The Knitting Fiend

Did you know one of the purposes of writing a knitting blog is to remind myself what I did? Well, I’ll prove that today by describing the general method for knitting seamless argyles and also mentioning the mistakes I need to correct. Some of you may be interested in the general methods– likely only I am interested in the detailed descriptions of the mistakes. I intend to fix them, but need to write them down somewhere so I remember.

So, here goes. If the description of the mistakes are confusing…. well, sorry. The information is just specific enough to help me remember to fix it now that I’ve knit the argyle bits.

Steps for knitting the Argyles.

Step 1: Using white, I knit ribbing in the round.
Step 2: When the ribbing is long enough, I worked a row of stockinette, “marking” two stitches which will be the center of the diamonds. (This purpose of marking is to simplify working duplicate stitch later on.)
Step 3: I placed a bunch of the most recently knit stitches on a holder. (The number will equal half the total minus 1. My sock has 40 stitches, so I placed 19 on the holder.)
Step 4: I placed the other stitches on a sock needle, turn work so purl side faced me. Then I followed the instruction for the first row, which said:
Row 1: Sl 1, P19, Sl 1. Interlock yarn from bobbins as done for intarsia. Turn.

After that, I began to work short rows, wrapping the edge stitch. There are fiddly things to do here. Some stitches are slipped knitwise, wraps are done a certain way, etc. Eventually, I had one “point up triangle”. (Don’t break yarn. Bobbins are useful, just dangle it inside the sock.)
Step 5: I rearranged stitches on needles to work the second point up triangle. The instructions will be similar to the first point up triangle except for the first row which now says:
Row 1: Sl1, P19, Sl1.

The reason for the difference is you aren’t attaching new yarn and wrapped an edge stitch when working row 1 for the first triangle. That wrap will be used to “fuse” to the other diamond so you don’t need to do any fiddly “interlocking yarn from bobbins as done for intarsia.”

I didn’t find any errors up to this point in the discussion, but I need to add some clarifying text earlier in the instructions. I’m also going to edit so the process doesn’t involve slipping any stitches knitwise– slip all purlwise.
Step 6: I will rearranged the knitting so the “ditch” between the white diamonds is in the center of two sock needles. T
Step 7: With knit side facing I attached black yarn. (Note, depending on the number of stitches, you may attach knit side or purl side facing. ) I knit through the back loops into the first stitch on the left needle tip and picked up the wrap. Then I turned to purl as instructed. Eventually, I filled in the “ditch”.
Step 8: Proceed and knit the upper part of the black triangle forming a diamond.
Step 9: Attach another ball of black yarn and knit another black diamond.

Note: In step 7, the directions are missing this detail: When you knit through stitches and pick up the wraps, stitches are knit “through the back loop, which is shown in the photos, but not stated. Recall those stitches were slipped knitwise. (Later, when I edit the pattern, I will no longer suggest slipping knitwise when creating the point up white triangle. Instead I will tell you slip a stitch and replace it on the left tip before knitting it. It’s easier and more standard.)

In step 8: When you slip the first stitches with knit side facing, you should slip knitwise. (Or, slip purlwise as is normal but correct later. It’s actually easier to correct this later.)

Step 10: I rearranged stitches to form ditches between the black diamonds. In my directions, I needed to have 10 stitches on the left needle and 12 on the right needle. (This may vary for yours.) I picked up the white yarn (which I hadn’t broken), and began to knit as described in the directions.

Step 10 was mostly correct but needs clarification not because it’s wrong but because the correct thing to do seems weird. The first white stitch formed is not not knit into the white stitch forming the top of the point up white triangle. It’s knit into a black stitch! Also, because my directions for the black diamonds didn’t have you slip the first stitches as to knit, you will need to slip the first stitch on knit side facing rows. Then replace them on the left needle tip and knit through the back loops.

Step 11: When I finished filling in the ditch, there were some special directions for wrapping. I wrapped stitches as instructed. However the directions mix up the colors. They told me the edge stitches would end up white wrapped in black. They were black wrapped in white. (This may not be wrong in all versions spit out by the code. It’s a logical error in the code. I “understand” the pattern, so I knew what I meant. . .So, well…. )

Step 12: Rearrange stitches and fill in the other ditch. (This is safer than proceeding to the point up triangle.) Once again, the directions for the final rows are muddled here. They say “black” where they should say “white” and vice versa.

At this point you would knit the upper parts of the white diamonds. The directions for the first row are correct but confusing. First, there is a line that says something about there being -1 white stitches. That’s a code bug; so a statement I put in to clarify something becomes totally confusing.

Second, the instructions say to follow the directions for the “second point up white triangle.” That’s correct. But someone emailed me asking meant the directions for the point of diamonds with the second color– which would be black ones. I mean the second white triangle. By that I mean follow the directions that look like this: Row 1: Sl1, P19, Sl1. (The 19 in P19 will differ from pattern to pattern.) Don’t follow the directions that say “interlocking yarns from bobbins as for intarsia”.

Oh.. I actually knit that row, to verify it worked. Shorty socks are fine for test knitting, and after knitting that particular row, everything else just repeats from the beginning of working the Argyle diamonds. So, I’m going to knit the foot and begin correcting the code now!

Anyway, that’s where I am now. I hope it gives you an idea what’s involved both in making the socks and the likely level of frustration!

You’ll see more of this sock soon.