In this post, you will learn how to knit with two strands of yarn together.
Sometimes your yarn might be too thin for your project.
In that case, it’s easy to use two strands of yarn knit together to achieve the thickness you want.
By doing this you can add thickness to your project, which can make it warmer.
You can see an example of a cardigan knit with two strands of yarn here.
Adding In More Than One Colour
I often use two strands of yarn together if the yarn is DK (for 4mm / US 6 needles) and I want a chunkier look, I may put two or more together and use bigger knitting needles.
Using more than one strand of yarn is also good if you want to work with more than one colored yarn at a time.
Combining two yarns of different colors can give your work an interesting look and can make it look more textured.
You can see many examples of this in knitted blankets, dishcloths, sweaters, and shawls.
Adding Texture To Your Project
You can also work with two yarns that are of a similar color but are made from different fibers.
This can give an interesting texture to the work, for example; if you want to work with mohair and wool combined.
I have tried this before and it works really well, especially if you want to add mohair into your work for a little bit of fuzz!
You can see an example of two yarns knit together to give texture in this arm warmer pattern here.
Arm warmers – knit with 1 strand of wool and 1 strand of mohair together
Getting In a Tangle
The problem with working with two yarns together is that they can get really tangled up together because they twist as you knit.
The strands of yarn twist together as you work, which means you have to stop every so often and untangle them.
One way to solve this problem is to wind the two yarns together before you start.
This is easy enough if you have a yarn swift and ball winder in your arsenal!
Another way to get around this problem is to place each ball into a yarn bowl or Ziploc bag and feed the yarn through a hole.
This will limit the twisting and make it easier for you to knit.
Cardigan – knit with two strands of cotton together
Knitting With Two Strands
When you knit with two strands of yarn together, it is the same as working with only one strand.
Just make sure that you are knitting into both loops and that you do not drop any – as this can cause problems later on.
Each stitch should be worked as if you are knitting into one stitch (even though you have two loops on the needle).
If you do drop a stitch and you try to pick it up later, you will get a long strand of yarn across your project.
You can pick up any dropped stitches in the same way that you normally would, by using a crochet hook.
Video Tutorial
You can view the video tutorial on my YouTube channel here.
Cassie says
Hi! Thanks so much for this. What size do you recommend using if you knit with double strands? For example, the yarn I’m planning on using asks for 7-9 size needles. What size needles would be best for 2 strands of that yarn?
Thank you!
Louise Bollanos says
Hello Cassie,
If you want to knit with two strands together, it depends on what you are making for me to be able to recommend a needle size and yarn weight.
For example if you wanted to make something that requires bulky weight yarn knit on size 8mm (US 11) needles, you could put two strands of worsted weight or Aran weight yarn together.
If you are using US size 7-9 needles – then you could knit with 2 strands of sport weight/fine weight yarn together or a sock yarn/fingering.
I hope that helps!
Louise
Michelle Watson says
Hi Louise,
If I was to use Lion Brand Wool- Ease Thick and Quick 170g for your cable knit Blanket pattern, how many balls of wool would I need to purchase?
Also could you please explain row 7 to me
*P3, C6F, rep from *
This is all new to me and I am quite excited to give it a try
Thank you
Michelle
Louise Bollanos says
Hello Michelle, the blanket uses around 1,706 yards/13 skeins of Yarn Art Alpine Alpaca at 150g each so if you use the Lion Brand wool ease thick and quick yarn – at 170g each you will need around 12 skeins.
Row 7 – *P3, C6F, rep from * – means that you will repeat Purl 3, cable 6 forward to the end of the row.
I hope you enjoy knitting the banket 🙂
Louise
Helen White says
Hi,
Hope you can help. I plied up 2 strands of fine yarn from a machine knitting cone using a ball winder and am now trying to knit with it. Unfortunately it has taken on so much twist it keeps doubling up on itself and twisting. Is there any way to cure this or prevent it in the future.
Louise Bollanos says
Hello Helen,
You could try placing the caked yarn into a Ziploc bag and closing as much as you can, leaving the strands out – this may help to keep it from tangling up and twisting together when you are knitting.
I hope that helps!
Louise
Helen White says
After I left a comment on your site I found another with reference to a Spinning yarn holder / yarn unwinder / yarn valet on Amazon. Some are quite expensive but others quite reasonable. And I even found a site where the guy made one out of Conex constuction toy ( I think that’s how it was spelt I’ve lost the page now). I’ve ordered one and I’ll let you know how it goes
Whitney Anderton says
I’m hours and hours into a baby blanket that is double knit. I just noticed that I dropped one yarn strand, of one stitch, a number of rows back. I really don’t want to undo hours of work to fix it. Any idea how I can fix it? Thank you for your time!
Louise Bollanos says
Hello Whitney,
To save a stitch that has been dropped, you can use a crochet hook to weave the stitch up through the work and back into place on your knitting needle.
This can save a lot of time!
I hope that helps,
Louise