DK Knitting Patterns

Why DK is the default British yarn weight

Double knitting sits in the middle of the range and does almost everything acceptably well, which is why more UK patterns are written for it than for any other weight. It typically knits at around 22 stitches to 10cm on 4mm needles, giving a fabric fine enough for a baby cardigan to look delicate and thick enough for an adult jumper to be finished in a reasonable amount of time. It shows cables and textured stitches clearly without the stitch pattern disappearing, and it is the weight where the widest choice of colours and fibres exists.

What this collection covers

• Baby and children: cardigans, jackets, hats and slipovers, including Sirdar Snuggly and Supersoft Baby DK designs.
• Garments: top-down cardigans, jumpers and everyday knitwear with full size runs.
• Accessories: simple rib hats, cabled beanies, mitts and scarves from one or two balls.
• Home: textured blankets and throws where DK keeps the weight manageable.
• Toys and novelties: animals, dolls, egg cosies, and more.

Choosing the right DK project for your level

A DK hat or a simple textured blanket is a sound first project because there is no fit to fail. Baby cardigans are the classic second step: they are small enough to finish, they teach buttonholes, increases and seaming, and a slight fit error matters less on a baby than on yourself. Once you are comfortable, a top-down cardigan in DK is one of the most satisfying garments to knit, because you can try it on as you go and stop the body exactly where you want it. Fair Isle and stranded yokes also behave well in DK, where the floats are short and the fabric stays flexible.

Substituting yarn and checking tension

DK is not a guarantee of identical behaviour between balls. A cotton DK, a wool DK and a bamboo blend DK can all state the same tension and produce very different fabrics: cotton has no memory and grows, wool springs back, bamboo drapes. Always knit a tension square in the pattern stitch, wash it as you will wash the garment and measure it dry. If you get more stitches than the pattern to 10cm, go up a needle size; fewer, go down. Compare metres per ball rather than grams when substituting, and buy to total metreage.

How much yarn to buy

Quantities vary widely with size and length, so use the figure in the pattern to guide your shopping trip. What is worth doing every time is buying a single dye lot for the whole project and adding one spare ball for anything with long sleeves or a deep body. Baby garments are the exception where an extra ball is rarely wasted, since leftovers become hats, booties and toys almost immediately.

Finishing and caring for DK knits

Block pieces before you seam and the edges will match far more easily. Mattress stitch in the project yarn gives a nearly invisible vertical seam, and backstitch is better across shoulders that need firmness. For baby and children's knits, choose superwash or machine-washable yarns, because gift recipients will not hand wash anything. Everything else is best washed in lukewarm water, rolled in a towel and dried flat rather than hung.

DK knitting questions

What is DK yarn? Double knitting weight, a mid-weight yarn that typically knits at about 22 stitches to 10cm on 4mm needles.

Is DK the same as double knit? Yes, the terms are used interchangeably in UK patterns.

What is DK in American terms? It sits between sport and worsted, and is usually labelled as light worsted or category 3.

Can I use DK instead of aran? Not directly. Aran is thicker, so a DK substitute will give a smaller, thinner garment unless you rework the tension and size.

Which needles do DK patterns use? Most call for around 4mm, with 3.25mm for ribbed borders, but always knit the square first.