All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more.
Here is this weeks question from Lilian Marshall. What is duplicate stitch?
Answer: Duplicate stitch, also called Swiss darning, allows you to go back over your knitted stitches with a different colour. When you do duplicate stitch carefully, you can’t even tell that the stitches weren’t knit in the contrasting color (at least, not without scrutiny). The basic concept of Duplicate Stitch is in its name. You sew over your finished knitting with a contrast colour, "duplicating" the original knit stitches. It's much easier than fair-isling or intarsia.
To work
duplicate stitch, you need a finished piece in stockinette stitch, a
good yarn needle, and some contrasting yarn of the same weight as the
knitted piece.
If
you want to plan out your strategy, a good method is to mark the
stitches you're going to "duplicate" with an erasable
fabric pen. Otherwise, you can just wing it...
Bring
your needle from the back of the work to the front through the bottom
point of a stitch, or a "V". (Leave a generous tail in the
back so you can weave it in at the end.)
Next,
thread the needle across the stitch ABOVE the one you are dupicating.
And
then insert the needle back into the bottom of the "V", the
same place where you began. One stitch duplicated!
Do
the same thing for the next stitch. Start at its bottom point, sew
across the stitch above it, and back down your starting place.
If
you want to duplicate vertically adjacent stitches, you'll have to
sew under both the original stitch and the duplicate stitch. That's
ok.
Keep
going until you're done.
Have Fun!!
If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk or Please post it as a comment here. All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog.
