Minerva's Argyles: Construction and FO Report

The argyle socks are finished!

Mine are constructed a bit differently from the Sockknitters tutorial, but that's what got me started. The tutorial socks have three seams, one at the back of the leg, and two on either side of the instep. Mine have one seam, and it's hidden on the inside of the leg.

What follows is a pattern of sorts. Feel free to adjust it to fit your magic sock formula. And ask questions if I've gone a bit too vague. I've never done this pattern stuff before. I have assumed familiarity with basic sock construction and intarsia.

Using US1 needles, cast on 64 stitches and knit two inches of 2x2 ribbing in the round in the main color (MC). I worked the ribbing in the round mainly because when I first cast on I had no idea that I was going to knit an argyle. It could just as easily be knit flat and seamed with the rest of the sock. If you plan to do this, cast on 66 stitches and ignore the M1s below.

Then knit one row to the end of round, making one stitch after the first stitch and before the last. 66 sts. Turn and purl back. Turn, and do a set-up row as follows in intarsia:

Left sock set up row: K17MC, K1CC, K31MC, K1CC, K16MC
Right sock set up row: K16MC, K1CC, K31MC, K1CC, K17MC

For each color section I reeled off about two wingspans of yarn and just let it hang. You may prefer to use bobbins.

Continue, knitting flat and increasing the CC sections by one stitch on either side until they are touching, and then decreasing until there is only one CC stitch. Easy-peasy, but if you manage to mess it up (and I did on both socks), you can go over the mistake in the correct color when you duplicate stitch the diagonals on later.

This chart is upside down as knitting charts go, so read left to right and from the top down, or flip it over and read it the normal way. I created it more to visualize what I wanted to do than to knit from. I ignored the diagonals since they change color as they go along; if I had decided to do diagonals in a third color I would have knit them in.

I knit or purled the selvedges as I came to them, but you may prefer to slip them. I found that working them made a more invisible seam.

After two diamonds are completed, put everything but the heel stitches (note this includes the one selvedge stitch on the other side of the heel) on a circular needle to hold and knit the heel flap and turn the heel on two DPNs. I knit my heel flap in stockinette stitch with a 4 stitch garter edge.

Click to enlarge.

Pick up stitches along the heel flap and knit the gusset as usual, decreasing until 66 stitches remain. Continue knitting flat until the last diamond is complete. Decrease one stitch at each end of the last row, and rejoin to knit in the round. 64 sts.

Click to enlarge.

Knit to desired length and finish with your preferred toe. Weave in all those pesky ends.

Click to enlarge.

Duplicate stitch the diagonals on, and sew up the seam using mattress stitch. Canine assistance is encouraged.

Click to enlarge.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Click to enlarge.

Pattern: my own, as outlined above -- "Minerva's Argyles" because they're Gryffindor colors and Professor McGonagall is always described as wearing tartan, so I imagine she would have tartan socks as well
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Burgundy (2 skeins), Serengeti (1 skein)
Needles: Knit Picks US1 DPNs and 24" circular