More than half the year is over and I’m still working on reducing my yarn stash. I’ve limited purchasing new yarn and am knitting with yarn I already have. In an effort to reduce my yarn stash I’ve started knitting double stranded.  Knitting double stranded means you knit with two strands of yarns held together. One can create a variety of versatile knits with unique textures and colors by knitting double stranded. With this technique projects take less time to knit making more time available for other knitting projects.

I knit my first top down contiguous sleeve cardigan using two strands of yarn held together.

The pattern for the contiguous sleeve shaping is from Isabell Kraemer’ s On the beach pattern. I used stockinette stitch for the body of this cardigan and garter stitch for the shawl collar. Yarn used: Premier Cotton Fair in Slate Grey and Loops and Threads Woolike in Black.

I found knitting double stranded straightforward and simple. It adds more depth and visual interest to knits without much effort. So if you have yarn that’s been sitting around for a year or more try knitting double stranded. It’s doesn’t require reading complicated chart patterns or spending hours going through patterns that may or may not be suitable for the yarn. You can even knit with this technique while watching TV or knitting podcasts. With double stranded knitting, you just knit and let the yarn do the rest.