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Changing color · Intermediate

Argyle

Argyle is a pattern of diamonds, usually with diagonal lines crossing over them. In crochet it is made in two ways. The diamonds and lines can be drawn on a chart and worked in single crochet (UK double crochet), changing color wherever the chart does. Or a variegated yarn, one dyed in short runs of several colors, can be made to draw the crossing lines by itself, with rows of exactly the right length: this is planned pooling.

How to work it

  1. Chart the diamond

    A color chart of an argyle, seven squares wide and seven rows tall, with the rows numbered 1 to 7 from the bottom. A diamond of the second color fills the middle: one square wide in rows 1 and 7 and widest, all seven squares, in row 4. Two diagonal lines of a third color, one square wide, run from corner to corner and cross in the middle square.

    Draw the pattern on squared paper, one square to a stitch. For a diamond, color one square in the first row, then one more square at each side in every row until the diamond is as wide as you want it. Then take one square off each side in every row until a single square is left. For the crossing lines, color the squares along both diagonals in a third color, one square to a row.

  2. Work the chart in single crochet

    Follow the chart row by row in single crochet, changing color where the squares change. The yarns that are not in use are carried along the row with you and picked up where the chart calls for them.

  3. Or let the yarn draw it: planned pooling

    A variegated yarn whose colors come round in the same order and the same lengths, again and again, can make an argyle with no change of yarn at all. Pull out a length and find the run of colors that repeats.

  4. Make the rows one stitch short of the run

    A plan of eight rows worked back and forth from one yarn whose colors come round in a fixed order, each square one stitch. Every row is one stitch shorter than the order of colors, so the colors land in a new place in every row. They run in slanting lines that cross each other. The rows are numbered at the end they start from, and arrows show the first two rows worked in opposite directions.

    Make a starting chain that uses up one whole run of colors. Work the first row in moss stitch, a single crochet and 1 chain in turn, again through one whole run of colors. Then pull out the last stitch and the chain before it, and turn. Chains left over at the end of the starting chain are not needed and can be undone afterward. Every row is now a little shorter than the run of colors, so each color moves over from row to row, and the colors draw slanting lines that cross.

  5. Keep the colors moving over

    Watch the colors as you work. Each one should move over by a stitch in every row. When a color stops moving, work those stitches a little tighter or a little looser until it falls in the right place again.

At a glance

Used for
scarves; hats and tops with a charted band of diamonds
The pattern
Diamonds, usually crossed by diagonal lines.
From a chart
One square to a stitch, in single crochet, with the other yarns carried.
By planned pooling
One variegated yarn, moss stitch, rows one stitch short of the run of colors.
A diamond on a chart
One square wider at each side in every row, then one narrower.

The two ways ask for different yarn. A chart needs a ball of each color. Planned pooling needs one yarn dyed in short runs of color that repeat in a fixed order, and the length of that run sets how wide the pattern is.

For a wider piece by pooling, chain through the run of colors two or three times instead of once. Each run adds one more crossing across the width.

The chart on this page is a small one to show the shape: a diamond seven squares wide with two crossing lines.

When it goes wrong

My pooled colors make blotches, not crossing lines.
The colors have stopped moving over by one stitch. Go back to the row where they went wrong and work those stitches tighter or looser, so that each color lands one stitch over again.

Variations

Questions

What is argyle in crochet?
A pattern of diamonds with diagonal lines crossing them, worked from a color chart in single crochet or made by planned pooling with a variegated yarn.
Can I crochet argyle with one ball of yarn?
Yes, by planned pooling. A variegated yarn whose colors repeat in a fixed order makes the crossing lines by itself when every row is one stitch short of the run of colors.
How do I chart an argyle diamond?
On squared paper, start with one square and add a square at each side in every row up to the widest row, then take one off each side in every row. Add the crossing lines along the diagonals.
Which stitch is used for planned pooling argyle?
Moss stitch: a single crochet and 1 chain in turn, with each single crochet worked into the chain space below.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides

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