debbie bliss bootees trauma

[mrsright]

can an expert knitter please help me with a pair of bootees i am knitting from QUICK BABY KNITS by debbie bliss.the instructions are telling me to knit up 4 lots of 11 stitches and end up with 55 stitches-this doesn't add up but i cant figure out what im supposed to be doing.ive never knitted a bootee before and was just trying to use up some spare wool but it is driving me bonkers now trying to think what i am doing wrong. has anyone any ideas please?

I don't know that book. Can you write out the exact instructions? I'm sure one of the expert knitters on here will be able to help ...

i hav got a T-shaped piece of knitting.the longbit at the top is the cuff of the bootee i think and the short bit is the instep.the instructions then say"with right side facing,rejoin yarn at base of instep and knit up11 stiches along side edge of instep,knit across 11 sts of instep,knit up 11 sts along other side of instep,knit rem 11 sts. 55 sts.".1) i dont know where these "11 rem. sts"come from and 2)they dont add up to 55.Any bootee knitters who know better?

Blimey, that's a tough one. My only guess is that you need to pick up 11 sts from each of the 5 sides that you get round the base of a T, but I can't draw it on here, and I'm not really sure why you would do that for a bootee anyway. There must be a misprint by the sounds of it. Her old books used to have mistakes, certainly. Sounds really frustrating

There are loads of criticisms of this book on Amazon.com (in terms of errors). Here is the errata page from her website- can't see anything offhand though.

Good idea PB and TM.ive had a quick look but cant see a reference to the bootees im trying to knit.perhaps i'll brave another trip to the wool shop and beg for help there.

I should try that mrsright, good idea. The bootees are specifically singled out as not being well explained on the Amazon reviews.

It often helps to look at other patterns for the same sort of thing? knitting.about.com is a good place to start looking for free patterns

I've got the pattern in front of me, but I'm not an expert knitter!

I think that where it says "with right side facing, rejoin yart at base of instep..... they mean, to somehow include the 11 stitches you were last working on for the instep and then pick up 11 along each of the 4 sides. That's the only place I can see a reference to the "missing" 11 stitches. However, I might be completely wrong, and without knitting them myself I couldn't be sure.

The pattern I'm looking at has the boots pattern on page 16 - is it the right one? The ones in brown wool with the lazy daisy stitch detail?

yes LF its the bootees on page 16 that im struggling with.if i pick up 11 stitches on each of the 5 sides it does add up to 55 but i dont understand why the pattern doesnt just say this? i am thinking of knitting on the 55 stitches and seeing what happens as it wouldnt take long to knit the 6 rows but then im not very good at unravelling either(need different hobby).Have you knitted anything from this book-i have just taken it out of the library and everything in it looks gorgeous.i didnt think it would be quite this difficult tho'.

im also worrying about the next paragraph where it says Shape Sole "with right side facing,sl first 22 sts onto right-hand needle".where are these 22 stitches coming from ? aargh.

Hi Mrsright

The 22 stitches come from the other part of the row where you turned. It's the line after the heading "shape instep" the line says K20(22:24) turn, I presume you're doing the second size, so you should have 22 stitches on a needle somewhere!

I've knitted quite a few things from this book, but do have to check quite frequently and re-read things. I don't think it's brilliantly written, particularly as this book seems to be aimed at less experienced knitters.

I've knitted the baby layette (page 11)
Moss Stitch tunic (page 31)
Ribbed sweater (page 43)
Cable and rib tunic (page 72) - collar went all wrong!

Hope the boots work out. I'll check this thread tomorrow to see how you got on!

well i tried the wool shop in town this morning but the woman on the counter said that she didint knit so couln't help me! I will try again on wednesday\when there is different woman working in the shop.
i have knitted the six rows along the five sides of the underside of the T (55 sts)and have a sort of pouch shape but now the intructions say "next row (wrong side)[pick up st 5 rows below corresponding with next st on left-hand needle and knit them together] to end.
knit 10 rows..
it is all beyond me im afraid.I will try again on wednesday with hopefully a knitting member of staff.i've got the band of a cardigan to finish off in the meantime-i spent an hour this afternoon picking up 199 stitches(it is much too big for ds).

Hmm, not sure if I can explain this, but it sounds as though the bootee has a kind of cuff that you are going to knit, so the fabric is double thickness. When you do the first stitch, you also pick up a stitch from 5 rows below and knit them together (like k2tog). If you do this again for the next stitch and then all the way along the row you will have folded the knitting effectively, and knitted a seam. I'm sorry, that's probably as clear as mud, it would be so much easier to show you!

thanks for that tamum,the top of the boot does seem quite thick,i mean the ridge around the toes seems quite bulky so you could be right. i'll have to have a look again in the morning as its time for bed now(with knitting book under the pillow).

I am still struggling with theses bootees.I wemt to the wool shop on Wednesday and the woman behind the counter helped me and showed me how pick up the sts on the row 5 rows below (yes it does make a ridge).She did the first 3 sts for me and I thought yes I know how to do this now.By the time I made tea etc and sat down toknit I thought I had better finish off the cardigan-to see how much wool was left for the bootees.So it was 9.30 by the time I started on bootee and I thought mmmmm I'm not quite sure,I'll just undo one stitch to check I'm doing it right and then all 3 sts unravelled and half of the row below!!!!! then each row I unraveeled made the one below unravel(because of the pouch).I coulnt get the knitting back on the needles until I'd unravelled back to the t-shape. I have knitted up the 55 sts again but need to knit 6 rows again before trying the fancy pick up sts 5 rows below routine again.Haven't had time today and am too tired now so will have a go tomorrow.
By the way,the cardigan I have just finished for DS (11 mnths)will probably fit him in 2008.!!!

Oh, what a shame Well done about the cardigan though, in the nick of time

yes,tamum,its definitelyone hes going to grow into!!!

If it makes you feel any better mrsright, this evening my dd managed to reach through what I thought was an impenetrable fortress barrier and get hold of my knitting bag. She grabbed one of the needles sticking out and managed somehow to unravel about 8 very long rows!

Glad you got the cardigan finished - sorry to hear that the pesky boots are still giving you trouble!

WWWOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!!
I have finished a bootee!!! It looks more like a hob-nailed boot than anything else,or even a deep-sea diver's boot. I actually finishe d knitting it at the weekend but haven't had chance to report back since (or knit the other bootee). The ridge over the toes does infact go all the way around to the ankle so Tamum was right about picking up the stitches on the row 5 rows below and knitting 2 tog and yes it is hard to explain without being able to show how to do it. I'm so pleased to have done it after such a struggle but do feel the book could have explained in a bit more detail as they are supposed to be 'easy'designs. I supose a more experienced knitter would have no problem.
Still not sure whether to buy the book-there are some lovely jumpers in it but how many jumpers does a boy need?
Littlefish,how did the wearer of the moss stitch tunic get on with the polo neck?