For this I had to learn a new skill and it helped me with my argyle project. Here's my swatch in Comfy Sport so I could see the true size of each repeat. 
The start of the top was easy. I was using the bottom motif from the swatch, which comes from the Williamson stole, and I worked that in the round in Comfy Sport Peony. Then I did a round of alternate peony and white stitches to work the body thread in.
After knitting for several inches above the start of the armholes, I wanted to attach a Peerie Flea motif from the same stole, which is the other motif on the swatch. So when I got to the right purl row, I knitted the armhole binding in white and then added in the Comfy Sport Flamingo. I purled that one row, then attached a new ball of yarn at the other side and worked the armhole binding there. Turn, work the binding, Now I have to switch back to Flamingo.
I used the technique from Fair Isle to weave the white and flamingo together on the knit side, so I wouldn't wind up with the binding separating from the lace. But I didn't know how to make that happen on the purl side.
This video is by somebody who has used similar techniques for knitting Fair Isle on the flat instead of in the round and that's what I used to keep the armhole binding and lace together. It points out that you purl color A stitch with color B held toward you out of the way.
Then place the needle as if to purl, lay color B down alongside that needle, and pass color A on your side of color B, then purl color A normally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHr3PH0RHg
This video says basically the same thing but points out a step the other doesn't. If you were knitting this row, you would keep the red yarn in your right hand. Since you are purling, however, you have to put the blue yarn in your right hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuLY2qd3THk
So what I had to do was work the purl side of the binding, then purl a stitch of flamingo, then insert the needle in the next flamingo stitch as if to purl it. Then I had to stop, lay the white yarn next to the needle, and then put the flamingo over top of the white yarn and then around the needle for the purl stitch. It still came out flamingo on the outside of the top, and then I could purl across since I was working the top in stockinette instead of garter.
And oh yeah, this was a summer top with no sleeves and that's why I bound off the armholes instead
of doing steeking.
I know I could have avoided all this trouble by doing the same thing on the top as the bottom and worked that whole band in flamingo. Nobody ever learned anything by taking the easy way out.
Where this helps with argyle is that this is how you would make a vest. You would bind the armholes with probably the darker or darkest of your colors, and then you would work stockinette in argyle above the armholes. You probably want to use a thin yarn like a two-ply Palette or at most a DK yarn, instead of a worsted. If you do use worsted, make sure it has a good hand and drape and you'll end up with a supple, warm top in a classic pattern.
I'm sure most people think of Shetland lace as using one color. I have my own limitations; I would never do this piece in a multi-color or hand-painted yarn because I have enough trouble just making the lace come out right without trying to ignore all the colors in the yarn. Try it out and send me a link to where you posted the photo. You might open up a whole new world to knitters or attract some new people to knitting or lace who were never interested before because they thought single-color work was boring.
© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights Reserved
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