Round Afghan with Diamonds in Center

This afghan is knitted in the round and in one piece, using the holding position. Only one color is in use at any time and the two outer edges are grafted together on the machine at the end. When knitted with worsted weight yarn, the diameter is about 55".

How To:

Yarn needed: 1 - 8 oz. skein worsted weight yarn of each color A and B (diamond shapes) and 3 - 8 oz. or 6 oz. skeins of color C (8 triangles and edging will take right around 18 ozs). Keyplate 3. Because the knitting will rapidly become off-balance in the center, you'll need claw weights or something similar to keep the needles weighted down.

For easier knitting, mark needle bed as shown below:

I use ½" freezer tape nearly doubled over lengthwise so that only a narrow part of the sticky stuff is showing and put that down in front of the needle retainer bars. I mark the needle number right on top of each needle channel. The parentheses around the sets of numbers show that these two needles are always put into holding or forward working position together while the single underlined needle is put into holding or forward working position by itself.

Left Side 98 97 96 95…… (50 49)(48 47)(46 45) 44 (43 42)(41 40)(39 38) 37 ……..(15 (14 13 12)(11 10) 9 (8 7)(6 5) 4 3 2 1 Right Side


When knitting the triangles between the diamonds, needles 50-1, three groups of 2 needles, then 1 needle is put into or brought out of holding position every two rows and marking the needle bed makes it a lot easier to keep track. I miscounted several times myself until I marked them! The first four needles (1-4) are never held but always knitted when working the triangles.

When knitting the diamond shapes, needles 98-3, there are always groups of 3 stitches put into or brought out of holding position so no marking is needed unless it is easier for you. In that case, I would use a different color pen and mark those groups of three on top of the groups of two and one. The groups would be (98 97 96)(95 94 93) (92 91 90)……(11 10 9)(8 7 6)(5 4 3). Because needles 1 and 2 are actually part of the triangle section, they are always in holding position and not worked when knitting the diamond shapes.

With waste yarn, cast on 98 stitches. Knit several rows. Knit one row of ravel cord.

Diamond Shape: (For Diamond Chart, click here)

Note about the chart: The two pink squares on the first and last row are needles 1 and 2 which are always in holding position when the diamonds are knitted. The yellow squares on the second row mean that the yarn is woven over and under these needles to put it in the right position before knitting this row. The line of yellow squares before the last row is not an actual row. It is only there to show that the yarn is wrapped over and under the needles and in which direction to get it in the right position to knit the last row from right to left. If you use the chart and number the rows and stitches, do not count the yellow line of squares before the last row of blue as a row. There should be only 65 knitted rows, not 66.

Row 1: COL Put needles 1 and 2 into holding position. Before threading up the carriage, measure a length of color A yarn three times the width of the 98 needles and leave it hanging down - this will be used for grafting the seam at the end. With yarn color A knit across.
Row 2: COR Put all needles into holding position. Bring yarn up between needle 1 and 2 and weave it alternately and not too tightly under the next needle and over the one after that all the way back to needle 50. Pull up slack in yarn, yarn is laying on top of needles. Move carriage near the center of the bed. Pull up slack in yarn again. Put needles 51, 52, and 53 back into forward working position, latches open. Knit from right to left. Put claw weights under those three stitches and add more as they are needed.
Row 3: COL Wrap yarn around needle 54 by bringing it up between needle 54 and 55.
To wrap, I usually pull back the needle (in this case needle 54) just far enough so the yarn falls down under it, being careful that the stitch doesn't drop off along with it, then I push it back to holding position. If you use this method, make sure that the yarn that is woven over every other needle on the right side does not drop either when you wrap that needle.
Put needles 50, 49, 48 back into forward working position. Knit from left to right. 6 needles are now in working position.
Row 4: COR Wrap yarn around needle 47. Bring needles 54, 55, 56 back into forward working position. Knit from right to left. 9 needles are now in working position.
Row 5: COL Wrap yarn around needle 57. Needles 47, 46, 45 into FWP. Knit from left to right. 12 needles now in WP.
Row 6: COR Wrap yarn around needle 44. Needles 57, 58, 59 into FWP. Knit from right to left. 15 needles now in WP.
Row 7 to (and including) Row 31: Continue to put groups of three needles on the opposite side of the carriage into FWP (if carriage is on the right side of the bed, put the next group of needles on the left side of the bed from HP into FWP) while wrapping the first needle in HP on the carriage side (the one that is right next to one in working position) with yarn to avoid a hole in that spot.
Row 32: COR Put needles 97 and 96 into FWP but leave 98 in HP. Wrap needle 5. Knit across.
Row 33: COL Wrap yarn around needle 98. Put needles 5 and 4 into FWP but leave needle 3 in HP. Knit across.
Row 34: COR Put needles 97 and 96 into HP. Wrap needle 3. Knit across.
Row 35: COL Wrap needle 96. Put needles 4 and 5 into HP. Knit across.
Row 36: COR Wrap needle 5. Put needles 95, 94, 93 into HP. Knit across.
Row 37: COL Wrap needle 93. Put needles 8, 7, 6 into HP. Knit across.
Rows 38 to (and including) Row 64: Continue to put groups of three needles on the opposite side of the carriage into HP (if carriage is on the right side of the bed, put the next group of needles on the left side of the bed from WP into HP) while wrapping the first needle in HP on the carriage side (the one that is right next to one in working position) with yarn to avoid a hole in that spot.
The last three center stitches have been knitted and the carriage is now on the left side of the bed. Put these three needles into holding position and bring the yarn up between needle 52 and 51. Weave yarn not too tightly under needle 50, over needle 49 and continue weaving it in this manner over and under the needles along the bed to needle 3. Bring yarn up between needle 1 and 2. Move carriage to right side of bed and pull up slack in yarn. Put needles 3-98 into FWP with latches open. Needles 1 and 2 are still in holding position. Knit across. Remove yarn color A from carriage.

Triangle Shape: (For Triangle chart, click here)

Note about the Chart: The two yellow lines on the chart are not rows that are knitted, they are only to show that the yarn is woven over and under those needles to put the yarn in the right position to begin the next row. If you use the chart and number the rows and stitches, do not count these two rows of yellow lines! There should only be 108 knitted rows, not 110.

Put all needles into holding position. Begin color C yarn. Lay tail end of yarn over needle 1, weave under needle 2, over needle 3, etc. to needle 50, let hang down for now.

Row 1: COL Move carriage towards the center of the bed and stop when eye is centered between needle 51 and 52. Bring up yarn between those two needles and thread up carriage. Pull up slack in yarn. Put needles 50-1 into FWP with latches open. Knit across.
Row 2: COR Put all needles except 1-4 into HP. Knit across.
Row 3: COL Wrap yarn around needle 5. Knit across.
Row 4: COR Put needles 5 and 6 into FWP. Knit across.
Row 5: COL Wrap yarn around needle 7. Knit across.
Row 6: COR Put needles 7 and 8 into FWP. Knit across.
Row 7: COL Wrap yarn around needle 9. Knit across.
Row 8: COR Put needle 9 into FWP. Knit across.
Row 9: COL Wrap yarn around needle 10. Knit across.
Row 10 to (and including) Row 53. Continue alternately putting 3 groups of 2 needles, then 1 needle into FWP every two rows when knitting from right to left and wrapping the first needle in HP next to the last stitch just knitted to avoid a hole in that spot before knitting back to the right.
Row 54: COR Put needle 49 into FWP but leave needle 50 in HP. Knit across.
Row 55: COL Wrap yarn around needle 50. Knit across.
Row 56: COR Put needle 49 into HP, knit across.
Row 57: COL Wrap yarn around needle 49. Knit across.
Row 58: COR Put needles 48 and 47 into HP. Knit across.
Row 59: COL Wrap yarn around needle 47. Knit across.
Row 60: COR Put needles 46 and 45 into HP. Knit across.
Row 61: COL Wrap yarn around needle 45. Knit across.
Row 62: COR Put needle 44 into HP. Knit across.
Row 63: COL Wrap yarn around needle 44. Knit across.
Row 64 to (and including) Row 107. Continue alternately putting 3 groups of 2 needles, then 1 needle into HP every two rows while also wrapping the first needle in HP next to the last stitch just knitted to avoid a hole in that spot. At the end of Row 107, carriage should be on the right side. Put all needles into holding position. Weave yarn not too tightly over needle 1, under needle 2, over needle 3, under needle 4 and continue along the row to needle 50, drop yarn for now. Move carriage to center of bed and line up the eye between needle 51 and 52. Bring up yarn between those two needles, thread up carriage and take up slack in yarn. Needle 51 may now have two wraps on it - but that's ok.
Row 108: COL Put needles 50-1 into FWP with latches open and knit slowly across.
Remove yarn B from carriage. Put all needles into HP. Move carriage to left side of bed. To tighten the first stitch of the diamond shape, wrap yarn A which is hanging down from bed around the first needle and hold it in place with a clothes pin or clip.

Thread up carriage with color B yarn and begin second diamond shape as above.
Alternately, knit a diamond shape, then a triangle shape as above until there are eight of each. Knit one row of ravel cord if desired, then several rows of waste yarn and remove knitting from machine.

Hang stitches of beginning edge (first diamond which has the extra length of yarn hanging down, knitted in color A) back on 98 needles, right side of knitting facing you. Remove waste yarn and ravel cord. Hang stitches from second edge on same 98 needles, purl side of knitting facing you and matching outer and inner edges. Remove waste yarn and ravel cord. Using the illustration of 'how to graft a seam on the machine' as a guide, seam stitches together from left to right. If necessary, graft the last few stitches on the right-hand side together from right to left with color C yarn. Weave in ends. Draw yarn through center stitches on inside and pull up tightly to close hole in center.

For the edging, I used the worm trim and knitted 6 stitches and 16 rows. I picked up the full edge stitch/space, leaving a bar between each needle and skipping one space after hanging the first three edge stitches on the needles. You can see the vertical bars and spaces when you hang the edge stitches on the needles. I ended with six stitches right next to the first six stitches and knitted another 16 rows, put these on waste yarn and grafted them from the right side close to the afghan edge and over the first six stitches knitted. Weave in end on wrong side.

If you find an error in the instructions or have a problem with any part of it, please let me know!


Copyright Heidi Stepp 23 December 2002
Because a lot of time and effort has gone into it, items made from this pattern are intended for your personal use, for gift giving or as a charitable donation - not for profit-making. Please include the copyright notice if you share it with a friend!

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This page last updated on 23 - December - 2002