Double Knitting – A Knitting Technique With A Twist!

By Jodie Morgan

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Double knitting is a wonderful technique for double fabric. Learn to knit this unique knitting method in this tutorial.

Double Knitting

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I reviewed, fact checked and updated this post on May 22, 2023.

Table Of Contents

What Is Double Knitting?

A technique creating fabric with no wrong side. With stockinette double knitting, it looks like two pieces of stockinette with the wrong sides together.

Do it in two colors, using two yarn for a fabric with one color on one side and the other color on the other side! The contrasting fibers create a reversible colorwork effect. The finished fabric looks like two at once.

When you make double knit patterns, the knit stitch and the purl stitch are done the same. Double knitting often uses charts. Cast on twice as many stitches as usual.

Double Knitting Technique For Beginners

How To Knit In Double Knitting: You need two balls of yarn, needles to match the weight of the yarn, scissors, and a yarn needle.

How To Cast On

  • Take both strands of yarn and make a slip knot. Place it on your needle.
  • Pick one strand, and cast on a stitch using the long-tail cast on. Only use one color!
  • Do the same thing again, but using the other color.
  • Alternate until you have a few stitches. 
  • For the last stitch, use BOTH strands to make a stitch.
  • Your first stitch should be made of two strands (the slip knot), single-strand stitches alternating in color, and a stitch made of two strands.
  • You’re ready!

First Row

(The colors are red and purple.)

  1. Slip one knitwise. (Slip the double-stranded stitch aka the slip knot) Note: Always slip the first stitch in a row knitwise.
  2. The next stitch is red. With both yarns in the back, knit the first red stitch with the red thread only.
  3. Bring both strands to the front. Purl the purple stitch with the purple yarn.
  4. Repeat row 2
  5. Repeat row 3
  6. Repeat rows 2-3 until the last stitch.
  7. Purl the last double-stranded stitch using BOTH yarns.
  8. Slip the first double-stranded stitch knitwise, like row 1.
  9. Repeat row 2.
  10. Repeat row 3.
  11. Repeat rows 2-3 until the last stitch.
  12. Repeat row 7.
  13. Repeat rows 8-12 for every row.

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Double Knitting Pin

How Do You End Double Knitting?

JoannesWeb shows you ways to cast off double knitting and get a neat edge.

Double Knitting In The Round: In the round is the same as knitting flat. The difference is it’s a tube instead of a flat piece.

Double Knitting On A Loom

Lion Brand Yarn shows how to double knit on a knitting loom.

Double Knitting With Three Colors

Lucy shows you how to add another color to double knitting, like blue.

FAQS About Double Knitting

What Is The Purpose Of Double Knitting?

Creating a double-sided fabric with no wrong sides.

How Do You Double Knit One Color?

This pattern creates a double-sided stockinette fabric with one color and one strand of yarn.

  1. Cast on an even number of stitches
  2. Knit 1
  3. Bring yarn to front
  4. Slip the next stitch as if to purl
  5. Bring the yarn back
  6. Repeat steps 2-5 for every row

How Do You Read A Double Knitted Chart?

Learn to read a chart the way The Chilly Dog does in this excellent tutorial.

Is Double Knit Thicker?

Yes! It’s thicker than regular knitting.

Double Knitting Vs Brioche

They’re similar in thickness, but little else. Brioche is a unique fabric like ribbing, and double knitting looks like stockinette on both sides.

Double Knitting Vs Aran

Use Aran knitting to create intricate cabled patterns on sweaters, hats, and other garments.

Conclusion

Double-sided cables, blankets, cowls and scarves. Why not try the technique? For the more books and resources about this topic, see my article. For something new, read my post on the brioche knitting method, or the fair isle technique.

About The Author

Jodie Morgan From Knit Like Granny

Jodie Morgan (Author & Founder)

jodie@knitlikegranny.com | Lives In: Regional Australia

Author: Jodie Morgan is a passionate knitter and blogger with 40+ years of experience currently living in regional Australia. Taught by her mother and wonderful grandmother “Mama”, she fell in love with crafting from a young age. When she’s not knitting, you’ll find her enjoying a cup of coffee with cream, or sharing helpful resources and tips with the online knitting community. Get to know Jodie and the team on our meet the team page.

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