Two-Handed Stranded Knitting
Holding one colour in each hand — Continental in the left, English in the right — is the fastest way to knit stranded colourwork. After a brief learning curve, the two hands work independently and the speed approaches single-colour knitting.
Recommended A printable technique cheat-sheet for your knitting bag.
Setup
Wrap the dominant colour around your left hand (Continental style). Wrap the non-dominant colour in your right hand (English style). Both colours are now ready to be knit without dropping or picking up.
Knitting motion
For stitches in the dominant colour, pick the stitch with the left needle in the Continental motion. For stitches in the non-dominant colour, throw the right-hand colour over the needle in the English motion. Switch fluidly between the two motions as the chart calls for them.
In partnership Tools and supplies that make this technique easier.
Why it is fast
No yarn dropping or picking up. Each colour is permanently in position and ready to knit. After 100–200 stitches of practice, the motion becomes automatic.
Learning curve
The English motion may feel slow if you normally knit Continental. Practice with two colours of scrap yarn and a simple checkerboard pattern (k1 in colour A, k1 in colour B) for 20 minutes per day until the motion is smooth.
Abbreviation reference
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MC | main colour |
| CC | contrast colour |
Tips
- Practice with a simple alternating-colour swatch before starting a real project.
- Hold the dominant colour in the left hand (Continental).
- After 20 minutes per day for 1–2 weeks, the motion becomes automatic.
In depth
Two-handed stranded knitting is the fastest method for two-colour stranded work. The two hands operate independently with no yarn-switching motion, eliminating the bottleneck that limits single-handed colourwork. After the brief learning curve, two-handed stranded knitting approaches the speed of single-colour knitting.