How to Add Duplicate Stitch to Knitting Patterns

I write these posts up to a month in advance, so I hope by the time this post goes live it won’t be a lie to say I recently finished what was probably the most intense knitting experience of my life so far (at least in terms of an individual project; books are way more intense): knitting an argyle vest.

(As I write, I just need to sew the pieces together and finish the armholes and neckline, so it’s definitely possible it will be done by the time you read this!)

This project was a challenge for a lot of reasons: the pattern wasn’t well written, my gauge was a little off so I sort of worked parts of a couple of different sizes (plus eliminating most of the waist shaping and making it longer), I had for most of the body 14 strands of yarn so I could do the intarsia diamonds.

And once the knitting was finally done, I had to do a ton of duplicate stitch to make the second part of the diamond pattern.

Mistakes aside it looks amazing, and I’m super proud of it. One of my goals for the year was to do some projects using skills I’ve never done before, and an intarsia project of this scale was definitely something I’ve always wanted to do (proof: I’ve had this yarn, the exact yarn and colors used for this project in the book I got it from, since 2008).

But it also gave me a great opportunity to write up a tutorial on how to do duplicate stitch, which is useful for so much more than making diamond shapes. It’s great for fixing mistakes in colorwork, adding little details like facial features or a small area of color you wouldn’t want to work while you’re knitting. You can also use it for bigger motifs, say, if you don’t want to do intarsia but want to add a design you can’t do with stranded knitting. Say you wanted a big heart on a hat worked in the round, which wouldn’t be easy to do as stranded knitting or intarsia. Duplicate stitch to the rescue!

If this is a technique you’ve used before, I’d love to hear how you used it and if you have any tips. And if it’s new to you head over to Our Daily Craft to see how its done.

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

Next Pattern:

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