knitting with 2 strands held together

pepsi99 · 02-25-2011, 10:09 AM

I have a pattern that calls for holding 2 strands of wool together. I love the pattern but dont' want to use 2 strands. If I knit it normally with one strand will the sweater turn out correctly?

trvvn5 · 02-25-2011, 03:24 PM

Most likely not. Knitting with 2 strands together makes your stitches a little more bulky. SO you are not going to get the same gauge you would if you were knitting with two strands. However, I think this is generally easy to fix by doing a gauge swatch and following your gauge for your measurements. You aren't going to be able to follow the pattern exactly because of the change. The increases and decreases won't make too huge of a difference.

I think its best to have a good understanding of what you are doing in the pattern so that you can alter as needed. If you aren't all that great with adapting a pattern to suit your own needs it might not be best to deviate from the two strands.

pepsi99 · 02-25-2011, 03:33 PM

Thanks! I've never knit with 2 strands before so a little leery of it. I'm hoping if I knit a sweater larger than I really want it will turn out almost the size I need.

suzeeq · 02-25-2011, 03:37 PM

You would have to use a heavier weight yarn to get the gauge in the pattern. Or you could use just the single strand of the yarn you have and do a much larger size because you'd need more stitches. Find the sts per inch you get with it, then divide that into the sts for the bigger size and see which one is closest to the finished measurement you want.

pepsi99 · 02-25-2011, 03:39 PM

Great thanks!

Little Audrey · 02-25-2011, 05:07 PM

I have done this many times. I recommend: knit a swatch; rewind the yarns together; use bamboo or blunt needles; check every row or so to be sure that both yarns were included in every stitch! :-)

salmonmac · 02-26-2011, 12:27 AM

Knitting with 2 strands of yarn isn't difficult. It's slightly different but maybe not as much as you think. Even if you make a mistake and miss one of the strands for one st, it really doesn't show. So don't let it hold you back, especially if the look of the finished sweater might depend on the mix of two yarn.

trvvn5 · 02-28-2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by salmonmac

Knitting with 2 strands of yarn isn't difficult. It's slightly different but maybe not as much as you think. Even if you make a mistake and miss one of the strands for one st, it really doesn't show. So don't let it hold you back, especially if the look of the finished sweater might depend on the mix of two yarn.

I totally agree here. There's really not difference when knitting with 2 strands as opposed to one. The only difference that will change is the bulk of the sweater. I have a picture under Shawl Collar Sweater in the Whatcha Knittin section that was knit with 2 strands held together.