These are charts I created to incorporate the year “2012” into a double-knit scarf for the Scarves for Special Olympics. I wanted the year to be readable from both sides of the scarf, so it would be truly reversible.

One reads the charts in the usual manner, starting at the bottom right and reading right to left on odd rows and left to right on even rows. But while a traditional double-knit stitch pair consists of a knit stitch in one color and a purl in the other, these stitch pairs may require both stitches be in the same color in order to achieve the desired effect of two separate (not mirrored) images on each side.

This is not really that much more difficult than regular double-knitting, but it does require diligence in following the chart. This design is only 8 rows, so not too difficult. You may want to add a lifeline prior to incorporating this into your work, just in case. It may take a few rows to see if you’ve made a mistake because a) that can be the nature of any double-knitting, and b) the charts look nothing similar to the resulting image.