Saturday, December 8, 2007

Saartje's Fleeglized Bootie



These adorable booties are the invention of a clever Dutch knitter named Saartje. They were irresistible, until I read the directions. Urk! Seams! And zillions of ends, too, whine.

Then I got to thinking that the pattern would be easy enough to adapt to the Fleegle Seamless Method. Here's an alternate method of knitting these little cuties. (The original pattern can be found here.)

Note: I emailed her twice asking for permission to post this altered the pattern, but she never answered me. I tried.

Note Again: Instructions are given for working on two circulars. DPN folks can easily convert to 5 sticks.

Cast on 31 stitches using the Turkish cast-on--15 stitches on needle 1 and 16 stitches on needle 2. I actually just cast on 30 stitches (15 loops), then made an extra loop on the second needle to get the stitch count correct.

Knit across the first needle only. You are now at the beginning of the rounds. You can place a marker, or just use the yarn dangle to indicate the beginning of the rounds.

Row 1: P15, place marker (pm), P1, pm, P15 (Because the marker business falls at the beginning of the needle, I moved a few stitches from the first needle to the second so the marker wouldn't fall off and the increases didn't occur at the very beginning of the second needle).

Row 2: Knit in the back and front of first stitch (kbf), knit to marker, make 1 using a backwards loop (m1), K1, m1, knit to last stitch, kbf (3 stitches between markers)

Row 3: Purl

Row 4: kbf, knit to marker, m1, K3, m1, knit to last stitch, kbf (5 stitches between markers)

Row 5: Purl

Row 6: kbf, knit to marker, m1, K1, m1, K3, m1, K1, m1, knit to last stitch, kbf (9 stitches between markers)

Row 7: Purl

Row 8: kbf, knit to marker, m1, K1, m1, K7, m1, K1, m1, knit to last stitch, kbf (13 stitches between markers)

Rows 9-18: garter stitch, that is purl 1 row, knit 1 row

Row 19: Purl. Change color here if desired.

Row 20: K15, SSK 5x, K1, K2Tog 5x, K15

Row 21: Purl
Row 22: Knit
Row 23: Purl

Row 24: Knit 10, turn, cast on 10 by knitting on*, Knit 20, Purl 31, turn.
Here you can see the finished cast-on stitches for the first strap. Instructions for the cast-on are at the end of this post.


Row 25: Bind off 21 purlwise, cast on 10.

Row 26: P20, K20.
With a crochet hook, slip-stitch in the first stitch of the row below, chain 6 (to make a button loop), and put the end of the chain loop back on the left needle.

Bind off 20 stitches knitwise, 20 stitches purlwise.

With a crochet hook, slip-stitch in the first stitch of the row below, chain 6 (to make a button loop), and put the end of the chain loop back on the left needle and slip-stitch the two stitches together. Cut yarn, pull through loop and finally...

Weave in ends.

*To cast-on via knitting on, insert the right needle into the first stitch on the left needle, knit through it normally, but don't drop the stitch.

Instead, return the loop to the left needle (1 stitch made). Insert the right needle between the first and second stitch on the left needle, knit and put the loop back on the left needle (another stitch made).



Repeat 8 more times. You should have 10 new stitches on the needle and be in position to resume knitting the next row.

Have fun!

30 comments:

Lori said...

Sweet! I've made a couple pair of these, and the tiny seams nearly did me in (I had one pair sitting on my desk, completely knitted but unsewn, for nearly a month before I finally bit the bullet...) I'll have to try your method too!

Sandy said...

Thank you. I had the original pattern in my todo file but was put off by the seams. this is perfect and a friend is having a new baby next week. i will definitely cast these on tonight.

z's momma said...

Brilliant! Thanks for reworking the pattern. I'll make them for a friend who's expecting a girl in Feb.

Anonymous said...

Ahhh, finally a knitter after my own heart! I HATE seams! There are only two good seams; the one that is there for structure and one that you just can't avoid. These will be great for my great niece or nephew coming in 2008. Thanks!

Dallas Schulze said...

Absolutely darling! I want to knit these and I don't even know any babies.

Kitty Kitty said...

That has to be the absolute cutest baby bootie ever...

LittleBerry said...

I thought when I saw the original pattern they were cute... with your method they are seriously cute!! Get the last minute knitting over and I think I'll give them a go...

Kat said...

You rock!
I've been meaning to make these but things have gotten in the way, including the "seam" part!! I knew I could figure it out in the round but you beat me to it. YAY!!! Thank you!

KnitYoga said...

When it comes to ickle things, seams always put me off, too. It seems such a lot of work for a tiny project, if it has a lot of sewing involved. Thanks - I can see me making at least one pair of these in the future.

~jane said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have a pair of unfinished originals sitting in my basket because I absolutely hate all that finishing. These will be on my needles ASAP!

Korinthe said...

Those are beautiful! I have been meaning to make the original, but my size 1 DPNs are tied up in a pair of socks right now. Will have to get another set, or a second circ, to do in the round.

Is your version done to the same gauge as the original pattern?

CraftyCarole said...

thank you so much. I started the original two times. Your changes were the trick for me. Plus I learned 2 circs AND turkish KO...

TutleyMutley said...

Ditto what everyone else has said. I've knitted these booties before and couldn't understand why they weren't knitted in the round... Thanks for working out what I was too lazy to do. You are a star!

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful! Thank you!

charisma said...

Am I missing something totally obvious? What size needles does this pattern call for?

THANKS!

KPiep said...

Hmmm....oddly this didn't pop up on my blog reader. I'll have to investigate.

Thank you a bunch for this! I made only one pair - loved them, but was also repulsed by the amount of finishing on such tiny things. I just didn't have the time at that point to go back in and figure this out for myself. Now I can consider making them again!

momo said...

These are gorgeous! I have a question about rows 24 & 25 though - I seem to get a hole in my row when working these. Any tips. Also on row 25, after binding off 21 purlwise, do I slip that remaining stitch back to the left needle and start casting on?

Northern Downpour said...

Thank you for doing this- SO much easier than the seemed version [which I did first].

Galadriel said...

Love it--just finished mine.

http://ravel.me/how0she0sparkles/fssb

Knitter Mama said...

I'm so glad you converted this pattern. I really didn't like sewing a seam on baby booties. But I've made two pair with a seam and two pair without and I really do like the seamless version much better. Thank you!

naanaa said...

Hi can I ask if you can send this booti in crochet
My email is nalzanki@yahoo.com

AuntB said...

You are brilliant. Thanks..I have made the original...only once...lol
I will do this in the Magic Loop Method.

Deaun said...

What size DPN's did you use, and what size bootie did you end up with?

Thank you,
Deaun

Unknown said...

Hi Susan!

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Prime Publishing LLC
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847-205-9375 Main | 847-513-6099 Fax

Cjcrochet1knit2 said...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fleegles-seamless-saartje-booties

This may answer some of the questions. . . .

Unknown said...

Good morning!

Just wanted to say that I love the bootie pattern. I needed to work in cotton so I tweaked it once again. I worked them in Cascade Pima Cotton in two colors. I would love to share with you what I changed. Feel free to email me at dee@youandmeknit.com.

Diana

Unknown said...

made the little slippers and they turned out very nice. I have tried other patterns for similar slippers and they all left a lot to be desired. thanks for posting this pattern

Unknown said...

loved the pattern. Have tried to make these before without success using other patterns.. I will use this pattern over and over again

aniholl said...

Thank You for this pattern! I have questions about the beginning: Am i supposed to knit in the round, or back and forth across one needle? And about row 2 and 4; i cant't make heads or tail about the markers and the stiches between them. It seems to me there is some text missing... i need mor exact explanation.... Can you please help me understand?

aniholl said...

I need help understanding the pattern, please :)