Argyle is a diamond-shaped pattern with cross stripes, originating from Scottish culture. It is commonly woven into garments like socks and sweaters, requiring mastery of the difficult intarsia knitting technique. Argyle became popular in the 1920s and again in the 1980s, and is used in various products with multicolored patterns and floral motifs. Argyle weaving requires great skill and organizational acumen.
Argyle is a pattern consisting of diamond-shaped blocks against a colored background. Subtle cross stripes in a contrasting color are often involved as well, leading many people to think of argyle as a type of plaid. Most commonly, argyle is woven into garments such as socks, sweaters, and vests. Argyle knitting requires mastery of intarsia, a notoriously difficult knitting technique.
Like other patterns in the check family, the argyle has its roots in Scottish culture. The argyle pattern has been around since at least 1500, when it appeared on the socks of members of the Scottish Clan Campbell. The Clan was originally from County Argyll in Scotland, and the word slowly became corrupted into argyle, although the archaic spelling is sometimes used. By the 1700s, the pattern had also become widespread in England, and weavers had begun to deviate from Campbell’s traditional colors of green and white.
In the 1920s, argyle socks were immensely popular, mainly among men. Socks were generally designed to run to the calf, and were worn with many different styles of pants. Argyle socks faded into the background again until World War II, when competitive knitters making socks for the troops would challenge each other to complete complicated patterns. In the 1980s, the preppy look brought the argyle sock back with a vengeance, and the pattern was embraced by women as well.
Most people associate argyle patterns with socks and sweaters. Argyle is also used to make scarves, woven skirts, and other knitted designs. Multicolored patterns are also used, along with decorative accents such as floral motifs within the argyle diamonds. Some argyle products are embroidered with decorations after weaving, to simplify the decorative process. Many shops sell argyle knitwear, for people who are not yet brave enough to knit their own.
Argyle weaving requires great skill and organizational acumen. In the intarsia knitting technique used to produce argyle and many other patterned fabrics, multiple colors of yarn are woven simultaneously and twisted together at colored edges. A complex piece may have numerous spools of individual thread, all of which must be kept in order and prevented from unraveling. Most knitters who practice the technique start with scrap yarn before graduating to simple patterns, and don’t start ambitious projects like socks until they’ve achieved a high level of confidence in knitting.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
