Linear supercapacitors have great potential as power source in electronic textiles. However, the energy density of most yarn supercapacitors reported so far is still quite low and decreases significantly as the supercapacitor length increases. Here, we report a two-ply yarn supercapacitor based on carbon nanotube/stainless steel core-sheath yarn electrode and ionic liquid electrolyte. The use of IL gel electrolyte widens the potential window of supercapacitor from 1.0 V to 2.7 V. The carbon nanotube/stainless steel core-sheath yarn structure greatly improves the charge transport efficiency and allows the length of the linear supercapacitor to be significantly scaled up. The resulting supercapacitor has shown outstanding electrochemical performances with a high volumetric capacitance of 263.31 F cm(-3) and energy density of 6.67 x 10(-2) Wh cm(-3). The two-ply yarn supercapacitors are also very flexible and strong for use as sewing thread and for making knots without significant loss of their energy storage capacity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.