Double knitting is a form of knitting in which two fabrics are knit simultaneously with two yarns on one pair of needles. The fabrics may be inseparable, as in interlock knitted fabrics, or they can simply be two unconnected fabrics. In principle, an arbitrary number n of fabrics can be knitted simultaneously on one pair of knitting needles with n yarns, as long as one is careful.
History
The most famous example of double knitting is the pair of socks knitted simultaneously on one set of knitting needles by Anna Makarovna, the nanny in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
When the pair was finished, she made a solemn ceremony of pulling one stocking out of the other in the presence of the children.
Methods
There are several methods for double knitting, including flat knitting on doubled-pointed knitting needles; after one row has been knit with one yarn, the crafter slides the stitches to the other end of the needle and begins the next row with the next yarn. Only half the stitches are knit with any one yarn; the rest are slipped. After both rows are done, you then turn the work and begin another pair of rows.
References
June Hemmons Hiatt (1988) The Principles of Knitting, Simon and Schuster, pp. 233-247. ISBN 0-671-55233-3
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