contributed by Shawn
In our last session of group knitting classes here at the shop we had some brave students who learned the skill
of double knitting. We used the free Rectangly Hat pattern by Catherine Hughes
that Barb discovered last fall. She knit one up for the shop and we've had so many people ask about it that we scheduled a class.
We started by learning how to create both layers of
knitted fabric (inside and outside) simultaneously after forming the cast on
row. There was a lot of "don't
think too hard" about what you are doing moments! The color chart was
intimidating at first but, once everyone got theirs minds going in a binary sort of way
it wasn't too hard to keep going.
We
used markers to help us out with our repeats - a must! After our first session
everyone went home to work on their hats.
One hat was re-started in colors that showed a better contrast. Be sure to pick colors that will show your
hard work if you knit something like this - it helps if you can see the
difference in the colors clearly as well.
We had a couple of stop-in-the-shop
emergencies until everyone realized how easy it really could be to fix one of
their mistakes without even ripping out their work!
In the second class session
we learned how to manage the simultaneous decreases. I finished my hat just
after class. The Berroco Vintage yarn is lovely in the hat!
One of our customers from
class finished her hat and has already started teaching her knitting friends
the art of double knitting - I can't wait to see the snowflake pattern that she
adapted to the original pattern for her second hat project!
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