How to Join Double Pointed Needles

In order to decrease while knitting, you’ll need to join double pointed needles.

In this quick tutorial we’ll show you how to join double pointed needles from circular needles, an essential skill for knitting hats and mittens.

technique overview

Why You Need to Join Double Pointed Needles

This technique is essential for you to learn because you simply can’t work a full crown decrease on circular needles. If you try, you’ll soon realize that as your stitch count goes down and the stitches no longer stretch from tip to tip, knitting becomes virtually impossible.

put it to use

When to Join

It probably goes without saying, you will need to join double pointed needles (sometimes called DPN’s) whenever you need to make a significant or complete decrease in your project. For example, hats with a full crown decrease and mittens.

You can, however, make slight decreases on your circular needles. This is good news because working with DPN’s can be finicky at times.

Use your circulars to decrease until your stitches no longer stretch from tip to tip of your circular needles.

That way you can put off using double pointed needles until you absolutely need to. We’re not trying to scare you, just setting the expectation a little. You’ll pick up this technique no problem, but you’ll probably always feel a little awkward with it.

see how it’s done

How to Join DPN’s

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Left-Handed Tutorial on YouTube

Right-Handed Tutorial on YouTube

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additional information

Used in Demonstration

  • Knit Pixie Hat in 4 Sizes
  • Red Heart Evermore Yarn (Colorway pictured: Autumn)
  • US 10 Circular Knitting Needles, 16″
  • US 10 Double Point Needles
  • Yarn Needle
  • Scissors


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what’s next

Learn how to knit with DPN’s

Now that you have your project on double pointed needles, you’re probably wondering what on earth to do next. We’ll show you in our next tutorial.