Argyle

#1

[color=olive][/color]
I’m making a pair of slippers that have an argyle pattern on the top. I found them in a book called Weekend Knitting. It says not to carry the yarn behind the work, and instead to cut it.

two questions:
how do i make sure it stays together?
how do i keep my brain sane when looking at each row of dangling strings?

and a third: where are all these strings going to go!? i know they belong woven into the fabric when it’s done, but i have no idea how they’re all going to fit.[/u]

#2

happyskrappy,
I don’t have the book so I’ll have to guess here.
I’m thinking they are suggesting you work in intarsia. If the piece is worked in the round you won’t be able to do an intarsia pattern in the normal method, instead, you would need to cut the yarn each time.

If you are not to work the piece in the round, I would suggest you wind some bobbins and not cut the yarn each row. There are lots of resources for basic intarsia. Almost any intro book for knit will cover it on some level.

As for your two questions, they are really one in the same, you would secure the yarn and ensure a hole-free fabric by weaving in your ends properly. I recommend you read this article from knitty:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/FEATfall04tt.html

Use this technique to work your threads cleanly into fabric and make sure you do so in such a manner that you secure one color section to another.

I hope this helps.

#3

Marnie, that’s a great link, with great illustrations. I’ll put it up on the site, at least until I can get around to making a video on weaving in ends! :slight_smile:

Happyskrappy,
I haven’t done argyle socks before! But one of these days I’ll do it, and when I do, of course I’ll probably turn it into a video! LOL

I’m sure there are all sorts of tricks to doing argyle, and different ways. As Marnie said, you can cut each color change on every row, and work in the ends (lots of ends!).

But I’m wondering if it would be plausible to use this trick I just read about, for doing intarsia in the round.…(Without cutting the yarn!) This trick will give you a seam up the back, and is sort of a combination of knitting flat and knitting in the round:

The idea is, you knit your way through one round, and then purl your way back (unusual for circular knitting!). You choose the point where you will be turning the work, probably at the back of the sock, and in a place where a seam stitch will be least noticed. You will increase an extra stitch here before you begin the first round of intarsia. This stitch will be the “seam”, and will be slightly different looking than the other stitches. So, you create this seam stitch, and knit all the way around, doing intarsia, ending by knitting this seam stitch. Turn the work, and slip the seam stitch. Purl your way back around to the seam stitch and purl the seam stitch. Turn the work. Slip seam stitch, and work the round, ending by knitting seam stitch. Continue this way, always beginning a round by slipping the seam stitch, and ending the round by knitting or purling it.

This, of course, is total cheating for argyle! But why not?!

I haven’t tried it, but it seems (seams!) like it would work! LOL

Another cheat would be just to work the piece flat, and then sew up the seam, and work with circular needles after the argyle pattern.

Now you’ve got me interested in trying argyle! I don’t think I’d have the patience to do it any other way than a cheating way! :wink:

Amy