Our Double Knit Blanket is, indeed, double knit! Double knitting is a simple way to create two layers of stockinette fabric at once by slipping every other stitch as you alternate yarn colors each row. The result? One yarn on one side and another on the other… Needle magic!
What’s more, we took a page from the quilting books and threw in tiny tacks (created while you knit!), critical little details that truly set this blanket apart.
One of the opportunities our Double Knit Blanket gives us is to explore our favorite stew: the one where we throw rustic and refined into the very same pot. And so, one side is our undyed Good Wool, a straight-from-nature rugged beauty, while the other is our sumptuous Mulberry Merino with its subtle shine and smooth finish… Great flavors together!
To make a baby-size blanket in these two yarns, you’ll just need one of our Double Knit Blanket Bundles. Each one includes Good Wool’s Driftwood Gray for one side, and then choose from four different Mulberry Merino colors for the other (this one is gorgeous Persimmon Orange). Want to make it a throw? We tell how many skeins and cast-on stitches to add!
Apart from its two-sided fun, our Double Knit Blanket’s two layers give it a seriously decadent drape and warmth… an heirloom knit for a new baby or an old friend or even yourself!
Designed for Purl Soho by Jake Canton.
Materials
Our Double Knit Blanket Bundle has enough yarn to make the Baby size blanket. It includes…
- Yarn A: 3 skeins of Purl Soho’s Good Wool, 100% undyed Andean highland wool
- Yarn B: 4 skeins of Purl Soho’s Mulberry Merino, 80% extra fine merino wool and 20% mulberry silk
NOTE: To make the Throw size you will need an additional…
- 1 skein of Yarn A
- 2 skeins of Yarn B
Choose from four palettes, shown above from top to bottom…
- Driftwood Gray + Persimmon Orange (This is the palette we used!)
- Driftwood Gray + Super Pink
- Driftwood Gray + Heirloom White
- Driftwood Gray + Dark Loam
You’ll also need…
- US 6, 32-, 40-, or 47-inch circular needles
- Spare US 5 or smaller, 32-, 40-, or 47-inch circular needles
Gauge
21 stitches and 30 rows = 4 inches in double knit stockinette stitch, using the larger needles
Sizes
Baby (Throw)
- Finished Measurements: 28 x 38 (39 1/2 x 50) inches
Sample: Baby
Notes
Slip Stitches
Slip all slipped stitches purlwise unless indicated in the pattern.
Changing Colors
When changing colors, carry the new yarn up the selvedge in back of the old yarn.
Turn and Slide
Each row in this pattern starts with the instructions to either “Turn” or “Slide” the work:
“Turning the work” means to do what you would normally do when knitting rows with circular needles: Transfer the needle from your left hand into your right and the needle from your right hand into your left, and flip the work around so the opposite side is facing you.
“Sliding the work” means to keep the same side of the work facing you and to push all the stitches to the right end of the circular needles. Without turning the work, start the new row as you normally would.
You will know that you’re doing this right if the yarn you need to work the next row is magically there waiting for you!
Stitch Multiple
To adjust the width of the project, cast on a multiple of 10 + 7 stitches, then double it.
Pattern
Cast On + Set Up
NOTE: We used a Long Tail Tubular Cast On, omitting the foundation rows, because it is the perfect edge for double knitting. A basic Long Tail Cast On would also do, but make sure to use a smaller needle to cast on!
With Yarn A and the larger needles, cast on 294 (414) stitches.
Set-Up Row 1 (wrong side): Turn work (see Notes) and with Yarn A,*k1, slip 1 with yarn in front (wyif), repeat from * to end of row.
Set-Up Row 2 (right side): Turn work and with Yarn B, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Begin Double Knitting
Row 1 (right side): Slide work (see Notes) and with Yarn A, *slip 1 with yarn in back (wyib), p1, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2 (wrong side): Turn work and with Yarn B, *slip 1 wyib, p1, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 3 (wrong side): Slide work and with Yarn A, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4 (right side): Turn work and with Yarn B, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat Rows 1-4 for a total of 1 inch, ending with Row 4.
Tack Down
Row 1 (right side): Slide work and with Yarn A, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 3 times, *slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 9 times, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 3 times.
Row 2 (wrong side): Turn work and with Yarn B, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 3 times, *slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 9 times, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 3 times.
Row 3 (wrong side): Slide work and with Yarn A, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4 (right side): Turn work and with Yarn B, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Continue Double Knitting
Repeat Rows 1-4 of Begin Double Knitting section until piece measures 1 inch from the previous tack down row, ending with Row 4.
Stagger Tack Down
Row 1 (right side): Slide work and with Yarn A, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 8 times, *slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 9 times, repeat from * to last 18 stitches, slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 8 times.
Row 2 (wrong side): Turn work and with Yarn B, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 8 times, *slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 9 times, repeat from * to last 18 stitches, slip 1 wyif, p1, [slip 1 wyib, p1] 8 times.
Row 3 (wrong side): Slide work and with Yarn A, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4 (right side): Turn work and with Yarn B, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Continue
Repeat from Row 1 of Begin Double Knitting section to Row 4 of Stagger Tack Down section until piece measures 37 (49) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 4 of Stagger Tack Down section.
Repeat Rows 1-4 of Begin Double Knitting section for 1 more inch, until piece measures 38 (50) inches from cast-on edge, ending with Row 4.
Cut Yarn B.
Bind Off
Set-Up Row 1 (right side): Slide work and with Yarn A, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Set-Up Row 2 (wrong side): Turn work and with Yarn A, *k1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end of row.
Alternating between needles, slip all the knit stitches onto the working circular needles and all the purl stitches onto spare circular needles.
FOR A LONG TAIL TUBULAR CAST ON…
Slide work and with right side facing you, use Yarn A to bind off in Kitchener Stitch.
IF YOU DID A LONG TAIL CAST ON…
With Yarn A and the right side facing you, bind off using a 3-Needle Bind Off.
Weave in the ends and block as desired!
PRINT
Hi.
Love this pattern and just finished knitting the whole blanket. My only disappointment is with the way the side edges look . Since I have already finished the whole blanket, I need a finishing technique to hide all the unevenness and booboos along the side edges. Can you please make a suggestion for neatining up the sides and joining the front and back? I was just sloppy about carrying the yarn and it shows. I was thinking of a blanket stitch, but I really want to hide the uneven parts of the side edges. Any suggestions will be most appreciated! Thank you.
Marjory
Hello Marjory,
Thank you for reaching out and congratulations on being done with your new blanket! If you are interested in covering up the whole edge I would suggest adding an attached I-cord border. We use this method on lots of our blankets and it gives you a clean polished look.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
I figured out that the cast on I used didn’t work exactly with you instructions. I was able to skip set up row 2 and go to row 1. I find this way of doing double knitting much easier than knitting and purling with both yarns at one time. However, I can’t figure out how to use your method and make patterns in the knitting. Does it only work for a solid color on each side? Thank you.
Hi Savanna,
Thanks for reaching out! You absolutely can work charts or color patterns using this method of Double Knitting! We just released our Verse + Reverse Scarf and a video tutorial on our method which may be just what you are looking for!
Best,
Julianna
Hi! I want to apply this technique to your toque pattern for a basic rolled edge toque.
I’m a slightly past beginner knitter, but would I just cast on the number of stitches I would need for the toque, then follow the same 4 row repeat as described above?
I also cannot wait to make this blanket! It’s my new winter project!
Hi Ash,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, I think your hat idea might be a bit complicated. Double knitting does not roll, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but you will not have a rolled edge on your hat. This stitch pattern only works when knitted flat, and double knitting can be challenging to seam nicely. Although we do not have instructions for working double knitting in the round, you may want to search “Double knitting in the round” to find instructions that you can use for a hat. You will also have to look up how to work decreases in double knitting, since both layers have to be decreased at the same time.
This is quite a few techniques to learn and adapt, so if you are still new to knitting, I would recommend knitting a few plain hats and some simple double knitting, such as our blanket, first to get the hang of things, but when you are ready, a double knit toque would be lovely!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Hi! I have just received my kit for this pattern and am so excited to start. This is a really silly question- for the long tail tubular cast on, are you casting on with two strands of yarn at the same time or are you splitting the colors and treating one color as the strand that you hold over your forefinger and the other color as the one that you hold over your thumb?
Hi Sydney,
Great question! We worked the Long Tail Tubular Cast On and set up rows with color A only – if you look closely at the pictures, you can see that the cast on edge has a concentrated band of color A on both sides of the blanket. It is possible to work a two color tubular cast on if you wish for a totally “edgeless” edge!
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Julianna
Is it necessary to knit a row before going to the first set-up row? Otherwise, it seems like you’d be knitting backwards since no stitches have been knit. A quick tutorial on the set-up row would be great, if possible.
Beautiful, beautiful pattern – thank you!
Hi Chermia,
Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately we don’t have the resources at the moment to do a video tutorial of this; however, you should be able to go directly from the cast on to the first set-up row. You may be getting confused by the instruction at the beginning of the first set-up row to turn your work, since, if you have used a cable cast on instead of a long tail cast on, you will not need to turn your work to begin knitting the first row. Either way, you will simply begin this first set-up row by knitting in the same direction you normally would after completing the cast on.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
This is, of course, beautiful. Do you think this could work with Woolfolk Far & Sno respectively or Far only?
Thank you!
Hi Chermia,
Unfortunately, although I too am a huge fan of Woolfolk yarns, Far is a bit too heavy weight for this pattern as written, and Sno is a bit thin. I wouldn’t suggest using the two together as there would be a large discrepancy between the two weights, but if you don’t mind a larger blanket, Far would work wonderfully on a US 9 needle!
Best of luck and happy knitting!
Julianna
Thanks, Julianna! I figured out the set-up rows about ten seconds after sending the email. I’m going to go for the Far on a – thanks again. Really appreciate it.