Lily's booties

Here is where I babble about experimenting with the pattern I used to make Lily's booties...

First thing I did was made these in the round instead of flat. I wasn't keen on grafting all that reverse stockinette and K2P2 ribbing and making it look seamless. Why do that when I can make it seamless by working in the round?

The pattern says to end the top of the foot with a K row but that seemed backwards to me (because of how I would have had to pick up the sts on the sides) so I ended on a P row and picked up the 16 sts on each side like I would for the gusset of a sock.

Working the sides of the foot was easy enough, I just changed the pattern's definition of a flat section as "K1 row, P1 row, K1 row" to "P 3 rounds" and "K 3 rounds" (alternating, starting with P3 rounds after picking up the side sts).

I changed the final 3 rows of the foot from K 3 rounds to P 2 rounds -- the kitchener join takes the place of the third round, and I turned the bootie inside out before grafting. I think this makes the sole flow more naturally from the foot's bottom "bumper." Hard to explain but I did it both ways and prefer my way.

I tried 4 different soles before I found one that made me happy. Basically what I was after were soles that would sit flat without any peaks. (The sole as written in the original patterm was practical but ugly.) I tried to do a short row sole in stockinette and it worked OK but it still wasn't perfect and as long as I was in an experimental mood... then I realized I had 84 foot stitches on my needles. I've made so many of those Fiber Trends felted slippers I knew the garter st sole ended up with 85 sts ... couldn't I just make the same sole, skip over a M1 on the final row to come up with 84 sts, and then kitchener it to the completed foot? Yep. I can't say it's FUN to kitchener 168 stitches (x 2 for a pair) off the needles but damn it looks nice, exactly as I envisioned it.

Next time I should try to make the garter st sole in reverse in the round (using K2tog/P2tog instead of M1) to avoid grafting around the outer edge. Might work, might not, I'll save that experiment for later.

There was no gauge given on the pattern so I did them at 10 sts/inch on size 0 needles. I don't think I'd make them any larger in the future, they are already too large for a newborn so she will have to grow into them.

Anyway, here they are. I think they're even cuter in person. I used up the leftover sock yarn from my Trekking socks and the colors don't reproduce well in this photo, the blues and blue-green colors are much prettier. I told my mom I wouldn't make anything for Lily in pink (my least favorite color) and she said that was fine, I should use whatever color I liked ...



Here's my sock made from the same ball of yarn, this gives a better idea of what the colors look like in person:

Photos of felted slippers & blue sock

Well it took a while but I finally felted the first two pairs of slippers. Fortunately I am pleased with how they look so I will finish the remaining 8 pairs for Christmas 2003. I'm making a total of 10 pairs instead of 9, Dee is getting a pair too. She picked out orange and red at the yarn shop which looks pretty cool and nothing I would have thought of putting together, so I really like that.

Oh, these slippers are super comfortable too. Oddly enough I never once thought about how they might FEEL on the foot, so it was a pleasant surprise to slip them on and think "Ooooooh, niiiiiiiice!" The soles are thick and comfy.

I did something wild and crazy, I took a photo of the latest blue sock before its mate is finished. Oh well, it's not like I've ever had a problem with the dreaded "second sock syndrome" so it will definitely be finished sometime soon, I'm almost to the heel on sock #2 already. I can't afford to buy yarn and then not use it.





And here's the pretty blue sock (worked on size 0 needles) from the Trekking sock yarn I bought at the sale last month:

Tip for Fiber Trends felted clogs (slippers):

The instructions call for 600 yards doubled of Woolpak for a women's size medium. I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky not doubled so I cut that number in half. Each skein of LPB contains 125 yards. Instructions say that approx 2/3rd of the yardage should be the sole/cuff color and the remaining 1/3rd should be the foot color. So I purchased 3 skeins of LPB (2 black, 1 green) to make one pair.

Lovely pattern, but I had a lot of the second skein of black left over. I'm making 9 pairs of these slippers for Christmas 2003 and 5 pairs will be women's size medium. If I could figure out a way to use just 2 skeins/pair for the women then I'd be saving myself a nice chunk of money.

So this is what I did on the 2nd pair (using size 13 at 3 sts/inch):

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INNER sole:
Rows 1 through 5: use foot color
Rows 6 and 7: use sole/cuff color (to prevent color blips when attaching the outer sole to the inner sole)
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That's it, everthing else was done following the instructions. I was able to use just 2 skeins of LPB with plenty of yarn left over to sew up the seams using the appropriate color.

Triple Patterned Watchcap photos

The herringbone edge curls before the hat is washed and blocked but it settles down after blocking.

The inflatable blocking ball is a toy called a Gertie ball, which costs around $4.00 (google search will show you plenty of places to buy it). You can buy a styrofoam head for not much more but I happened to already have this Gertie ball so why not?

Stretchy Bind Offs

I want to save these somewhere so I'll always know where to find them again. Will update this later after I test them all to say which one is my favorite for toe-up sock cuffs. Update: EZ wins, not a huge surprise. Hers is listed first.

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Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Cast off from Knitting Without Tears

Break yarn, leaving a tail about 4 times as long as the circumference of the sock. Thread a tapestry needle.

* sew forward (right to left) through two stitches as if to purl, leave the stitches on. Sew backward (left to right) through one stitch as if to knit and remove the stitch.
Repeat from * until you run out of stitches. Work in tail on the inside of the sock and trim any excess.

Denise's variation for circular knitting (from http://www.socknitters.com):
For the very first stitch only, after you go backwards through it, do not remove it, instead move it to be the last stitch on the final needle. It will then become the final stitch to be cast off. This gives a neater finish to the end of the round.

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From http://www.knittinguniverse.com (Ask Athena)
Stretchy Bind Off by Sarah Hauschka
Email: shauschka@earthlink.net -- Seattle, WA, USA

Description:
In the first stitch, draw up a loop and leave it on the right needle. Do not slip the stitch off the left needle. Now knit the first two stitches on the left needle together, slip the first one of those two off the left needle, and pass the first stitch of the two on the right needle over the second one. Yarn forward.

Purl the next two stitches together, slip off the first of the two on the left needle. On the right needle, with the yarn still forward , pass the first stitch over the second. Yarn back.

Continue to alternate this with yarn forward (purling) and yarn back (knitting). This cast off is tidy and very elastic without seeming loose. It works well for cuffs and hems and necklines. The combination of working each stitch twice, and moving the yarn forward and back gives it a lot of spring.

Attribution: This may be published by someone else, but I unvented it.

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From http://www.knittinguniverse.com (Ask Athena)
Stretchy Bind Off by Valerie
Email: VALERIETHERED@cs.com

Description:
I learned this technique from someone on the socknitter's list who answered my question on the same subject when I was knitting a toe-up sock. It is very simple, both in concept and execution. For every two stitches you bind off, chain one (just like in crochet). Quick and easy!

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From http://www.knittinguniverse.com (Ask Athena)
y Jennifer Tocker
Email: jbtocker@inter.net.il -- Israel

Description:
One of my favorite methods for casting off elastically is to simply use a larger size needle, 1 or 2 sizes bigger than the ribbing, for the cast off row.

Another method taught to me by Sandy Miller in St. Paul, MN, includes a YO in the bind-off row after each 3 or 4 stitches, which is then immediately cast off with the stitch next to it.

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Peggy's Stretchy Bind-off for Toe-Up Socks
from http://www.socknitters.com

If you are knitting a K1, P1 ribbing, on the row before the bind-off row: K1, M1 ("make one" by making a half-hitch loop, not by picking up the in-between thread), pull the M1 tight, P1.

Repeat around. Bind off row (go up a needle size or two): K1, slip the M1, pass the K1 over the slipped M1, P1, pass the slipped M1 over the P1, K1, pass the P1 over, etc. as for a regular bind off.

If you are knitting a K2, P2 ribbing, on the row before the bind-off row: K2, M1, P2, M1.

Repeat around. Do a regular bind off, as above, remembering to slip the M1 rather than knitting it. The M1 is never actually knit, so it doesn't make a stitch which will add bulk to the top of your cuff; it simply creates an extra loop in your chain bind off.

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From: Doris (dnostran@suffolk.lib.ny.us)
posted to KNIT-U mailing list

Recommended for triangle shawls, cuffs on toe-up sock or necklines:

1. K2sts.
2. Slip the 2 sts from the right hand needle to the left hand needle.
3. K these 2 sts tog. K1.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all sts have been bound off.

Test the bind off on your swatch to make sure it gives the look and
flexibility you desire.

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