Just the phrase “Double Point Needles” can strike fear into the heart of many a knitter. It doesn’t have to be so scary. I will give you a few tips to help you with double point needles (dpns).
When starting a small item on dpns, cast on the total number of stitches onto one dpn. Don’t try to cast on to three needles. (That is like leaving puppies alone in a room with yarn and wooden needles. Ask me how I know.)
After casting on, you can divide the stitches onto three dpns. Slip stitches as if you are going to purl them to the remaining two dpns. If you slip the stitches knitwise, they will be twisted. Just picture transferring stitches without any finagling. You will work the stitches with the empty fourth needle. (You can also divide the stitches onto four dpns and knit with a fifth.) You may not be able to divide the stitches evenly, but close is fine. Place the three dpns onto a table in a triangle (or square) shape, with the working yarn on the right hand needle. Make sure that the cast on stitches are not twisted when you begin, they should all be facing the same direction. Try to keep the needles balanced a bit on a table when joining and working the first round. I don’t do any special maneuver to join, simply begin to work the stitches to attach into the round. You can use the tail from the cast on to close any gaps later.
While working with dpns, don’t try to hang onto more than the two needles that are doing the work at a time. Just concentrate on the two needles that are doing the work. This might feel awkward at first, as the extra two needles feel like they are hanging out in the breeze, but if you just focus on the two needles in your hands, you will be much happier! It might be helpful to squeeze your eyes into a bit of a squint like a small child to remind yourself that you are really only working with two needles at a time.
Sometimes you can mysteriously find yourself trying to knit off of only two (or one!) needle. Here is a tip that will help you keep your knitting on all of the required needles. Do not put the empty needle down when shifting to work the next dpn. Just sneak the empty needle from your left hand into your right palm and you are golden!
Starting a dpn with a purl stitch can be problematic for some knitters. Make sure the yarn is in the front before you purl the first stitch, with the empty working needle coming in from behind. Squeeze your eyes into that child like squint again. Think of how you would start a row of knitting with a purl, then apply that same grey matter to the two needles in your hands, and concentrate on only two needles.
To avoid any gaps that might occur while switching from one dpn to the next, don’t try to pull and pull on the yarns. Just a firm wrap on the second stitch of each dpn should do the trick.
It is easiest to start practicing with dpns at the top of a hat. Most hats you can knit in the round on a 16” needle until the decreasing forces you to switch to dpns. Don’t wait until the top of the hat is stretched too tightly, though, as this can distort the stitches. The top of the hat only needs a few rounds of shaping with the dpns, so this can be an introduction to them. When using dpns on the next round of shaping for the crown of a hat, I like to knit the stitches onto the dpns one at a time. I knit the stitches off of the round needle onto three dpns, then use a fourth dpn to knit around.
Switch to dpns on a decrease round, and while knitting this decrease round, end each double point with a decrease. For instance, if the next round is K3, k2tog around, make sure you end each dpn with a K2tog. This way, you won’t have to rearrange the stitches later while decreasing. Work roughly a third of the stitches onto each dpn, but note that you don’t have to have the exact same number of stitches on each dpn, as not all numbers can be divided by three evenly!
“I can’t use dpns!”
“How will I ever be able to work with dpns?”
Practice, practice, practice! You can’t get good at this technique without a teeny tiny bit of practice. Try using some leftover yarn to practice starting with double points until you are ready to tackle your project. Don’t be intimidated by more than two needles and some yarn! Now… go DO IT!
And… Count how many times I used the term(s) dpn(s) in this article!
