What You'll Be CreatingDouble
knitting is an interesting and unique technique, and it’s the perfect
skill to tackle for intermediate knitters who are looking for a new
challenge. It creates a dense, smooth fabric that’s completely
reversible, and it will make you feel so clever as it comes off your
needles. Double knitting is the perfect technique for making projects
that you’ll see both sides of, like scarves, and it’s also great for
making reversible projects, like a reversible beanie.
Supplies
Knitting needles
Two balls of yarn in contrasting colors
Casting On and Plain Rows
A two-stranded tubular cast-on creates an attractive edge and gets the sequence started for plain, solid-colored rows.
Increasing and Decreasing
To increase and decrease in double knitting, you’ll first need to know how to increase and decrease on simpler knits.
Work from a Chart
Charts
for double knitting can be a little confusing at first, but if you
focus on what your knitting will look like once it’s off your needles
and remember that you’re knitting both sides at the same time, you’ll
have good results.
Bind Off
When you’re all done, combine
decreases with a basic bind-off to finish your double knitting. Weave in
your ends, and don’t forget to block your knitting!
Get Creative
Now that you’ve learned how to
cast on, add shaping, follow a chart, and bind off, you’re ready to take
on any double-knitting project. Why not design your own chart? Use
graph paper and colored pencils to create your own double-knitting chart
and experiment with the technique.
Learning to read knitting patterns
can be a little daunting, especially when they look like they’re
written in another language. Take on any pattern with this ultimate
guide to understanding knitting patterns.
1. Pick the Right Size
Understand the Size Formatting
Patterns that come in multiple sizes are typically written with the
smallest size first and the other sizes in brackets or parentheses like S
(M, L, XL). When reading the pattern, wherever the numbers differ
between sizes, they will be listed in the same format, and you will keep
track of your size based on that.
If a pattern tells you to cast on 10 (12, 14, 16) stitches, and you
want to knit the size L, you would cast on 14 stitches because that is
the number that corresponds with the size L in the parentheses.
To choose the perfect size and get the best fit, you’ll need to
reference the schematic measurements or list of final measurements,
which are also frequently formatted in parentheses.
To be sure that you've picked the right size, check all of the
measurements that correspond to your size and compare them to your own
measurements. Knitting patterns have their own standards, and simply
picking the size that you’re used to wearing in store-bought clothing
won’t always work for you.
Ease and Choosing a Size
When choosing what size to knit, it’s important to understand ease.
Ease is the amount of extra fabric that allows for drape and movement. A
sweater with zero ease will match your measurements exactly. A sweater
with two inches of ease will be slightly looser. A garment has negative
ease when it’s smaller than the wearer, and because knits are stretchy,
you can comfortably wear sweaters with negative ease for a snugger, more
fitted look.
Although ease is most frequently mentioned when referring to
garments, it's also important to understand the amount of ease you
prefer in accessories. Headbands and hats fit snugly with negative ease
and are unlikely to slip out of place, but hats with positive ease are
less likely to crush your hair style.
To get an idea of what amount of ease you like to wear, measure some
of your store-bought sweaters and accessories and compare them to your
own measurements.
A pattern’s schematic lists the final measurements of the project,
and when you’re looking at it to choose your size, you’ll have to keep
in mind the amount of ease you prefer, as well as the pattern's
recommendation.
Let’s imagine we have a sweater pattern that includes sizes S (M, L,
XL). The schematic lists the finished measurements as 34 (38, 42, 46)
inches. If you have a 40 inch bust and you're trying to choose a size
when the pattern recommends 2–3 inches of negative ease, you’d want to
knit the size M with a 38 inch bust measurement. If the pattern
recommends 2–3 inches of positive ease, you’d want to knit the size L
with a 42 inch bust measurement.
Some patterns will include measurements “to fit” when listing the
sizes. These measurements have the recommended ease incorporated into
them, and you simply need to pick the size with measurements that most
closely match your own.
2. Choose the Perfect Yarn and Needles
Weight and Gauge
Yarn comes in a variety of sizes known as weights. The most common
names for the sizes from smallest to largest are lace, fingering, sport,
DK or double knit, worsted, aran, bulky, and super bulky. Yarns often
don’t include their weight on their packaging, and it can take some
experience and practice to learn the different weights.
When substituting yarn in a pattern, look at the recommended needle
size and gauge in the pattern and compare it to the recommended needle
size and gauge on the yarn’s packaging. This will help point you in the
right direction for most patterns.
However, designs that feature fine yarn at an extra-loose gauge, or
bulkier yarn at an extra-dense gauge can steer you in the wrong
direction, so it’s helpful to look up the weights of the recommended
yarn and potential substitutes on the manufacturer’s website or Ravelry’s yarn database.
Fiber
Different fibers have different qualities, and it’s important to keep
that in mind when you substitute yarn. Choose yarns with similar fibers
or with similar qualities. Here are some of the more common fibers
you'll run across:
Fiber
Qualities
Best For
Wool
Elastic, “sticky,” and warm
Fitted garments, winter accessories, and colorwork
Cotton
Inelastic, washable, and smooth
Summer tops and household goods
Acrylic and Nylon
Elastic, hard-wearing, and washable
Sturdy projects
Silk
Drapey and smooth
All-season projects
Alpaca
Drapey and warm
Winter accessories
Swatch
Before you dive into a pattern, you need to knit a swatch to make
sure that the needles and yarn you choose will give you the recommended
gauge. The entire pattern is calculated based on the recommended gauge,
and if you’re knitting with a different number of stitches and rows than
what is recommended, your project will end up too big or too small.
Being off by just fraction can ruin a larger project because those
fractions add up.
For the best results, knit a large swatch and wash and block
it. Many yarns bloom or grow when they’re first washed because of the
spinning process and/or their fiber content, so it’s important to wash
your swatch if you plan on ever washing your project. Once your swatch
has dried, measure your gauge over a larger area.
If your gauge is too big, try knitting a new swatch on a smaller
needle size. If you gauge is too small, try a larger needle size. To
save time, I like to knit two or three swatches with different needles
all at once so I can wash and block all of my swatches together.
Although it can be frustrating to go through this process when you’re
ready to dive into a new project, it will spare you the grief of
knitting a whole sweater only to have it turn out gorilla-sized after
you wash it for the first time.
Repeat the instructions in between the asterix and the semicolon as many times as stated.
[ ] X times
Repeat the instructions in the bracket as many times as stated (X).
At the same time
Work these instructions at the same
time as the previous instructions. This instruction is most frequently
used when shaping or colorwork needs to be incorporated at the same time
as other instructions. Pay close attention and be sure to read ahead.
Continue to work as established
Repeat the general
instructions of the previous set of rows. You may see this instruction
when you’re working sets of short rows with each row one stitch longer
than the last, when you’re working one shaping row and a handful of
plain rows a certain number of times, or when you’re simply repeating a
stitch pattern.
Reverse shaping
This instruction is typically included
for pieces with a matched left and right. Work the shaping opposite as
before, moving increases or decreases from the left side to the right or
vice versus and switching left slanting stitches like SSK with right
slanting stitches like K2TOG and right slanting stitches with left
slanting stitches. This will create mirrored pieces.
Work as for X
Follow the same instructions as for the given piece or section (X).
Work even
Work in the given stitches patterns without increasing or decreasing.
X to end
Work to the end of the row or round using the stitch or stitch pattern given (X).
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Reading Charts
Whether they’re lace, cables, or colorwork, all charts typically show
the right side view of the stitch pattern and have to be used
accordingly. Working from the bottom up (like how your stitches appear
on your needles), right side rows and all rounds are read from right to
left.
Wrong side rows are read from left to right, and the wrong side
equivalents of the stitches are used. A blank square is typically used
to indicate a knit stitch on the right side and a purl stitch on the
wrong side.
The sample chart is as follows when worked flat:
Row 1: P1, k1, yo, k2tog.
Row 2: P3, k1.
Row 3: P1, yo, k2tog, k1.
Row 2: P3, k1.
When worked in the round, it’s read slightly differently:
Round 1: P1, k1, yo, k2tog.
Round 2: P1, k3.
Round 3: P1, yo, k2tog, k1.
Round 2: P1, k3.
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