Argyle Christmas Stocking
by Katherine Misegades
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
[C. C. Moore]
Yarn
3 balls: Brown Sheep sport-weight Nature Spun,
(1 white, 1 red, and 1 green)
1 skein: Borocco Lumina (metalic gold)
Supplies
U. S. Size 2 (2.75 mm) sock needles, yarn needle
with eye, scissors, markers, jingle bells.
Gauge & Measurement
15 sts/2" (5 cm), 18 rows/2" (5 cm)
17" (44 cm) top to toe, 9" (23 cm) heel to toe
Pattern Features
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Circular invisible cast on
Intarsia color knitting
Charted color pattern
Wrap and turn back seam (no sewn seam)
Short row heel turn
3-stitch decrease toe shaping
Duplicate stitch accent lines
iCord hanger loop
Abbreviations
st/sts—stitches
k—knit
p—purl
yo—yarn over
ytf—yarn to front
ytb—yarn to back
sl—slip purlwise unless other wise noted
k2tog—knit two sts together
3-st dec—slip two sts together as if to k2tog, knit
the next stitch, pass the two slipped sts over the
knit st with the center of the three sts lying on top.
Katherine
Circular invisible cast on
• When finishing a purl row, move center back
marker, sl1, ytb, slip the slipped/wrapped st back
to right needle, turn and knit next row.
Any cast on technique will work for this but the following
method is especially pretty:
• Using waste thread, cast on 39 sts.
• Using white sock yarn, [k1, yo] x 39.
• Join to work in the round.
• [ytb, sl 1, ytf, p1] x 39
• [k1, ktf, sl, ytb] x 39
• [ytb, sl 1, ytf, p1] x 39
• [k1, ktf, sl, ytb] x 39
• Leave waste thread in place until an inch or more
of fabric is worked
Short-row heel turn
The heel is knitted in red across the back half of
the stocking. It is shaped using short rows with a
wrap & turn as shown on the chart on page 4.
3-stitch decrease toe shaping
The toe is knitted in the round using white yarn
The decreases fall at each side of the stocking,
every other row as showned on the chart on page
4. Weave remaing stitches together using Kitchner
stitch.
Ribbing
Work k1, p1 ribbing on the 78 sts for 5 rounds
(or to ribbing length preferred). On last round, dec
1 st (k2tog) at end of round. Knit the stocking on
77 sts (this aligns the color pattern nicely on the
front of the stocking).
Duplicate stitch accent lines
Accent lines in argyle are traditionally knit in
using the intarsia technique, but the lines on this
stocking are worked in duplicate stitch after the
diamonds are knit.
Duplicate stitch is a hand-sewn embroidery
technique. The accent yarn is threaded into a needle
with an eye and sewn by following the path of the
knit stitches. The accent yarn lies on top of the
knitted stitch at the places shown as gold outlined
squares on the chart.
Intarsia color knitting
Intarsia is a method of laying in areas of color
in knitting using separate yarn sources for each
color change. Argyle is classically knit using this
technique. An excellent source for refining intarsia
technique is Intarsia—A Workshop for Hand & Machine
Knitting from the studio of Sealed with a Kiss (Sherry
and Keely Stuever).
Finishing
Fish-hook, yarn-end technique:
Working in the yarn ends in a manner that doesn't
distort the knitting and that doesn't come loose
with use is important in intarsia knitting. The
Stuever booklet explores this in detail. Especially
important is the fish-hook formed by working the
yarn through split plys and then turning back to do
the same for a few stitched forming a fish hook with
the tail.
Charted color pattern
The pattern for the leg, heel, foot and toe of the
stocking are charted and explained on the following
pages.
Wrap & turn back seam
In order to knit back and forth without having a seam, a
wrap and turn technique is used across the center back of
the stocking as follows:
• Mark the center back of the stocking.
• The stitch on each side of the center back are
involved in the wrap and turn manouver.
• When finishing a knit row, move center back
marker, ytf, sl1, ytb, slip the slipped/wrapped st
back to right needle, turn and purl next row.
Argyle Christmas Stocking
iCord hanger loop:
Knit a 4-stitch iCord for 5 inches using the metalic
yarn. Fold the iCord in half to form a loop and
attach it to the top of the stocking back.
Jingle bells:
Attach jingle bells to toe and heel of the stocking.
2
© 2013 a time to knit publications, LLC
Chart—Leg
Chart Key
The leg instructions start with Row 1 at the
bottom of the page and continue through most of
Row 88. The odd numbered rows are knit and the
even numbered rows are purled.
At the end of Row 88 shown on this chart (a purl
row) continue on with the Heel-Turn Chart on the
next page.
White yarn
White yarn center back wrap sts
Green yarn
Red Yarn
Metalic duplicate stitch over white
Metalic duplicate stitch over green
Metalic duplicate stitch over red
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center back
After working ribbing in the round, start working back and forth HERE (first stitch past the center back).
Follow the directional arrows for knit/purl rows to work intarsia in stockinette stitch.
Read back and forth, bottem to top working the color diamonds in intarsia.
At the end of each row, wrap the next stitch past the center back, and then turn.
This creates a “seam” that runs down the back of the stocking.
Argyle Christmas Stocking
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© 2013 a time to knit publications, LLC
Chart—Heel Turn
The heel is worked in short rows, back and forth using
the back 44 stitches. NOTE: The sharpness of the heel
turn depends upon the number of short rows involved.
Adjust shaping by using more (sharper turn) or fewer
(gentler turn) stitches.
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At the end of row 88: purl 22 more stitches,
wrap the next stitch and turn.
Row 89: sl 1, k 43, wrap the next stitch
and turn.
Row 90: sl 1, p 42, wrap the next stitch
and turn.
Continue in this manner following the stitch
count on the chart. Note that, at Row 108, the
stitch count increases. By Row 1257, the stitch
count is the same as Row 89.
Chart—Foot & Toe
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• The foot is knit in the same manner as the leg with knit rows, purl rows and wraps at the center back.
• At the end of Row 163, continue knitting with just the white yarn and start working in the round.
• Work 3-st dec where indicated on the chart (each side of stocking toe).
• Work the k2tog only at the end of the first toe round to make the stitch count an even number.
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TOE: knit in the round
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Argyle Christmas Stocking
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© 2013 a time to knit publications, LLC