Walk Before You Run

I decided that it would be a good idea to just practice the double knitting basic motions until my fingers got used to it and it becomes, if not automatic, at least moderately smooth - and to do this for now with a larger yarn - and to do it without any very complicated color pattern. I also realized that if I knit in the round I wouldn't have to mentally reverse foreground and background colors every other row for any minimal color patterns I do use.

And I thought that it would be nice to have some sort of finished object at the end, instead of just a long strip of swatch.




Hence the double knit swatch hat. It may or may not end up being pretty when it's done, but it sure as heck is going to be be warm.

I've Been Just a Bit Obsessed

with the whole double knitting thing lately. So I've been practicing and trying things out.



Now this is a fairly seriously ugly swatch. First there's the color. But I'm not going to use up yarn I actually like on a practice, so the orange goes here. And then there's the fact that I'm not exactly smooth with the technique yet - getting better, but there's still a lot of tension wonkyness. Still, the exercise led to some interesting possibilities.



You can't tell from this picture, of course, but see those little horizontal stripes by the red arrow? On the other side, they are vertical stripes. How cool is that? Now I don't know where or why this might be useful in a design, but it could happen....

And then, that little eyelet motif by the blue arrow? Flip the piece over and you'll just see solid stockinette, and both layers were knit at the same time! Of course, one could knit an eyelet strip and a stockinette strip, and seam them together, and end up with much the same effect. But where's the fun in that?

My Mind is Officially Boggled

and I think I have a new knitting hero.

Alasdair Post-Quinn has designed a three-color double knit hat with a different design on each side! I don't want to rip off his pictures, but you can see it here. The pattern is for sale on Ravelry.

I had to buy it. I doubt I will ever knit it, but 1) I thought his brilliance should be rewarded and 2) I wanted to see how the heck he would chart something like that.

I have learned the cast on he uses, thanks to his helpful You Tube video. He also this good one on the basic technique.

My Littler Heart

Practice makes better, if not perfect. (Who knows, with more practice it may be even closer to perfect.

The smaller double knitting sample came out better, and was less hair raising to work.



You may wonder "Why are there cords coming off one corner?"

Well, Mr S asked me to make him "something colorful" to tie to his backpack when he goes on his trip this summer (to help him spot it among all the other dark luggage on the rack). I figured this would be appropriate.

Doubling Down

Warning, if you are not a knitting technique geek, you might as well skip this post. I'm still attempting to conquer two color double knitting.

I decided the most sensible thing to do would be to start with the first learning project in the book*. This is supposed to be a coaster or a hot pad, depending on gauge. My results actually fall somewhere between those two items in size, but that is the least of my concerns at this point.

Why do I keep thinking that, just because I grasp the concept perfectly well, my fingers will cooperate?

I worked the first third carrying two yarns at a time per the directions. The concept isn't that hard. With both yarns at the back, knit the first stitch in the color you want to show on the front side. Bring both yarns to the front and purl the next stitch in the other color. Repeat across.

It doesn't help that the borders are worked with only one color, meaning that you have to remember to twist the yarns - like intarsia - where the two-yarn center meets single-yarn edge. My yarns were twisting so thoroughly in the center section that you might expect this to happen automatically. You would be wrong.

After painfully working my way through the bottom section of the heart, I realized that it would be entirely possible to achieve the same results working with just one yarn at a time. First work color A slipping the stitches to be worked in B. Don't turn, just slide back so the stitches are in position to pick up color B and start knitting. (Fortunately I was working on a circular needle, so I could do this.) Then work color B, slipping the stitches that have just been worked in Color A. Then turn the work and proceed in the same fashion for the second row of the chart. Of course, this means making two passes to work one row. Oddly, it didn't seem any slower than fumbling with two yarns at a time. I did still keep forgetting to twist when I got to the border, but my tension was smoother. I think this approach has promise.

In either case, one has to remember that the "main color" and "contrast color" (or "pattern" and "background" colors) switch every time the work is turned. In my experience so far, sometimes one actually does remember this and sometimes one doesn't. Sometimes one reverses the colors part way through a row. Sometimes one is a little confused as to where in the chart one is.

I made a chart for a smaller piece, without the single color borders. I have an idea how to lock the layers together at the side edges that is a bit crude but should be effective enough. My jaw is set. My will is determined. Onward!

* the book is Double Knitting: Reversible Two-Color Designs by M'Lou Baber. Her garments are works of art.