You’re most welcome!
å.
Thank you , thank you. THANK YOU.
Very clear and very clever.
I really appreciate your tutorials.
I’m old in age but fairly new to knit and I find these hints (even the use of the scale..) very useful.
Have you any suggestions on how to have and mantein a good work tension and what about speedy? I read your tip n.4. You frogged and ENORMOUS work! A so brave act need to be able to re-knit it in a resonable amount of time, (no months like me!).
All the best,
Ada
Thank you, Ada!
That’s great that you’ve taken up knitting in your “old-ish” age. I’m not sure I’d have the patience to learn from scratch… it’s a bit like riding a bicycle – easy (or easier) to learn when you’re a child, and quite daunting if you start out as an adult. Then again, knitting doesn’t require balancing a fair bit off the ground. You can lounge comfortably and safely on your sofa.
Even tension… mine isn’t truly even, but it’s ok. It helps to knit with a forgiving yarn (one with a generous give or elasticity or sproing). I also find wood needles that aren’t as slippery as metal ones make it a bit easier to maintain tension. Many knitters loop the working yarn around a finger or two (like this) – but that doesn’t work for me. I just sort of squeeze the yarn a bit between my work and needle and the three last fingers of my left hand.
For speed… you just have to keep knitting, I think!
I’m not going to get into the continental (which I use) versus throwing wars. There are great speedsters in both camps.
Knit with abandon!
p.s. A frogged sweater is better than a knitted one that never gets worn…
oh thank you so much! Like Ada I am late to knitting, but not to frogging! Love your saying, it will be my mantra from now on!
Hello,
I am so glad that Ada asked her questions, and reading your answer to her.
I am similar to Ada, have begun knitting Summer 2013. I am also having quite a bit of issues with tension. It is so good for me to read from someone who’s a “pro” who says that hers is ‘not so perfect’ ! For the samples that I see in the yarn store where I visit are like ‘factory made’, which did not give me any comfort in my progress.
And I like your visual tutorials too. SO clear and precise, written part is not long and in small font. As if it’s made for me !!
I am so happy to have found you, Thank you !
I am having a lot fun knitting along with your Mysteriosa at the moment.
Looking forward to Clue 4.
Best in all, Ruenn Chiou
Hi Asa!
Thank you for such a great information. I’m stuck on the very 1st step of p2togtbl. The photo looks like the yarn is behind the needle when purling the 1st stitch. If I’ve been purling all along on the wrong side wouldn’t the yarn be in the front already and there wouldn’t be a need to bring it to the front? I’m probably missing something very basic…thanks for any help you can give me.
I think you are worrying without cause! If your yarn is already in front, you are doing everything right!
The instruction specifies “with yarn in front” in case you have it elsewhere (such as after knitting rather than purling).
The way I happen to purl (continental) leaves my yarn in back… so I do have to bring it to the front before doing the Walker p2togtbl.
Then again, it’s possible that I do a different p2togtbl altogether. 😉
It was pointed out that technically and precisly for the p2togtbl to equal an ssk, you have to:
(Sl1 knitwise) twice, sl2 back to LN, purl these 2 sts together through the back loop… phew!
I resist knitting the ‘twisted rib’ because on wrong side you have to purl through back look which is hard on my fingers. Do you know if there is an easier way?
Thank you for your lovely work.
Linda
Hm… no I don’t… except for knitting in the round.
Or cheating by twisting only on every other row. It has been got away with before…
If you come up with some good way around it, let us know!
Hej!
Thank you so much for this tutorial, I´m actually knitting a shawl that includes p2togtbl and even p3togtbl. It was hard until I found your site.
Thanks again!
Marja
Glad to hear it and glad it helped! Knit on! /åsa
This is genius and amazing – thanks much for saving me time, frustration and cursing! Love it!
Cursing is not always a bad thing…
Glad I could stem some of it though!
Thank you so much for that easy diagram of p2 tog tbl . Made the whole sleeve decrease look so much prettier.
Though I’ve been knitting for many years, a project I am just starting asks for a prtogtbl. I have never done this before. Ugh. After one purl row I was ready to trash the project.
So I started searching the internet looking for a better way. Sure enough most of the sites show the awkward reaching behind the left needle grab. One site recommends slipping the two purl stitches knit wise to the right needle and then passing them back to the left needle and then purling through the back loop, a moderately better approach. But still, using fingering wool in a shawl turns this into a nightmare.
Got to be an easier way, maybe turn the work to the knit side? Then I came across your explanation. Of course, this works beautifully. Thank you for passing it on. Wish there was some way to wipe the internet clean of all the “awkward ways.”
So glad it helped! But it’s not my way. It’s knitting guru-goddess Barbara Walker’s way. And I agree – it’s great!
Please, which of the Walker Treasury of Knitting Designs? There are 4…
Thanks
Yes and this is the one mentioned above: A Treasury… the blue one (I think they’re usually published with the same cover colours, if that helps?)
The other three have numbers in their titles (A Second Treasury… A Fourth Treasury… etc).
å.
Thank you, the pictures are a great help.
I’m glad! Thanks for writing!
When you slipped the first stitch you purl back to the left needle I know the yarn is in the front but are you slipping it by inserting the left needle from left to right through the front leg?
Thank you
Slip back to Left Needle without twisting it, so yes, from left through the front leg.
Meanwhile, I now favour another p2tog tbl, which is sometimes called SSP: (slip 1 knitwise) twice, slip these 2 sts back to Left Needle but inserting Left Needle from RIGHT to Left (twisting the pair of sts). Now, p2tog (same 2 sts).
(There is a photo tutorial in the Ziggurat Book.)
Thank you for your easy method of p2togtbl. But even more so for the even easier way you commented about on 22 July 2019. This simplifies the stitch from the original so much. I was about to chuck this project but now can finish it with ease.
What took me so long to find this oh so easy way to do a p2tog tbl? Thank you so much!
Yes, it’s pretty cool!
Now… to precisely mirror an ssk, you may want to do an ssp, which is a little bit more involved:
(slip 1 knitwise) x 2, slip these 2 sts twisted back to LN (going from right to left into second then first st on RN), p2tog
I haven’t made a tutorial for this yet. But I will!
was taught that for the tbl in the 60’s by my RussianGerman granny!
Never understood what all the hub-bub was about the last thirty years.
Easy to do the “tbl” that way.
In fact it was not named “tbl” until the 90’s.
The original term was “PtoS…..purl to slip”