Double knitting + working independent layersuseful trick for projects with lots of one color backgrounds

Today, a way to improve tension and more quickly knit the one-color backgrounds which are part of some double knitting projects.

Fred-the-hat

Here is a hat. I have named it Fred. Fred was knit as two hats, joined at the brim.

Fred
(geek note: see how the change in dye lot is positioned just where the brim will fold up? sneaky, no?)

First I knit the blue part all the way from brim to top. Then, I picked up the green stitches through the blue cast on as shown here, then set off in the other direction, knitting the green hat. When worn, one layer is tucked into the other. 

Here is Fred-the-hat on a mannequin.

Fred in action, hat-in-a-hat

But wait. Why is Fred, a hat knit in separate layers, headlining an article on double knitting? 

The reason is, I could have worked Fred-the-hat as a double knitting project. I could have cast on the same way--all in blue, then picked up green stitches between the blue. But then, instead of knitting each color separately, I would have arranged the alternate stitches of green and blue around one circular needle, then knit both hats at the same time. This would mean knitting each alternate stitch from its own-color ball of yarn as described here (one pass) or here (two-pass). The end result would have been the same hat-in-a hat: a blue half and a green half, unconnected except at the brim, one half tucked into the other. 

But why would I do that?  The double knitting alternative would have taken much longer. Plus, the tension would have been harder to control: each green stitch would be separated from its neighbor by a blue stitch, each blue separated from its neighbor by a green., and this is true whether knitting one pass or two pass. Double knitting by any method would make for looser tension overall. 

I didn't make Fred as a double knit hat-in-a-hat because that would have been pointless. It would mean working harder for a worse product. Knitting each layer separately was faster, with better tension. 

As it turns out, that same logic also applies when knitting one-color backgrounds on actual double knitting projects.

Sally-the-hat

Here is another hat. I have named it Sally. Sally is a demo project for teaching, destined to remain a WIP forever. Here is Sally-the-hat's perpetually unfinished state, blue side out. 

Sally, outside

The three bands of squares at the edge are double knit in traditional style, holding alternate stitches on the needles and knitting the design in opposite colors as each square presents. But once past the contrast color band, there is no reason to keep knitting the plain blue background on alternate stitches. Above the double knit bands, Sally-the-hat is identical to Fred-the-hat.

I wasn't willing to knit Fred as a double knitting project. So, why would I knit the one-color backgrounds of Sally-the-hat as a double knitting project? 

It is true that after knitting the green squares, Sally was sitting on my needles as a double knitting project--alternating stitches of green and blue. But this is an easy situation to change, because

-->  :: stitch order is not destiny ::  <--

Here's the inside. The mirror image of the double knitting band now shows as blue squares on a green background. Above the last row of double knitting, the green stitches have been slipped off the needles and, stitch by stitch, put on a bright-blue waste yarn. The blue single-color background fabric knit above the band shows as a purl fabric from this inside view. Compare the inside to the outside: after putting the green stitches aside, I am knitting the plain blue part of Sally-the-hat as one-layer stockinette fabric just same way as I knit the plain blue part of Fred-the-hat.

Sally, inside

If Sally were a real hat and not a teaching demo, I would finish the blue to the top, working the shaping just as I did with Fred's blue half. Then, I'd return to the green stitches waiting on their waste yarn. I'd push the finished blue part out of the way, then slip the green stitches on a needle and knit those as a one-color project to the top, working shaping matched to the blue, just like Fred's green half. In the end, the two layers would be pushed into one another, and Sally, like Fred, would be a reversible hat. On both hats, the one-color parts (and all the shaping) would have been knit as individual layers. So in the end, only the contrast color squares around Sally's brim turn out to be actual color-work double knitting, although Sally is, overall, a double knit hat.

A few pointers. First, double knitting is at a different gauge than regular knitting: double knitting is looser. To make the tension match, the plain blue and plain green backgrounds of Sally-the-hat were knit on a larger gauge needle than the double knit parts. Second, when you start to knit the "inside" stitches held on waste yarn in a tubular knit, you'll notice they are heading in the wrong direction. This happens because the item has been turned inside out, reversing left for right. A wrap and turn lets you switch direction and go on knitting as usual. Finally, you'll notice that the blue and green lower edges of Sally-the-hat aren't connected. That's because I started each color as a separate provisional cast on, intending to join the bottoms afterwards. There has been some information about casting on double knitting in the intro to this series, and there will be more about bottoms (and edges and tops) in future installments--stay tuned!

Compare Fred and Sally

The take-away from comparing Sally with Fred (and the whole point of today's post): where projects combine areas of color-pattern double knitting with areas of one-color background knitting, 

keep the double knitting for where it is required--the color work--and work the one-color backgrounds quicker (and with better tension!) as individual front and back layers, especially where there is shaping! 

Double knit socks--One or two?

If you've been reading along in this series, you may remember it started with Anna Markanova's socks. Anna's original socks--as immortalized by Tolstoy--were knit sock-in-a-sock "by a secret process known only to herself." The big surprise came when Anna pulled apart the inner from the outer, delighting the children gathered around. 

There is a certain logic to Anna's trick. Knitting sock-in-a-sock is a lot like the modern trick of knitting socks TAAT (two-at-a-time). Knit simultaneously, there's no need to worry about matching shaping, or second-sock syndrome. For that reason, knitting alternate stitches to create two separate socks simultaneously maybe makes more sense than it would for knitting Fred as hat-in-a-hat. 

Nevertheless, I, personally would not knit a pair of socks this way. I'd find it faster to knit two socks individually, than to try to knit one inside the other, and especially for an item with as much shaping as socks. Working heel shaping through double layers of fabric? Way too much work for me.

But this does not mean I wouldn't double knit a sock! Double knitting one double-thick reversible sock with two colors (color patterns) is different than double knitting two unconnected one-color socks. The first is an item requiring double knitting to get a double-thick product--cozy bed socks, maybe. The second, IMHO, is just a hard way to go. (Naturally, with double knitting reversible socks, you have to make two to get a pair, but these you work one after another.)

For reversible double-knit socks, I would follow the example of Sally-the-hat and knit the color work patterns as double knitting, then work the one-color backgrounds in plain fabric, knit each layer one at a time. This is especially so through the heel shaping.

Here is an example.

Sock design: double knit with color patterns, independent rows for one-color heels and toes

According to my logic, the fancy double knitting is only on cuff and foot. The one-color backgrounds (and all the shaping for heel and toe!) are knit as individual fabric layers. 

First, I cast on in black, then knit several rounds on double pointed needles for the outside top band. Using a different set of dpn's, I picked up white stitches between the black ones, purled one round, then worked the white stitches in the opposite direction until the white and black top bands matched. 

Next, I folded along the cast-on line (a neat fold which stayed in place thanks to the nice sharp purl round) and tucked the white inside the black. Working stitch-by-stitch, all the stitches were alternately distributed onto smaller gauge dpn's, color-by-color. 

The double knitting color pattern on the leg was double knit the traditional way--makes no difference if worked  one pass or two-pass. Below, the alternating stitches on a dpn, highlighted in green below the color patterns. 

With the color patterns finished for top of the leg, the socks are now going to be knit in individual layers: all-black outside, all-white inside. So, I am ready to separate the stitches again.

Below, sock is stood on its head. The white stitches will be put on the red waste yarn, the black stitches returned to a dpn. 

Alternating stitches uppermost, the white stitches are ready to slip onto the red waste yarn. 

White stitches in the act of being transferred to the red waste yarn, black stitches to a dpn (no white intervening). Two dpn's transferred so far. 

With transfers complete, close up of dpn's, now with all-black stitches. The white stitches on their waste yarn are tucked into the sock. This is the same as shown for the green stitches, inside Sally-the-hat.

With the white stitches parked out of the way, several additional black rounds follow. Then, the heel is turned on the back stitches. Here are the inside and outside views of the white stitches on the waste yarn and the black heel turned. The images are a bit blurry from being photographed on a light table, but you can see that the heel is worked in black yarn only. 

Next, the black stitches go on a waste yarn, then the white stitches are re-activated, then the heel is turned in the white yarn. (Be sure inside and outside heels line up!)

White heel turned. Protruding from top: black stitches (black heel turned previously) on waste yarn 

Both heels have been turned. When white and black fabric layers match for length and shaping, the black stitches are pushed into the white, and it's time to double knit color pattern around foot. This means again slipping the black and white stitches, alternately, onto the smaller-gauge dpn's. 

🎶  ...together again....  🎵

Below, after the fabrics are rejoined as alternating stitches, the color pattern is double knit around the foot.

Color pattern around foot in traditional double knitting, worked on alternating stitches

Once past the second color pattern, I again separated the stitches, working the toes individually. Each layer is individually Kitchener-stitched shut at the toe.

Finished sock, toes kitchener stitched closed

It all comes together in the end, but on the way, the stitches split up and rejoin, split up and rejoin (Remind you of "that couple" in high school?) 

 You can for sure double knit socks with color-patterns all the way down the leg, over the heel shaping, through the foot and down into the toes using traditional double knitting techniques. However, if the pattern calls for plain areas anyway, this "backgrounds separate" trick knits those quicker and better-tensioned. If the pattern doesn't call for this, you can adapt to avoid double knitting the heel and toe. (NOTE: This would work for sock-in-a-sock also!) And if designing the sock yourself, well, combining single layers knit separate with traditional double knitting is new trick to maybe try out. And, of course, this works for double knit mittens (much easier thumbs), as well as hats (Sally), cowls, sweaters, scarves...

Musing on blankets

As real-world projects, I've shown Sally-the-hat and the black-and-white socks. But there is special application to blankets, (and their smaller cousins: potholders and trivets). 

It is certainly possible to make an intricate double knit blanket where the colors change every few stitches, and today's trick is not relevant to that form of double knitting (although there are tricks coming up which do make that kind of double knitting much easier). But, pursuing Ravelry, I have seen double knit blankets which DO have large areas in one-color background, and for that type of project this trick would be ace.  

Say you wanted a double-knit baby blanket with a single reversible motif in the middle--a heart, perhaps. You could knit all the plain background above and below the heart as individual stockinette fabrics (perhaps even on a knitting machine!) only joining the fabrics to double knit the rows featuring the reversible heart. On the below sketch, the dotted area shows what would have to be double knit, while the plain color, both pink and green, could be knit as individual stockinette layers. 

So, below the lower dashed line, the pink and green fabrics are knit separately as stockinette. At the dashed line, the fabrics are held back to back, and then stitches are distributed alternately on a long circular needle: green, pink, green, pink, etc. In the dotted middle area, the two fabrics would be double knit, including the heart. At the top dashed line, the fabrics would be separated, to again knit as stockinette on separate needles.

Or suppose you wanted a double knit baby blanket with flower patterns across the top and bottom. Here, the one-color backgrounds which form the blanket middle could be knit as individual fabrics, front and back, keeping the fancy (and time consuming) double knitting for the color work patterns across the top and bottom borders only. On the below sketch, the dotted parts above and below the dashed lines are the only parts which have to be double knit. The plain middle, both front and back, are separate knitted stockinette fabrics, held back-to-back. 

"But wait!" I maybe hear you say. Double knit blankets with large areas of single color background across the middle often have side borders with colored designs. Therefore, all that alternate-stitch single color background knitting really is necessary. If both yarns aren't knit alternately across the middle, there will be no yarn on hand to knit the side borders, no pretty flowers running up the side. 

Here's a work-around. Work the bottom border as double knitting. Work the boring blanket middle as single layers. Work the top border as double knitting. Then, pick up stitches along the left side of the front fabric and knit a row or two. Onto a different needle, pick up stitches along the right side of the back fabric and also knit a row or two. Next, slip the stitches off onto a third needle in alternating pattern (front stitch, back stitch, front stitch, back stitch, etc.) Now you are set up to work a side band of decorative rows in double knitting color-work patterns: double knitting which will match the top and bottom borders in style, thickness and looks. So there are the side borders, restored. Even with having to math the pick up rate, that would be faster (and neater, tension-wise!) than double-knitting alternating stitches across acres of one-color-backgrounds in the middle of the blanket, just to double knit a few border stitches along each side of the project.

(Geek note: a double knit border on picked up stitches isn't the only way to fasten the sides: several more tricks are incoming in future posts. Also coming up: tricks for tacking two loose layers together, even if knit separately.)

But! Stockinette is dull to knit. Maybe sneak some texture work into the plain stockinette part? Texture can theoretically be worked in classic double knitting, but it rarely is because it is such! a pain to keep track of. But there's no such problem to adding  texture when the background of a double knit project is knit in independent rows to make separate layers. So, how about some dainty little purled diamonds? Wouldn't those look grand on a baby blanket? Another idea: how about a little square of quilt batting slid in between the layers before the sides are put on for a cushier texture? 

Or both?  

...there's no end to what you can dream up...

Once you start down this path, there's really no end to what you can dream up. How about dolling up the stockinette with stripes of different colors?  Or purled letters on a baby or wedding blanket with name(s) on one side and the dates on the other? 

On a tubular garment like Sally-the-hat, or the top of a sock, how about some nice ribbing--nestled together on the front and back layers? Or any other thing you can think of to gussy up plain and boring one-color areas of background.

IRL example, blanket concepts

I leave you with an IRL example of these blanket concepts: a pot holder designed as a gift for a cat lover with a red and white kitchen. Below, the work in progress. I have double knit the bottom border. Then I split the fabrics by putting each color stitch on a separate needle. I knit the white and the red layers independently. I am now at the point where the stitches are to be slipped alternately onto a single needle, to double knit the top cat border.

The separate layers feature garter stitch and purled designs: a heart on one side and the words "CAT LOVE" on the other.* If I had wanted, I could have had purled letters on both sides, and each set of words would read correctly, because the independent layers need not be mirror-images.

Here, the edges along one side of the project have been picked up and a double knit border worked, as described above (flower blanket).

Before working the final double knit border, I slipped a blue square of fabric as "batting" between the layers to make the potholder more heat proof. This is polar fleece, a fuzzy and wooly fabric which will lay in place. Real quilt batting is also good, as is a square of knitting--could be garter stitch in a heavy yarn. 

Photo artificially brightened to show the blue fabric inside

Here is the finished product, front and back. The edges along the fourth side have been picked up and double knit.

A few tips about blankets and their smaller cousins, potholders: 

--Just like with Sally-the-hat and the double knit socks, consider that double knitting and the separated layers are often worked to different gauge, so adjust the needle size accordingly. A few rows or rounds will tell you if you're doing right. If the gauge appears off, a few rows to rip out and redo with a different gauge needle is better than all kinds of gauge swatch knitting ahead of time, IMHO. 

--If using batting, sew this down from each fabric face with a few unobtrusive sewing stitches--a very few back stitches from each layer with matching color polyester thread will do it, and working in the "valley" between knit columns. Dip the needle shallowly, to only catch the one layer and the lining--if the needle goes through to the other side, the thread will show as a contrast color.  Or, use "colorless" thread--a thin nylon--which lets you sew right through--this is like basting, and is done using the running stitch. Sew LOOSELY, to avoid puckers. Ideally, sewing is done just after inserting the batting and before the final double knit border is worked. This way, you can actually peer inside the "pocket" and see what you're doing. Plus, the batting stays in place during the final knitting. There is no trouble hiding the long thread runs--these stay on the interior between the outer layers, forever unseen.

_________________________

"Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" is good for movies, but not knitting. In this post, I've introduced the single layer idea for backgrounds, combining it with traditional double knitting (previous post) for the color patterns. But coming up in the next post is a whole new way to form the double knit color patterns themselves, which actually works as well or better with incorporating the single-layer logic into double knitting backgrounds.

 So, if you have a big project in mind, maybe hold off and evaluate all options once this series is complete. 

--TK

*Heart and alphabet adapted from the (free) designs of  Daisy and Storm, with many thanks. Their approach to knitting texture letters and designs works the best of any system I have seen. 

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Blue Sky  @techknitter.bsky.social or  talk to me about this post on Ravelry TECHknitter forum