Argyle for Socks by Catherine Berry

Stitch Anatomy Winter 2025-2026

The argyle sock is a classic test of a knitter’s skill and devotion. Knitting a pair of argyle socks for yourself or a loved one requires a more advanced set of skills and a bigger time investment than a traditional sock. When we knit an argyle sock, we’re combining two seemingly incompatible techniques. We have intarsia, which is simplest when worked flat, and the shaped sock tube, which is best worked in the round for seamless comfort. A good argyle sock is a balance of what works best for the colorwork and what works best for a sock.

What Is Argyle?

Argyle is a traditional Scottish pattern derived from kilt tartans. The argyle pattern consists of diamonds in typically two coordinating colors over a background color with contrasting lines crossed through the diamond centers. How did the pattern go from a grid-like tartan to a diamond pattern? Sewn socks, hose, and stockings were common before and during the transition to knitted versions. When the woven plaid tartan used for a kilt is turned 45° and sewn on the bias for stretch, you get a sewn sock, or hose, with something that looks like the diamonds and crosses we see in an argyle sock. There are many examples of this diamond hose pattern in Scottish portraits. We can attribute the popularity of knitted argyle socks in the early 20th century to the Prince of Wales, later known as King Edward VIII then Duke of Windsor after his abdication), who also brought Fair Isle patterning into the mainstream of fashion.

When the argyle pattern is worked on a sock, you will typically have two diamonds around the leg, two tiers of contrast diamonds down the leg, and one or more tiers of contrast diamonds over the instep, depending on foot length. A woman’s sock may have a single instep diamond, while a man’s sock may have two. The diamond colors alternate position on each tier. The argyle pattern is worked flat in intarsia. Figure 1 shows the typical layout for diamonds and cross lines on a woman’s sock, with a seam down the center back of the leg. The main color on this sock is white. Purple and yellow are alternated in three total tiers of contrast diamonds, with blue accent lines.

Design Details

The contrast-color argyle diamonds are worked over an odd number of stitches and rows so that they come to a single stitch at the four corners where the diamonds meet horizontally and vertically.
The background-color diamonds are worked over an even number of stitches and rows with 2 stitches or rows meeting the single-color points of each contrast diamond.
Accent lines cross at a single point in the contrast diamonds and meet in a square of 4 stitches in the background diamonds.
The stitch count for the whole sock is even and compatible with ribbing patterns.
Each half of the sock has an odd stitch count, which is incompatible with heel stitch patterns.

These design features put a limit on the stitch counts. Stitch counts will increment in sets of 4 (2 stitches per diamond around), and the row count will increment in sets of 2 per diamond tier.

Working Argyle in Intarsia

Intarsia is a flat knitting technique that is used when there are blocks of color in a design. The diamonds are a perfect example of a design well suited to intarsia. Color changes take place on both right- and wrong-side rows. When changing colors, drop the old color and pick up the new so that the old color is trapped between the new yarn and the fabric. The tension at all the color changes should be even, there should be no holes, and there should be no twisted stitches at the points of the diamonds. Weaving in all the yarn tails is a challenge. Proper tail weaves help avoid holes and twisted stitches. There are several articles on intarsia and duplicate stitch listed in the bibliography below that cover yarn management, intarsia techniques, and tension control in greater detail.

To apply intarsia to the sock, we add a seam and work the colorwork parts of the sock flat. Normally in intarsia, each color block is worked with a separate yarn. In an argyle pattern, each diamond is segmented into four smaller diamonds by the cross lines. For simplicity, the large diamond is considered a single color block and should be worked with a single yarn supply. The cross lines can be either knitted as you go or added later in duplicate stitch. Whichever method is used, the cross lines should blend in well with the tension in the background fabric and there should be no twisted stitches.

Traditional Argyle Sock Construction Methods

In the earliest patterns I came across in my research, there were a few variations of the construction of the sock. The first four styles cast on at the cuff, beginning at the center back of the leg. The ribbing and the intarsia argyle pattern are worked flat until the heel is reached. The fifth style is similar except the cast on begins at the side of the leg instead of at the back.

Style 1

The heel stitches are worked separately in two halves until after the heel turn on each side. The flap pickups are worked and intarsia resumes as the gusset decreases are worked. The sock is worked flat until the intarsia ends, then work continues in the round as for a standard sock. There are seams along the center back of the leg, the heel, and bottom of the foot.

Style 2

Worked like Style 1, except that the entire sock is worked flat so there is one long seam along the center back of the leg, heel, and along the bottom of the foot to the beginning of the toe.

Style 3

The leg is worked with a center back seam. The heel stitches are worked together, as in a traditional heel flap and turn. After flap pickups are worked, a new end of row is established at the center bottom of the foot and work continues flat until the intarsia ends, then work continues in the round as for a standard sock. There are seams along the center back of the leg and the bottom of the foot.

Style 4

The leg is worked with a center back seam. Once the leg is complete, the heel stitches are placed on hold. The remainder of the intarsia over the instep is completed. Heel stitches are joined together and worked as a traditional heel flap. Pickups are done, and the gusset shaping is worked flat. Once shaping is done, the sole stitches are worked flat until the same number of rows have been worked as for the instep intarsia. The work is then joined and worked in the round as a standard sock through the toe. There will be a seam along the center back and two seams joining the instep and bottom of the foot along each side of the instep stitches.

Style 5

The leg seam is at the side. The heel stitches are worked as a standard heel flap and turn. The pickups are worked and gusset shaping is worked along with the intarsia over the instep. When the intarsia is completed, work is joined and worked in the round as a standard sock through the toe. There will be one seam down the leg and down one side of the instep.

Each of these methods has drawbacks. A bottom-of-the-foot seam will be an uncomfortable ridge if it is worked between stitches, or it will be weaker if worked in the center of the selvedges. Working the heel in two halves is awkward and will leave an uncomfortable seam to rub along the back of the heel. When the seam is on the side of the leg, the sock pair will either have seams running down the inside of one leg and outside of the other or the knitter will have to mirror the socks when knitting the second sock. Working flat after the heel flap and turn is completed can lead to picking up some gusset stitches from the wrong side of the flap. A single side seam appears to make adding selvedge stitches for seaming easier, but it is still a challenge because of the heel flap and turn.

Updating the Construction

Using a hybrid of Styles 4 and 5 solves many of the problems with other constructions. The leg is worked with a center back seam, including a full stitch at each selvedge for seaming. This makes the part of the sock that shows the same on both legs and places the seam on the back of the leg where it will be less visible. The leg selvedge stitches are decreased out when you begin the heel, and a stitch is added at the beginning of the flap for an even stitch count compatible with a reinforced heel flap pattern. The heel flap and turn are worked flat in one piece the same as in a traditional sock. After the heel turn, the extra stitch is decreased out, and the end of the row moves to the side of the sock between the instep and sole stitches. This allows us to add new selvedge stitches, pick up stitches from the right side on both sides of the flap, and maintain the same number of rows at the selvedge edges. The instep intarsia is worked at the same time as the gusset decreases. This eliminates counting rows to be sure your sole and instep are the same length. The selvedge stitches for seaming the instep are decreased out when work begins in the round for the remainder of the foot and toe. The toe is shaped and grafted like a standard wedge toe.

Sock Knitting Techniques

There are many ways to knit a sock, using dpns, very short circulars made specifically for sock knitting, two short circulars, or one long circular for the magic loop method. A large portion of an argyle sock is worked flat, with up to nine bobbins at a time if the accent lines are knitted in. Working one sock at a time on a long circular or using dpns will be easiest to manage.

Yarn Selection

Yarn selection for an argyle sock is another exercise in competing priorities. Socks are most durable and easy to care for when worked with a tightly spun superwash wool blended with nylon. The tightly spun wool will resist pilling and the nylon adds durability. Superwash yarns are easy to care for and can handle going through most regular laundry routines. This is nearly the opposite of an ideal colorwork yarn. Colorwork looks better with a 100% wool blend that is less tightly spun than a typical sock yarn so that it will bloom with blocking and even out the work. The ideal yarn for argyle will fall somewhere on the spectrum between these two. Look for a reinforced yarn that has a medium ply structure.

Gauge

Socks are knitted at a much tighter gauge than typical for the yarn weight. This aids in durability and resistance to pilling as the sock is worn. The tighter gauge is also more comfortable to wear because the denser work is smoother against your foot. As you work an argyle sock, there are three different stitch patterns that are going to affect the fit. The gauge of all three areas should be the same. The sock is worked flat in intarsia on the leg, a combination of intarsia and solid color stockinette worked flat through most of the instep, and solid color stockinette in the round for the remainder of the foot. You should swatch using all three methods so that you match the pattern gauge with all three styles of knitting. You may find you need to use different size needles for the solid color worked in the round than you do for the intarsia section.

Sock Sizing

Sock knitters often ask the question, “How many stitches should I cast on for a size X foot?” That isn’t the exact question that needs to be answered. Your sock size stitch count is determined by the foot circumference, not shoe size. While longer feet are often wider, there are exceptions, so it is important to size for the actual foot circumference and work to length for the best fit. If the circumference is unknown, you will still get a reasonably good fit for most people using a width/length sock chart to figure out the size you need. Once you have determined the correct size around, the sock is worked to the desired length for the foot based on shoe size or actual length. Both foot circumference and length should be worked with about 0.5” of negative ease. This helps the sock hug the leg and foot to prevent sagging in the leg and sliding around in your shoes. Sock patterns typically have the negative ease built in for the length, and you will choose a finished size that is about 0.5” smaller than the actual foot circumference. Many patterns will list the size as x” to fit a x.5” foot to make it simpler to choose a size. Whether working top down or toe up, you’ll be given instructions to work to a specific measurement less than the “desired length” while working the foot. The remaining rounds for the gusset and heel turn or the toe shaping take the negative ease into account, so your “desired length” should be the actual foot length and can be based on shoe size from a chart or an actual heel to toe length measurement.

Most of the historical argyle patterns I found in my research provided only one size to fit either an average man or woman. To size an argyle sock up or down would have been to work to a tighter or looser gauge as needed instead of resizing the stitch counts of the diamonds and recalculating the heel shaping. It is important to keep in mind that changing the gauge may also affect the drape of the fabric. For a significantly larger sock, you may need to consider switching to a heavier weight yarn.

Top-Down Cast Ons

Socks rely on both negative ease and the stretch of the ribbing to stay up. An important thing to consider is that your cast on needs to be stretchy enough to work with the ribbing and the shape of your foot. When you put on a sock, the ribbing and cast on need to stretch enough to fit over the widest part of the foot at the heel diagonal. Kate Atherley, in her book, Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet, explains that the heel diagonal can be as much as 1.35 times the foot circumference. For an 8” foot with an average instep, the cast on and ribbing need to stretch to about 10.75”. The picture below shows how much longer the heel diagonal is than the circumference of the sock leg. Both blue arrows are the same length. Look for a stretchy cast on that works well with ribbing. The slip-knot cast on is simple to work and provides adequate stretch. Long tail can be successful with adequate stitch spacing during the cast on, and it can be worked in pattern to match the ribbing. The Italian cast on and other tubular variants work nicely with ribbing, but it can be challenging to work them neatly and with enough stretch.

Heels

Once the leg is complete, the stitches that are on the back half of the sock become the heel stitches. Heels are typically worked in a textured pattern for cushioning and durability. There are two common slip stitch patterns used for heels that produce a thicker fabric. Both require an even stitch count. This means we need to make an adjustment to the stich count on the back half of the leg before working the heel flap, either through an increase or a decrease. Once the heel flap stitch count is even, the heel can be worked in either a traditional slip stitch heel pattern or the eye of partridge heel pattern.

Slip Stitch Heel

Row 1 (RS): *Sl 1, k1; rep from * to end.
Row 2 (WS): Sl 1, purl to end.
Rep Rows 1 and 2.

Eye of Partridge Heel

Row 1 (RS): *Sl 1, k1; rep from * to end.
Row 2 (WS): Sl 1, purl to end.
Row 3: Sl 2 individually, * k1, sl 1; rep from* to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 4: Rep Row 2.
Rep Rows 1–4.

The slip stitch pattern can make it tricky to count rows if you lose your place. In a slip stitch heel, you can count the yarn floats on the wrong side of the work. Each float is an odd row. With an Eye of Partridge heel, the yarn carries will be staggered. Counting up a single column, you will have 1 float for every 4 rows worked. Start with the lowest float row to begin counting at Row 1. If that column ends with the highest float row, then your last float row worked was also Row 1.

The heel turn creates the pocket which cradles the back of the heel and changes the direction of the work from down the leg to along the bottom of the foot. It is worked as a series of short rows with decreases to form a cupped curve.

Gusset

Once the heel flap and turn are complete, work resumes on all stitches, but we need to join the sides of the heel flap to the work. Stitches are picked up along each long side of the flap at the rate of one stitch for every two rows for compatibility with the slip stitch edging along each side of the flap. As you pick up stitches along each side of the flap, you will be working with the direction of knitting on one side, and against the direction of knitting on the other. Be sure you are placing your pickups correctly between the selvedge stitch and the second stitch on both sides so there are no orphaned half-stitch columns. You should see a full column of knits along the picked-up edge of the flap on both sides when you hold the sock with the cast on towards you. In the picture below the blue arrow is pointing to the flap edge where stitches were picked up correctly along the entire length. The purple arrow is pointing to a section where the burgundy stitches were picked up in the center of the column of white stitches. The green arrow shows where the stitches transition to being picked up correctly between stitches.

The remaining heel stitches and the gusset stitches become the sole of the foot. Once the pickups are done, there will be more sole stitches than there were initial heel stitches from the back of the leg. The extra stitches are decreased out using blended decreases where the sole meets the instep (the former front of leg stitches) until the original stitch count is reached. For an argyle sock, this part of the sock is worked flat until the intarsia pattern is complete; it will be seamed later. Seaming stitches are cast on at each end of the row during the gusset pickup row.

The Foot

Once the colorwork is complete, the seaming stitches can be decreased out, and the sock can be worked in the round the same as any other top-down sock. Double check that your gauge in the round is the same as your gauge for the flat intarsia and change needle sizes if necessary to ensure a consistent fit for your sock. As you work the sock in the round, check for foot length so you know when to begin working the toe shaping. Fold the sock so the sole stitches are face up flat and the leg bends back underneath the foot. Measure from just below the needle to the end of the heel at the furthest point of the heel turn. The sock below measures 5.875”. If you know your row gauge changes with blocking, take that into account when determining where to begin your toe.

Wedge Toe

Any style of toe can be worked once the foot has reached 2” less than the total desired length. Most toe shapings work out so that beginning them at that point will result in a sock with the correct amount of negative ease in the length. The simplest toe is a standard wedge with mirrored blended decreases on both the top and bottom of the foot worked until the stitch count is reduced to about 1/3 of the initial count. The remaining stitches are then grafted together for an invisible seamless finish to the toe for comfort.

Wedge Toe (worked with markers between instep and sole stitches at each edge)
Round 1: Knit.
Round 2: *K1, ssk, knit to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1; rep from *.
Rep Rnds 1 and 2.

Blocking

You may need to block in stages to flatten both sets of selvedge stitches for seaming and prepare the fabric for duplicate stitching. Steam blocking may be the simplest method to use for this initial blocking since you can work on a single area at a time without risking undoing the work you’ve done in another area due to moisture wicking.

Accent Lines

If the accent lines were not knitted in, now is the time to add them using decorative duplicate stitch. Be sure to hold the sock in the same direction it was knitted so your accent lines align with the existing stitches in the fabric and intersect correctly. Avoid twisted stitches by always inserting the needle under stitch legs in the same direction you are stitching along the diagonal regardless of the direction of the diagonal. Take care to match the tension and stitch size of the base fabric so the lines blend in nicely without distorting the fabric.

Seaming and Final Finishing

Both seams should be sewn with mattress stitch worked between stitches in the same direction that the sock was knitted so there are no orphaned half columns of stitches. The completed seamed sock can then be blocked again as desired to set the seams and the duplicate stitch.

Developing a better argyle sock pattern is a balancing act between sometimes competing obstacles. By tackling each problem in a simple and straightforward way, we can incorporate the best features from historical methods and add in some modern touches that make for a more comfortable sock with more straightforward finishing.

Bibliography

“Argyle Men’s Socks Pattern #129.” Free Vintage Knitting.

“Argyle Socks Pattern #373.” Free Vintage Knitting.

Atherley, Kate, Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet. Interweave, 2015.

Bryan, Suzanne. “Finessing Argyles.” Cast On, Nov. 2012–Jan. 2013.

Donze, Jennifer. “Top-Down Argyle Socks.” Cast On, Nov. 2012–Jan. 2013.

“Foot Size Chart.” Craft Yarn Council.

Foot Sizes. Bev’s Country Cottage.

Foot Sizing Survey Results; Contest! knitty blog.

Gonzalez, Leslie. “OYWTTM: Decorative Duplicate Stitch for the MHK Program.” Cast On, Summer 2019.

Gonzalez, Leslie. “OYWTTM: Successful Kitchener’s Grafting.” Cast On, Feb.–Apr. 2012.

Holladay, Arenda. “OYWTTM: Why An Argyle Sock?” Cast On, Winter 2003-2004.

Holladay, Arenda. “Stitch Anatomy: Intarsia, Again.” Cast On, Winter 2018–2019.

Jacobs, Mary E. “Stitch Anatomy: Intarsia.” Cast On, Winter 2023–2024.

Levering, Sharon. “OYWTTM: Tail Weaves.” Cast On, Summer 2020.

“Men’s Argyle Socks Pattern #4035.” Vintage Knitting.

“Men’s Sock Pattern No. 513.” Free Vintage Knitting.

“Women’s Argyle Anklets No. K117.” Free Vintage Knitting.

Pattern Associated with Article — Woman’s Argyle Sock

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