2019 Geek-A-Long: Adventure Time

This post is going to be hella long as most of it is a written/photo tutorial for 3-Color Double Knitting. So, if you’ve never heard of a certain brilliant cartoon called Adventure Time, I suggest you read my post about Princess Bubblegum from 2015. Ol’ P-Bubs is a supporting character in the show, but she’s a scene thief and a great introduction to the cartoon.

For the 2019 Geek-A-Long, Megan-Anne needed a challenge. She’s six years deep into knitting these squares and needed me to up the difficulty in order for her to stay focused. Her ADD is well managed when she’s challenged, but after over 200 squares, it was time to add some spice. Most of the time that means duplicate stitch, but on occasion we opted for 3-Color Double Knitting instead. This is the most complex square you’ll see this year, and probably the most complex square we’ll ever release. You’ve got a couple of options to execute it, and you should choose the method that seems the most natural for you. In the end, there’s no wrong way to make a Geek-A-Long square as long as you’re hyped about making it.

To bring Jake and Lady Rainicorn to life, Megan-Anne utilized a mix of duplicate stitching and three color knitting. Last year we did a tutorial on double-sided duplicate stitching, and you can find that here. While you can actually do the whole square with 3-Color Double Knitting or duplicate, we recommend approaching the rainbow stripes of Lady Rainicorn’s body with 3-color, and her mane, face, and legs with duplicate stitch. For this tutorial, we’ll show you how Megan-Anne worked the body in 3-Color Double Knitting.

3-Color Double Knitting is executed in the same basic way as 2-Color, but with the obvious addition of a third color. What’s really important to remember about adding colors to double knitting is that you must add strands in multiples of two. While you can certainly opt to add two different colors (using one strand of each), by adding two strands of the same color the pattern will be the same on both sides of the square.

3-COLOR DOUBLE KNITTING

For this tutorial, we’ll add thee total colors to the established double knitting, but there is really no limit on how many you can add using this technique. First, we’ll add the horizontal stripes at the bottom of the square. Work the two bottom-most rows as “normal” double knitting, then break MC (purple in the photo) and CC (cream in the photo) and join two strands of the new color at the start of the row.

STEP ONE

• Using those two strands of the new color (CC1/blue in the photo), double knit across to the last stitch of that color in this row as indicated by the chart. For this square, that means on the first row with a new color we’ll work the new color to the last two stitches of the square. If CC1 is attached to a ball, cut the strands, leaving very long tails. You’ll be using these tails to work the vertical stripes in future steps.

STEP TWO

• Drop CC1, leaving both strands in front of you work and rejoin MC and CC. Work the last 2 sts in MC and CC, as indicated by the chart. Turn your work.

STEP THREE

• Work the first two sts with just MC and CC. You are now at the first stitch of CC1. Carrying MC and CC with CC1 (bringing them all to the back to work the K, and to the front to work the P) work 1 st with CC1. Drop CC1, leaving it in front of your work, and join CC2 leaving very long tails at the join. These tails should be left hanging on the front of your work (which is currently the wrong side of the square), and work one double knitting stitch with CC2, carrying MC and CC with it. Drop MC and CC, leaving them in front of your work, and work to the end of the row with CC2. Break CC2 and secure it. Note: Having a ton of extraneous ends hanging off my edges drives me nuts so I use a crochet hook to pull them to the inside of the square anytime I add or break a color. That way the only “ends” to keep track of are the long tails you’ve left for knitting the vertical stripes.

NOTE: Having a ton of extraneous ends hanging off my edges drives me nuts so I use a crochet hook to pull them to the inside of the square anytime I add or break a color. That way the only “ends” to keep track of are the long tails you’ve left for knitting the vertical stripes.

STEP FOUR

• Turn your work, and join two strands of CC3 (green in the photo). Work across to the stitch indicated by the chart. For the Adventure Time chart, you are working to the last 4 sts, and the last 4 sts are 1CC2, 1CC1, and 2 MC/CC sts. Drop CC3, leaving it in front of your work. Carrying MC and CC along with you (bringing them back and forward with the color being used) work one double knitting stitch of each color as you come to it. As you finish each st with the recently added colors, drop it and leave the tails in front of your work, until you reach the last 2 sts of the row. Work those with MC/CC and turn.

STEP FIVE

• Proceed as with steps 3 and 4 until all of the new colors are added. Once you finish adding colors you’ll move onto the horizontal stripes. These are worked just as before, but without adding new colors as you go. Carry MC and CC with you as you work the other colors, and after completing a color, drop it in front of your work. Take care not to pull MC and CC tight as you are working other colors so that your work doesn’t pucker. MC and CC are essentially long floats when you are working the other colors, so take care with the tension on them as if you were doing fair isles knitting.

It is worth noting that the pattern only has generic instructions for duplicate stitch. So, if you want to try out 3-Color Double Knitting or some combination thereof, I recommend bookmarking this post. Also, Megan-Anne wants me to add that she recommends trying it out on a small practice square similar to the one used in the picture tutorial before tackling the big kahuna.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Adventure Time pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~Jac & Megan-Anne

Adventure Time
Come on grab your friends
We’ll go to very distant lands
With Jake the Dog and Finn the Human
The fun will never end, Adventure Time!

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