Double Knitting—The Diamond Studded Kitchen Towel

Have you tried double knitting? It's a unique method to knit two interlocked fabrics at the same time. Double knitting is reversible, with one side exactly the opposite of the other. It's a great way to play with color while making a double-thick fabric, which makes it great for extra-warm hats or jackets, or kitchen items like towels and hot pads.

I've used my double-knitting skills (still admittedly in development) to make this Diamond-Studded Kitchen Towel. I dig the retro design and the fun watermelon-y color combo that compliments my bright green pots and pans.

Molly believes all photos should include a dog. 

 If you're new to double-knitting, I recommend choosing a simple, repetitive design that will be easy to memorize and easy to visualize as you're working. This diamond pattern has visual interest but is also simple, geometric, and symmetrical so I wouldn't have too much to keep track of while also getting used to the method of knitting two fabrics at once.

At first I thought I would double-knit the entire towel, but as I worked into the slim neck that would be holding up the towel, I worried it would get stretched out over time and decided to make a change.

I tore back a portion of the towel, to a few rows above the last design element, and knit each knit-purl pair together with both strands of yarn and worked in garter stitch from that point on. This made the neck of the towel very dense and sturdy so it could hold up to getting used and abused in the kitchen. And it looks pretty cute too, if I do say so myself.

Since I love both sides of this towel and wanted to be able to hang it both ways interchangeably, I sewed a button on each side—at the same time!

 Sew into one button...

  through the fabric....

 

and into the opposite button. 

My oven is all dressed up and just about too pretty to use. That's a good reason to go out for pizza, right?