Cinema Knits

While none of us wish to imitate Dudley, we can appreciate the red argyle sweater he wears for his birthday in one of the very first scenes of the first Harry Potter film, The Sorcerer’s Stone. A birthday sweater is a special thing. I make my kids a handknit sweater every year for their birthdays. And while Dudley’s sweater looks clearly machine-made rather than handknit, it doesn’t surprise me that Petunia would provide her little Dudykins with a special sweater for his birthday. Though, we can be quite sure Dudley doesn’t appreciate the gesture.

I looked into the history of argyle a bit for this post. Unsurprisingly, like other tartans, argyle’s genesis is based in Scotland, where it emerged as the tartan of Clan Campbell of Argyle and was in use since at least the seventeenth century. Like other tartans, it began to be used commonly outside of Scotland after World War I. A British fashion house, Pringle of Scotland, developed its own unique argyle pattern, which was worn by Duke of Windsor when golfing. Argyle took off from there, being used mainly as a print for socks and sweaters.

Here is Katharine Hepburn wearing an argyle sweater and matching socks on the golf course in the 1952 film, “Pat and Mike”:

To me, argyle still holds on to its connotations of preppy, upper-crust elite. When compared to other tartans, like plaid, that have become more associated with blue collar work and rugged outdoorsiness, tartan still feels like it belongs most on the golf course, the tennis court, and the college campus. The last association also gives it a bit of geek chic – the perfect pattern for the math major in your life.

If you would like to read a surprisingly moving essay on argyle as an iconoclastic, rebellious pattern, I recommend this piece by Ross Kenneth Urkin at The Washington Post: You thought argyle was a preppy staple? Wrong. It’s a statement of rebellion.

When hand knit, argyle is typically created using the intarsia method. I’ve collected some patterns below, if you would like to try some argyle knitting.

Argyle Man by Suzanne Frary is very similar to the sweater Dudley wears, but sized for adults.

For women, this argyle top is quite stylish in subdued colors and reminds me of the one Katharine Hepburn wears in “Pat and Mike”: #37 Diamond Split Neck by Kathy Zimmerman:

For a child, Moose’s Argyle Vest by Dani Berg is very sweet.

There are so many great argyle accessory options, and if you haven’t tried intarsia knitting before, accessories are a great way to try out a new technique.

For just a wee bit of a go at argyle try: Junkies Java Jervin by Marjorie Walter.

These Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang scream “Gryffindor!” to me:

Go with some classic argyle socks, Minerva’s Argyles by MoreThanOneWay:

I also like some of the ‘faux argyle’ ‘fauxgyle?’ patterns I discovered. Like Salena Lee’s Grant Park Pullover

And Anne B. Hanssen’s Miss Argyle:

I love how these last two sweaters reference argyle, yet remain so subtle and sophisticated. It is the perfect type of wink towards a traditional pattern.

There are actually quite a number of sweaters worn by the Dursley family in the opening fifteen minutes of The Sorcerer’s Stone, but I think we can leave the Dursleys behind for the time being and I’ll investigate some more magical knitwear in the next post.

In the meantime, let me know what you think of Dudley’s birthday sweater, argyle knitting, or whatever else you have in mind below!