Double-Knit Cables: 3-D Vertical baffles via Four-Needle Double-Knitting part 2 of a series

Here's a trick made possible by the four-needle method: combining double knitting with cables. And, that's not all! The cables are on tubes, called "baffles" which can be stuffed: think puffer jackets. Or, think potholders. 

Here's a 9-stripe cabled potholder featuring 7 stuffed baffles + 2 edge border-stripes (pattern follows). 

This is a potholder or trivet
Wider and longer, could be a seat cushion 
Wider and longer still, a blanket
Adapted with shaping, a unique outdoor jacket
Longer and left unstuffed, a scarf

 

Four-needle double knitting and cables--why it works

See, in four-needle double-knitting, stitches next to one another in the fabric are also next to one another on the needles. And that means...(insert sound of gears grinding)...

→ If you double-knit vertical stripes, there's nothing to stop you from crossing those neighboring stitches into cables ←

Yup, this was a head-slapper for me, too, when I realized. Naturally, other texture patterns are also possible--examples below. But on vertical baffles, vertical cables are the charming decoration, so that's mostly what this post is about. 
 

Baffles in four-needle double-knitting

Four-needle double knitting has two different techniques. There is picking (video) and slide-by (video).

     --If you work only "picking" at regular intervals, you get horizontal baffles. This was part 1 of this series.

    --But, if only work "slide-by" in columns at regular intervals, you get vertical baffles--today's post.

Vertical baffles example
This light and dark green 11-striped WIP potholder (cousin to the 9-stripe above) is being worked up in four-needle double-knitting. Each light green stripe is backed with a dark green, each dark with a light. The closeup shows the two layers on their respective needles. The slide-by technique is used in four-needle double knitting for knitting blocks of color, and that's just what double-knit stripes are: elongated color blocks. 

Back layer (blue arrow) is being purled on needles 1 and 2. Front layer (green arrow) is being knit on needles 3 and 4. This is double knitting (stripes) on two sets of needles (4 tips).

Geek note: the two working (right) needles are held INSIDE the two holding (left) needles. This arrangement makes the shortest path for the yarns as they switch from face to face. 

But now, have a look at the flip side. Voila! Cables. 

Working cables in four-needle double-knitting

It may seem that wrangling four needle tips plus a cable needle is going to be a challenge, but recall that when knitting the front side, only the front stitches and the front needles are in action. Via the slide-by technique, the back stitches stay out of action because the back needle isn't actively in the work. Both its tips have been slid out of the way, leaving only its cable behind, there to act as a (flexible) stitch holder. It's just hanging out, passively holding the back stitches until their turn comes again. 

Below, you can't even see the layer being purled--all the action is on the "front" (the layer being knit) and uses only the two needle tips of the front circular needle + a cable needle.

The for stages of a cable cross are worked just as for a single layer flat fabric
(because, with four needle double knitting, each batch of stitches along a layer IS its own little flat fabric. The layers are intertwined, not the individual stitches.)

Step 1:

The dark green stripe is ready to be cabled. 

Step 2:

There are six stitches and no border stitches, so the cable is a 3/3 cross, meaning, three stitches are slipped to the cable needle (silver) and held in front (left front cross).

Step 3: 

The cable is crossed in the ordinary way: the three stitches on the left needle are knit, followed by knitting the three held stitches off the cable needle. In this close-up, two of the three stitches have been knit off the cable needle, one remains to be worked.

Step 4:

All the cable stitches have been knit, the cable cross is complete. All this time, the back stitches have remained completely out of action. The cable cross is no more complex than if worked on flat fabric. 

Here's the pattern for the 9-stripe potholder which opened this post. 

The variations for its 11-stripe cousin (the WIP above) follow.

Pattern 

9-striped project. Front featuring cable stripes and plain, alternating

BACK                              FRONT

back and front are mirror image, alternating color-wise

back features plain stockinette stripes

front features plain & cable stripes, interspersed

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Overview: 

--Like all four needle double knitting, the edges are worked separately, they are not connected. They can be left permanently unconnected, but if you want to connect the sides, that's part of the finishing process (stay tuned) 

--With one exception noted below, all first stitches are slipped. 

--The work begins with a cast on and bottom border.

--Above the border, three set up rows establish the color stripes, a new stitch count for the cabled baffles, and the first cable twist. 

--Length: the main section is 8 cables rows, repeated. More repeats = a scarf, perhaps?

--To widen, cast on extra stitches in groups of 10. 

--At the top, the original stitch count is re-established, a top border is worked to match the bottom border, then the work is grafted shut in pattern to match the cast on. If stuffing is wanted, it is added before grafting the top.

Materials:

--Yarn of two colors, A and B. Color A is dominant--it is the color of the turning row and the cables. In the below sample, the light green is color A. The sample took about 1/3 skein of Cascade 220 in each color

--Two circular needles in gauge to match yarn for a medium firm fabric in your knitting style. If you plan to stuff the project, you do not want a fabric so loose that the stuffing shows. 

--Cable needle

--Crochet hook

--Optional: if planning to stuff the baffles, a quantity of jumbo yarn, such as Bernat "big blanket." There is more about stuffing below.

--Handy to have: split ring stitch markers or small bobby pins.

Cast on: 

This is the default cast on which lies below the a bottom border. (Link = illustrated post.) 

◻Using long tail cast on and one set of circular needles, cast on 41 stitches in color B, darker green in photo below. Turn work. ◻Slip first stitch, purl one row, turn work. ◻Slip first stitch, knit one row. ◻Slide stitches onto the cable of this needle, and turn the work upside down. 

◻With the smooth stockinette side of the work facing you, using the second circular needle and color A, and starting from the right edge of the work, pick up 41 stitches right through the bottom of the long tail cast on of color B. Turn work. ◻Do NOT slip first stitch (this is the only non-slipped first stitch in the whole pattern). Knit one row, turn work. ◻Slip first stitch, knit a second row, turn work. ◻Slip first stitch and purl a row. Turn work. 

Bottom border complete. You know you have done it correctly when your set up looks like photo to left.

Ready-to-knit: fold up the work so color A is facing you, and color B is behind. Activate both sets of needles so the stitches are on the left tips of both, and the right tips are both in your right hand. Mirror-image ("left handed") knitters: reverse. This is the ready-to-knit position for slide-by.

Set-up row A establishes the color pattern of stripes. It is worked on the "front," meaning, the fabric turned towards you is the face which is going to get the cables. In the sample, it is the fabric with the lighter green border. 

--Hint: put a safety pin into this front fabric face to distinguish it. 

Set-up row A -- front side (cables visible from this side)
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color A facing you,  and working with color A, slip edge  st, K2	with color B, slip edge st, P2	This step establishes 3-st wide edge columns, front and back at edge of work
2	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	These steps establish the interior vertical stripes
3	with color A, K5	with color B, P5
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	this step established the last vertical stripe
5	With color A, k3	with color B, P3	this step establishes 3-st wide edge columns, front and back, at the other edge of the work
TURN WORK

Set up row B is worked with the plain striped "back" fabric turned towards the knitter. 

The regular stripes are five columns wide, but the cable columns are eight columns wide--two purl borders and six stitches for the cable itself. This means the cable stripe of 8 columns is backed with a "regular stripe" of five columns.

 As you can imagine, even in four-needle double knitting, front and back stripes of different widths would be difficult to cast on (and even more difficult in classic--alternating stitch--double knitting: there would be serious gaps). Therefore, the increases have to be worked into the base of the cable columns themselves, and that is accomplished in set-up row B. 

Specifically, this row adds increases in the form of yarn-overs (YO's) to the base of the three cable columns “from the back,” so the increases are ready and waiting on the next row, where the first cable cross will take place. 

--Hint: when double knitting, it’s easy to lose the edge YO’s (marked in red on step 3 below) so consider lassoing these with small bobby pins or split-ring stitch markers. If the YO’s fall off the needles, lift them back in place on the next row using the markers as handles.

Set-up row B -- back side (plain striped fabric face)
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color B slip edge st, K2	with color A, slip edge st, P2	edge columns, front and back
2	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary 5-st  stripe, front and back
3	with color B, K5	with color A, YO, P1, YO, P4, YO  (see hint above about these edge YO's)	the front needle makes an ordinary 5-st stripe, the back needle adds 3 stitches in the form of YO’s to the color-A stripe, making it an 8-st wide stripe which will be cabled in the next row
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color B, k3	with color A, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

Set up row C is the base cross of the 8-row high cables to follow. 

Working directly into the YO's added in the previous row would leave lace-like holes, so instead, work into the back of the YO's, which twists them shut. Here's how to twist shut a YO.  Any direction of twist is fine. It will never show because the edge YO's tuck into receding purl columns, while the middle YO hides under the cable twist. 

Hint: a small crochet hook helps make it easier to pull the running yarn through a twisted YO -- the hook won't let the yarn fall off. 

Set-up row C—cable twist on the front
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color A, slip edge  st, K2	with color B, slip edge st, P2 sts	edge columns, front and back
2	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
3	with color A, P into back of YO, twisting it shut, slip next 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front. K1, K into YO, twisting it shut, K1. Knit 3 sts from cable needle. P into back of last YO.	with color B, P5	cable twist on 8-st wide stripe on front, ordinary 5-st wide stripe on back
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color A, k3	with color B, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

In cable row 1, the back fabric is turned towards the knitter, which means the cable columns are now on the back needles. The cable columns are worked in color A and step 3.

Cable row 1 back side (plain striped fabric face)
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color B slip edge st, K2	with color A, slip edge st, P2	edge columns, front and back
2	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
3	with color B, K5	with color A, K1, P6, K1	the front needle makes an ordinary 5-st wide stripe, the back needle works the 8-st wide cable stripe in correct pattern
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color B, k3	with color A, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

Cable row 2

Cable row 2 front side
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color A, slip edge st, K2	with color B, slip edge st, P2 sts	edge columns, front and back
2	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
3	with color A, P1, K6, P1	with color B, P5	8-st wide cable stripe on front, ordinary 5-st wide stripe on back
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color A, k3	with color B, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

▢ Cable Row 3 back side: repeat cable row 1

▢ Cable row 4 front side: repeat cable row 2

▢ Cable row 5 back side: repeat cable row 1

▢ Cable row 6 front side: repeat cable row 2

▢ Cable row 7 back side: repeat cable row 1

Cable row 8 front side:

Cable row 8—cable twist on the front
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color A, slip edge  st, K2	with color B, slip edge st, P2 sts	edge columns, front and back
2	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
3	with color A, P1, slip next 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front. K3. Next, knit 3 sts from cable needle. P into back of last YO.	with color B, P5	cable twist on 8-st wide stripe on front, ordinary 5-st wide stripe on back
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color B, K5	with color A, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color A, k3	with color B, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

Repeat rows 1-8 until work is desired length, ending on a row 8. 

Next, the top decrease row, which is worked from the back. This row re-establishes the original stitch count in the cable stripes.

top decrease row worked from the back side
step	FRONT NEEDLE	BACK NEEDLE	NOTE
1	with color B slip edge st, K2	with color A, slip edge st, P2	edge columns, front and back
2	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
3	with color B, K5	with color A —slip first st to cable needle. Slip second st to right needle. Return first st from cable needle to left needle. Return second st to left needle. Purl together these stitches.  —P2, then P2 tog, and then again, P2 tog	the front needle makes an ordinary 5-st wide stripe, the back needle decreases the 8-st wide cable stripe, returning it to be a 5-st wide stripe
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until 8 sts remain
4	with color A, K5	with color B, P5	ordinary stripe, front and back
5	With color B, k3	with color A, P3	edge columns, front and back
TURN WORK

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• The project ends with three rows of stockinette knit in each color. 
• The project had each baffle stuffed with a single strand of  Bernat "big blanket" jumbo chenille yarn. There is more about stuffing below, including the trick to getting a big thick stand down into a dead-end baffle.
• The project ends with a purl graft to close the top. This matches the cast off to the cast on.

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Order of work

Sliding needles in and out of the work for slide-by becomes tedious, so here's a shortcut.

• The charts for each row have you work a batch of 5 stitches of, say, color A, on the front needle, followed by a batch of the same color--still A--on the back needle. Result: 10 total stitches worked, but interrupted by a needle change. This order of work prioritizes follow-through with the same yarn.
• With the shortcut, the new priority is follow-through with the same needle. So, now you'd work a batch of 5 color A stitches on the front needle, followed by a batch of 5 color B stitches, still on the front needle. Result: 10 stitches worked with no interruption from needle change. 

Switching priority from yarn to needle means less needle re-arranging, so, faster knitting. On the chart below, follow the arrows for the shortcuts. The red arrows go first (right edge). Then, green arrows guide the repeats in the middle of the row. Blue arrows show the last repeat (left edge). It SEEMS complicated, but it'll be more obvious on the needles. 

Needle-focused alternate order of work. Click here to enlarge.

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Row 2 would follow the same order.

Variations on a theme 

11-stripe project, cabled both colors on front side

BACK                               FRONT

back and front are mirror image, alternating color-wise
back features plain stockinette stripes
front features offset cables in every stripe 

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This pattern is fancier, but fussier. If you like a challenge, here are the details. 

Like its 9-stripe cousin above, the cables in this variation are 6/8 cables, meaning, they are six stitches wide, crossed every eighth row. However, unlike the 9-stripe pattern, the cables in this version have no border stitches. Other differences are charted below.

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Comparison—>	9-stripe	11-stripe
column width	base columns are 5-sts wide	base columns are 4-sts wide
total to cast on	7 stripes @ 5 sts each (35) + 2 border stripes @3 sts each (6) =  41 total to cast on in each color	9 stripes @4 sts each (36) + 2 border stripes @ 3 sts each (6) =  42 total to cast on in each color
increases, decreases in cable columns	width of cable column increases from 5 to 8 sts via 3-YO’s. This increase takes place once at the bottom of the cable stripe, followed by one decrease at top.	width of cable column increases from 4 to 6 sts via 2-YO’s. Each individual cable must be increased at bottom, decreased at top.
cables	cables are 6 sts wide, 8 rows high, bordered by two purl columns, a total of 8 stitches wide all the way up each cable columns. The cables remain in their discrete stripes, separated by stripes with no cables.	cables are 6 stitches wide, 8 rows high, no border. The cables appear in every column, offset across the stripes by color. Because each individual cable must be increased at bottom & decreased at top, each stripe varies in width from 4-stitches to 6-stitches, then back again

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For this variation, cast on 42 stitches. Then follow the directions for 9-stripe until the project is in ready-to-knit position for slide-by. Above that, knit the variation, per below condensed instructions.

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Designate the color facing you (knit on front needles) as color A, the color away from you (purled on back needles) as color-B.

Now working via slide-by, work to establish the color pattern: purl 3 stitches on back needles in color-B, followed by knitting 3 stitches on front needles in color-A. Edge column established.

*purl 4 stitches in color-A on back needles, followed by knitting 4 stitches in color-B on front needles. Repeat from * until 3 stitches remain.

On last three stitches, purl 3 stitches on back needles in color-B, followed by knitting 3 stitches on front needles in color-A. second column established.This set-up row (analogous to set-up row A of 7-stripe pattern) establishes the alternating color stripes.  Turn work.

On the knit side (front needles) work each stripe as usual as you come to it in turn, both in color A and color B. On the purl side (back needles) When you come to a color-A stripe,  set up for the cable as follows: P1 YO, P2, YO, P1. This increases 2 stitches, so, what was 4 stitches in each color-A stripe becomes 6. Color-B stripes on the back needles are worked as usual (4 stitches). (This is analogous to set up row B of 7-stripe pattern) At end of row, turn work.

On the following row, work all color-B stripes as usual, on both front (knit) and back (purl) needles. When you come to the knit side of the increased color-A stripe, it will be facing you as a knit (front) row.Work across the increased stripe as follows: Slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold to front. On the next 3 sts: k1, k 1 tbl, k1. Then, knit the 3 previously slipped needles off the cable needle the same way:  k1, k 1 tbl, k1. Knitting the YO through the back loop (tbl) twists it shut.  (This is row 1 of the cable, analogous to set-up row C of 7-stripe pattern.)

Continue double knitting via the slide-by technique, knitting the cable as a 6/8 cable (six stitches wide, 8 rows high, meaning, knit 7 additional cable rows

On the second crossing row (a knit side) you are again on row 1 of the cable. Again cross three stitches over three, holding the slipped stitches to the front.

At the top of the cable, decreases are worked, reducing the cable-stripe width from 6 sts to 4.

The decrease back to 4 stitches is worked from the purl side. P2, p2tog right leaning, then p2tog left leaning. This hides each decrease behind a facing stitch, and ends the run of color-A cabling.

The color-A and color-B cables are offset by one row of unshaped double knitting, and then the cycle starts again on the alternate color cable with an increase for the cable base from the back side of the fabric.

The offset protects the project from widening and narrowing through the increasing, decreasing and cabling.

At the top, three border rows are followed by a purl graft.

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The 11-stripe is a lot more work, An increase and decrease for every single cable cross makes 23 of each in the potholder project, more if knit longer. By contrast, no matter how long you knit it, its 9-stripe cousin has only one increase at bottom of each cable stripe + one at top. The 11-stripe project is fancier with more knitting thrills. However, measured by the work-to-glory ratio, the 9-stripe pattern is the clear winner. 

Texture alternatives 

for vertical baffles

Plain: for a plain striped double-sided fabric, very pretty in its own right, omit the cables. Instead, simply work plain stripes in alternating color of the same stitch count via slide-by. This gives a look like the plain backs of the two above projects. 

narrow plain stripes         wider plain stripes

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Vertical stripes can be any width. With double knitting, there's no stranding to consider. The only real constraint is how you're going to stuff the baffles, if that is what you choose to do. There is more about stuffing below. 

Cabled both sides: Both projects so far are cabled on the front with plain backs. But nothing stops you from cabling on both fabric faces. My sample projects are potholders / table trivets, also intended as gauge swatches for any future garment projects: on a garment I would want the cables on the outside, but the inside smooth. However, for a scarf or blanket, double-sided cables would be very pretty.

Other textures: Here's a different project, another cousin of the first two, which does have texture both sides. 

Front and back are mirror-image, alternating  color-wise
Texture knitting both sides, in alternating stockinette- and seed-stitch stripes.

Texture patterns of all kinds are easier to keep track of in four needle double knitting. 

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This variation is worked in texture pattern on both sides. Seed stitch and stockinette alternate in 5-stitch stripes. There is no increasing or decreasing. This is worked the same as the 9-stripe project through set-up row A. Above that, the seed stitch pattern is established on alternate stripes on both front and back, then worked continuously throughout. Although this could have been made in classic double knitting, it would have puzzled me exceedingly to keep track of seed stitching through an alternate-stitch arrangement of front and back stitches on a single needle. That's too much brain-juice for me.

 Texture patterns of all kinds--not just cables--are easier in four-needle double knitting. 

Three cousins: cabled and textured vertical baffle potholders via four-needle double knitting slide-by technique

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Stuffing

Fiber fill does not work well with baffles: it's hard to get in, goes all lumpy, makes the project stiff. A better stuffing is yarn of various thicknesses. Here is a clip from a video about horizontal baffles. I tried to time stamp it, but if that isn't working for you, advance to 2:33 where the part about stuffing begins. 

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With horizontal baffles, the sides are open, making it easy to pull through stuffing yarn, as shown. However, with vertical baffles, only the top is open, not the bottom. So, you have to resort to tricks.

Narrow baffles

You can stuff up narrow baffles with a doubled strand of bulky yarn. Below, the top green arrows show the path of the stuffing yarn through the open baffle-tops. A crochet hook (red) is wiggled into the fabric between two stitches, meaning, inserted right through the closed (cast-on) bottom of a vertical baffle, then pushed up until it emerges from the top. The hook then pulls down doubled strands of bulky yarn, until each emerges as a small loop, right through the bottom, easier to see on the magnified inset. 

Click here to enlarge

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After stuffing all the baffles, stretch and snug the potholder to settle the stuffing inside. Any loops still sticking out the bottom are (carefully!) trimmed away. Then the top is purl-grafted shut. 

Wide baffles

Jumbo chenille yarn such as Bernat "big blanket" is a good stuffing for wide baffles, like on the video clip. For very wide baffles, where you want a doubled strand of jumbo, you can try grabbing the bottom of the fold directly with a crochet hook like on the clip. But, if the hook keeps slipping, here's a trick. 

    --Fold the strand of jumbo yarn ① in half. 

    --Tie a long piece of thinner yarn--red, ②--to the bottom of the loop. This thinner yarn is the "leash." It is also folded over.

    --Pull the loop at the bottom of the leash down into the tube with the crochet hook ③.

Then, keep pulling on the leash until the hook and leash come out the bottom. Tug on the leash til the double fold of bulky yarn follows the leash down the baffle. Unlike the bulky yarn for the narrower baffles, jumbo yarn can't be pulled out between two stitches. It's too thick. So, pull it down with the leash as hard as you can, until it bottoms out in the dead-end at bottom of the baffle. Then, pinch it in place, and stretch and snug the fabric upward around the stuffing. End by pulling the thin leash yarn tightly, then (carefully!) cut it loose. The knotted end of the thin leash-yarn retracts into the baffle-bottom to rest forever with the bottom loop of the jumbo yarn. The freed end pulls out the top to be re-used in leashing up the next loop of jumbo yarn.

To pull a single strand of jumbo yarn into a dead-end vertical baffle, also use the leash trick, just tie the leash tightly, very close to the end of the single strand. 

Geek note: Cutting chenille yarn releases a lot of fluff. Pick and pinch that off before threading into baffles. You don't want your project leaking stuffing.

Long baffles

An afghan hook is longer than a crochet hook, but even that might not be enough. The tool for very long baffles is a "drawstring threader." It's a 2-foot long nylon needle with a double eye, designed to worm elastic or drawstrings through sewn casings on waistbands and the like. 

However, a threader is too thick and blunt to wiggle through the dead-end bottom (cast on edge) of a vertical baffle like you can do with a crochet hook. So the project has to be cast on using a provisional cast on for each fabric, instead of the default cast-on. This leaves the project open bottom and top.

Thread the drawstring threader with the leash, then wiggle and push the threader through the long baffle to emerge at the bottom. The threader pulls the leash, the leash pulls the jumbo yarn. 

After all the baffles are stuffed and snugged, remove the provisional cast-on and purl-graft the bottom shut, just as if it were a top edge. 

With all these tricks, the stuffing is completed before the top is purl-grafted shut.

Puffy, puffy, puffy: None of the photos so far have captured how three-dimensional a stuffed baffle really is, so here's one last attempt. These are 5-stitch wide baffles stuffed with a single strand of jumbo chenille. They're very puffy! This is knitting in the third dimension.

Profiles in puffiness

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For a baby blanket, stuffing every single baffle would leave it so puffy it has no drape. Stuffing only alternate baffles (stuff one, skip one) strikes a balance. If alternating, choose to stuff the cable stripes: stuffed cable baffles really pop. For a scarf, leaving it unstuffed is probably the way to go, or you won't be able to get it around your neck. Fully stuffed, double knit baffled fabric (vertical or horizontal) is the perfect home-furnishing for pads of all kinds: seat pads, cat beds, infant floor-play mats. For a puffer jacket, the only way to get an accurate gauge is to make a potholder-sized sample (which is, truthfully, what these really are!) Stuffing draws the fabric up narrower, so measure over at least six or eight inches. For a puffy fabric like this, allow plenty of positive ease. 

Preview: If interested in vertical baffles, maybe have a look at this ALTERNATIVE (and easier) way of making vertical baffles. 

--TK

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This is one in a series on Double Knitting. The series so far:

Grafting in purl using knitting stitches and a knitting needle--a background info post

Double knitting intro: basic methods for getting stitches on and off your needles + working side edges: Part 1 of side edges

Double knitting, the what and the how: History(ish), Theory, How-to demos 

Double knitting + working independent layers: useful trick for projects with lots of one color backgrounds

Four needle double knitting: new ways to double knit via "slide-by" and "picking

Four needle double knitting in the THIRD DIMENSION part 1: Horizontal baffles 

Four-needle double-knitting vs. four double-pointed needles: DISAMBIGUATION

Double-Knit Cables: Vertical baffles via Four-Needle Double-knitting, part 2 of THIRD DIMENSION series

Reversible legible words in double knitting--uncoupling stitches via the "ping-pong" technique."

 Side edges in double knitting, part 2: Transformation edging 

Double knitting by Transformation 1: vertical baffles

Double knitting by Transformation 2: Color Designs

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Questions? Feedback? Contact me at 

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

Four-needle double-knitting vs. four double-pointed needles *DISAMBIGUATION*

 What's going on?

Shakespeare asked "what's in a name?" 

Around here, the answer is "confusion." 

To explain...

TECHknitting is in the middle of a series about DOUBLE KNITTING. 

...a two-faced fabric, completely reversible

Double knitting makes a two-faced fabric, completely reversible, like the practice squares above.

Classical double knitting uses one set of needles--TWO TIPS --one left, one right. These are arranged in alternating stitches. 

Classic double knitting: alternating stitches worked on one set of needles, meaning TWO needle tips

--white stitches are knit, creating the white fabric face

--green stitches are purled, creating a separate green fabric on the back

Stitches for both layers lay side-by-side

Stitches for each layer are always interrupted by stitches for the other. 

TECHknitting recently introduced a new and different way to work double knitting with two SETS of circular needles, meaning FOUR TIPS--two left, two right. 

To distinguish this new trick from the classic (TWO-needle) method, this new method is called FOUR- needle double knitting.

Four needle double knitting: four needles in hand, two operational at any one time.

--each fabric layer gets its own needle. 
--no longer interrupted by stitches for the other side, the stitches next to one another in the fabric are also next to one another on the needles.
No interruption = easier to see what is going on.

"FOUR needle double knitting" tells you that this new trick differs from classic (TWO-needle) double knitting. 

However, having "FOUR" in its name unfortunately leads to confusion of a different kind.

Confusion!

The words "four" and "double" and "needles," have knitters writing to ask whether

--> four-needle double-knitting <-- 

is like sock knitting on 

--> four double-pointed needles <--

The answer is NO. 

Same words, it's true, but in different order with different meaning.

same words, different order, different meaning

The set-ups and results are different. One is...

            --reversible fabric via four-needle double-knitting on two sets of circular needles

while the other is... 

--knitting little items like socks on four double-pointed needles (dpn's).

Similar names, different set-ups

But, it can get even more confusing. "Double knitting"does mean the reversible fabric and the process for making it, BUT it also refers to a weight of yarn.

 

More confusion with "double knitting"

Whew. No wonder there's confusion!

DISAMBIGUATION

Four-needle double-knitting is a new and easier way of creating two-sided fabric with reversible designs on both sides, using two sets of circular needles: it is not double-knitting weight yarn, nor knitting little items like socks on four double-pointed needles. 

_____________

Where we've been, where we're going

In this series on double knitting, the previous post is about four-needle double-knitted horizontal tubes called "baffles." These are knit via the "picking" method of four-needle double knitting and can be stuffed like the baffles of a puffer jacket. The following post covers four-needle double-knitted vertical baffles. See you there.

--TK

Questions? Feedback? Contact me at 

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

This is one in a series on Double Knitting. The series so far:

Grafting in purl using knitting stitches and a knitting needle--a background info post

Double knitting intro: basic methods for getting stitches on and off your needles + working side edges: Part 1 of side edges

Double knitting, the what and the how: History(ish), Theory, How-to demos 

Double knitting + working independent layers: useful trick for projects with lots of one color backgrounds

Four needle double knitting: new ways to double knit via "slide-by" and "picking

Four needle double knitting in the THIRD DIMENSION part 1: Horizontal baffles 

Four-needle double-knitting vs. four double-pointed needles: DISAMBIGUATION

Double-Knit Cables: Vertical baffles via Four-Needle Double-knitting, part 2 of THIRD DIMENSION series

Reversible legible words in double knitting--uncoupling stitches via the "ping-pong" technique."

 Side edges in double knitting, part 2: Transformation edging 

Double knitting by Transformation 1: vertical baffles

Double knitting by Transformation 2: Color Designs

Four Needle Double Knitting in the THIRD DIMENSION Part 1: Horizontal Baffles

 Double knitting three dimensional tubes (baffles) like on puffer jackets.

Horizontal baffles

The preview to this series on four-needle double knitting promised fabrics with tubes which could be stuffed, like a puffer jacket. Technically called "baffles," these come in two flavors: vertical and horizontal. Today's post, part 1, is about horizontal baffles. Part 2 features vertical baffles. 

"Picking" and horizontal baffles
Four-needle double knitting has two different techniques: "slide-by" for blocks of color, and "picking" for speckles. Today's horizontal baffles use only the"picking" method. Picking pinches together the front and back fabrics of double knitting along a horizontal "lock row," and this is what makes the baffle. 

Different looks
There are two different kinds of picking, which make two different looking lock rows. 
--lock rows via "picking" in an alternating stitch pattern--this is the speckled appearance of the original kind, shown in the previous post and this video.
--lock rows via a continuous-line variant of picking called ping-ponging, introduced today. 

Here's what these different lock rows look like in real life.

Horizontal baffle swatch

close-up lower right: alternate stitch picking lock row--single 

close-up left: alternate stitch picking lock row--triple

close-up upper right: continuous-line "ping-pong" lock row in contrasting color 

The video below is an overview, showing more about lock rows.

If the video does not load for you, here is a direct link. 

Lock rows in four needle double knitting, via alternate stitch picking (version 1 of lock rows)

This green and white horizontal baffle sampler was started by casting on some white stitches and working 11 rows. Green stitches were then picked up right through the white stitches, and 11 green rows were knit--this is the default method for casting on double knitting.

(Not mentioned in the video is how the top ends: that is via purl grafting).

Up until row 11, the fabrics are only attached at the bottom, but on row 12 of each fabric, the four needles (two circulars) are held together and both fabrics are worked into one by "picking" across row 12 in an alternating-stitch pattern. A green knit on the front needles is followed by a green purl on the back needles, then a white knit on the front needles is followed by a white purl on the back needles, and so on. "Picking" colors alternately in four-needle double knitting made the horizontal "lock row"   shown here in close up (the lighter green stitches).

In a more macro view and from the reverse side, single alternating-stitch lock rows are shown by the black arrows in the photo below.

Above this lock row of double knitting, another 11 independent rows of each color were worked (meaning, 11 rows worked on one set of needles for the green fabric and 11 rows on the other set of needles for the white fabric) followed by another lock row and so on. With picking, the stitches stay on the individual needles for the independent layers AND for the locking row, per photo.

You can choose to have single color stripes with a contrast color locking row, such as the two green stripes separated by a white locking row, lower part of photo, or the layers can change color above the locking row, giving alternating color stripes like white above green, upper part of photo. Both versions lock equally well, it just depends on what look you're going for. 

Blue arrow ◾ back layer.  Green arrow ◾ front layer.

Brown arrows ◾

 baffles (tubes) formed when the layers are locked shut via double knitting the "lock row" along the long edge.

Black arrows

◾

 lock rows: the stitches are worked on alternating needles, joining the layers into a single double-thick fabric for one row. The top black arrow (curved) shows a lock row in progress.

Combining individual layers with lock rows is a very fast kind of double knitting: makes a double thick fabric in double time. And, to fancy things up a bit, you can work designs into the stripes. This close up shows a name and date worked in ordinary stranded color-work in a darker green into a white stripe--on this swatch, I messed around with different-width letters and numbers. The corresponding stripe on reverse is plain. 

SAM-ple of stranded writing: "Sam" short for "Sample." 

As for picking lock rows, these need not be every-other-stitch. Alternating stitch lock rows can be any pattern which frequently crosses yarns from one fabric face to another. Here's the little checkerboard from above. These alternating picked stitches, three rows high, are also a "lock row."

Triple lock rows

This little WIP, a child's vest (back view) also features triple lock rows, some in pink, some in maroon. The alternating stitches within each triple lock row are arranged in more random, experimental patterns. 

The hearts in the second baffle from bottom were worked in stranded knitting,  just like the "SAM" and "2025" above. 

Continuous line lock rows via ping-ponging (version 2 of lock rows)

On the SAM swatch, the continuous line contrast color lock row looked like this in close-up.

Continuous-line lock row worked via "ping-ponging."

Here's the project from the opening photo. It has this same kind of lock row. Specifically, on this seat pad, the green and blue stripes are worked shut by a continuous third color: the rose color yarn. The vertical baffle up the side is worked by always keeping the edge stitches in their original color, (more about side edges below). 

Here is a close-up of the fabric, shown after being stuffed (more about stuffing below). 

In this side-view, the 3-D pop of the baffles really shows

The green and the blue fabrics are worked as independent fabrics for four rows each. Then on the fifth row, they are locked together with rose. This is done by picking EVERY stitch, front and back alternately, in the rose yarn.

In this WIP shot, a rose-colored lock row is being worked. The rose appears on both sides as an unbroken (continuous) line: a different look from speckled alternating-stitch lock rows.

The green and blue were used to work the 4 edge stitches (borders). Once past the edge stitches, the rose colored yarn took over. The green and blue yarns, not in use at this time, strand very loosely along in the ditch between front & back needles. They remain in the tube being sealed shut by the rose-colored lock row in progress, and won't emerge again until it's time to knit the border: the last 4 stitches.

Working the rose-colored lock row is simple: 

• The green and blue yarns are called the "yarn(s) not in use." They are simply held in the ditch between the two needles. 
• Then, the rose colored yarn, called the "yarn in use" is simply worked all the way down the entire row, alternating front and back needles, meaning: using only rose, a front stitch is knitted, followed by a back stitch purled, then another stitch knitted, another purled and so on. In this way, the rose is alternately "picked" front and back down the row.

Alternately picking the same yarn all the way down a row bounces the yarn in use (rose) back and forth between the front and back needles. As it bounces back and forth, it travels over the blue and green "yarns not in use,"just as a ball bounces back and forth over the net in ping-pong. That's why this style of picking is called "ping-ponging."

The yarn in use ping-pongs back and forth from one fabric face to the other, always passing over the "yarn not in use," like a ping-pong ball over a net. The yarn not in use, the green and the blue, are stranded in the "ditch" between the front and back needles.

Here is a close up of the ping-pong path of the rose colored yarn as it travels from needle to needle, sealing shut the two layers and fusing them into one double sided-fabric along the lock row. This  continuous rose-colored row, worked front and back, locks together the top of each green and blue stripe.

Path of the rose-colored yarn as it "ping-pongs" between front and back needles

Three things about the chair pad project

--Edge stitches. On this cushion, the edges were held in their original colors whether on a lock-row or otherwise. This makes an edge of continuous color as explained here. This means the rose colored lock-row doesn't go all the way across. Blue and green knit their 4 respective edge stitches, then they dive into the ditch and the rose starts. At the other end, the rose stops short. When 4 stitches remain to knit, the green and blue climb back out of the ditch and again knit their 4 edge stitches, front and back. In sum, the green and blue strand along "in the ditch" between the front and back fabrics along the rose-colored lock row, but dive to the surface for the 4 edge stitches, left and right, front and back.

 (In this project, I used 4 edge stitches: the minimum is 3, maximum, 5.)

--LOOSE in the ditch or cut? For a stretchy end result, keep the not-in-use yarns LOOSE in the ditch. Test for tightness: stretch while still on the needles. Stranding takes more yarn than you think. 

As for cutting: on one hand, it might seem a waste to strand all that yarn in the ditch. It might seem that cutting the strands would save yarn. On the other hand, for shorter rows, the length of the tails is going to approach the length of the strand, so, not a big yarn savings. Also, if there is any unraveling to do, uncut yarn is much easier to re-knit. And cutting makes more tails to work around. 

However, bottom line: there's no structural reason all that yarn has to be stranded in the ditch. If knitting with precious yarn, or with long rows, then cut if inclined. This means leaving tails a couple of inches long at both ends of the baffle, rather than running long strands in the ditch. 

--Contrast / no contrast. There's no reason a ping-ponged (continuous) lock row has to be a third contrast color. On the chair pad, the lock row could have been worked in green or blue leaving rose out entirely.

Couple more things about horizontal baffles in general

 --Good intro. Working horizontal baffles via lock rows would be a good first intro to four needle double knitting "picking." The first time trying, the tension is going to be pretty terrible, but it's all still going to work out OK. Re-watch the picking video from the last post, and re-read the note about adjusting tension after the fact. Even if your tension is comically loose as you work the locking row, the important thing is that the stitches have been interlocked to bring the fabrics together. By stopping every few inches to adjust the tension before knitting further, the finished product will come out fine. Each subsequent lock-row gets better, too. 

--Straight pin helper. Stockinette rolls. So, on the lock row, each layer wants to roll strongly away from the other. Use a straight pin to fasten the layers, then move the pin along as you work down the row--one less thing to fight against. 

Stuffing baffles 

--Wide baffles. The green and white "SAMple" has wide baffles, stuffed with a doubled-over loop of jumbo yarn per overview video. The even wider baffles of the baby vest WIP are stuffed the same way. The kind of yarn used on both is Bernat  big blanket yarn, a fluffy kind of chenille.

Geek note: "Big blanket" is for sale at this time, but for how much longer? Novelty yarns are often discontinued (remember pom-pom and ruffle?) If stuffed baffles might be in your future, maybe stash a few balls now. 

Another trick for wide baffles: use double sided fusible batting, cut in strips. This makes a fabric not at all stretchy: good for chair pads or potholders, but not clothing or blankets. (I made a baby blanket this way once, but it was not popular: too stiff. Oh well! I make mistakes so you don't have to.) With fusible batting, once the strips are threaded into the baffle, the item is steam-ironed through a pressing cloth to activate the fusing.

--Narrow baffles. The blue/green/rose chair pad features narrower baffles. These are stuffed with a double strand of bulky yarn. The process is the same: a loop of bulky yarn drawn through the baffle with a hook (a longer Afghan hook for the chair pad). 

Stuffing yarn: bulky, left, for smaller tubes & baffles, jumbo "big blanket" chenille for larger

When doubling yarn, pull through so both strands lay flat (next to one another, not twisted over one another). Un-twisted stuffing lays nicer: worth the trouble. 

Finishing side edges: preview.  

With four-needle double knitting, the edges are never connected to one another during the knitting process. In fact, the default edge is to leave the edges loose, where the powerful force of stockinette curl means they will curl together forever. However, for stuffed horizontal baffles, a loose edge won't work: the stuffing shows. 

...the stuffing shows

Therefore, the sample swatch and the chair pad, the edges were connected, but after the work was finished. 

preview
chain edge (left) --- zig zag edge (right)

Coming up: a whole post on side treatments, featuring these edges and more. Stay tuned! 

--Washing. Yarn-stuffed baffles are hand-wash. Even the gentlest machine spin can dislodge the stuffing. However,  if left unstuffed, baffled double knit fabric can be washed like any other hand knit. 

Final thought 
Horizontal baffles are actually a sub-set of independent layers combined with double knitting. More on that subject at this link. 

--TK

Questions? Feedback? Contact me at 

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

* * *

This is one in a series on Double Knitting. The series so far:

Grafting in purl using knitting stitches and a knitting needle--a background info post

Double knitting intro: basic methods for getting stitches on and off your needles + working side edges: Part 1 of side edges

Double knitting, the what and the how: History(ish), Theory, How-to demos 

Double knitting + working independent layers: useful trick for projects with lots of one color backgrounds

Four needle double knitting: new ways to double knit via "slide-by" and "picking

Four needle double knitting in the THIRD DIMENSION part 1: Horizontal baffles 

Four-needle double-knitting vs. four double-pointed needles: DISAMBIGUATION

Double-Knit Cables: Vertical baffles via Four-Needle Double-knitting, part 2 of THIRD DIMENSION series

Reversible legible words in double knitting--uncoupling stitches via the "ping-pong" technique."

 Side edges in double knitting, part 2: Transformation edging 

Double knitting by Transformation 1: vertical baffles

Double knitting by Transformation 2: Color Designs

* * *