Is a picot the loop or the loop plus 2 or 1 double knots?

I'm just confused my pattern says 3 double knots a picot and repeat, if "=" is a double knots and and "^" is the loop, am I doing ====^= as the 3 and picot, ===^= as the 3 and picot, or ===^= as the 3, picot and next double? Or is the loop between a single knot?