Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Baby Jays

1st baby jay

Baby Jaywalker Pattern

First of all, I cannot take credit for this pattern the original pattern is written by Grumperina, I only changed some numbers around. Also Thanks to Minnie for helping me with the math.

This pattern is about a size 6 or 7 toddler.

Materials
Cherry Tree Hill Yarn of unknown colorway (the ball band was missing)

US 1 / 2.25mm set of 5 double pointed needles

Darning needle

Size
6 inches around foot and 5.5 inches from top of leg to bottom of heel

Abbreviations
k-f/b: increase 1 stitch by knitting in the front and back loops of the same stitch
ssk: slip slip knit – slip 2 stitches individually as if to knit, then knit them together through the back loop.
dd: double decrease – slip 2 stitches together as if to knit, knit the next stitch, pass the slipped stitches over the knitted stitch
sl1 – slip 1 stitch as if to purl

Leg
Cast on 52 sts. Divide sts. onto 4 needles, 13 sts on each. Join into a round, being careful not to twist sts.

Note: this join is the beginning of all future rounds; it is at the back of the leg. Needles are numbered relative to this join – the first one worked is #1, etc.

Begin ribbing: *k2, p2; repeat from * around. Work established ribbing pattern for 1 inch / 2.5 cm.

Begin zigzag pattern:
Round 1: k every stitch.
Round 2: *k-f/b, 4, dd, k4k-f/b; repeat from * a total of 4 times.
Work zigzag pattern until leg measures 6 3/4 inches / 17 cm (7 inches / 18 cm) or desired length to top of heel. End with round 1.

Heel
Heel flap: k13 sts on needle #1, turn. Sl1, P26, turn. These 27 sts form the heel flap. The remaining 27 sts form the instep and are unused for the moment. Work heel back and forth, turning after every row.
Row 1: *sl1, k1; repeat from *.
Row 2: sl1, p26.
Repeat the last 2 rows 8 more times.

Turn heel:
Row 1: sl1, k14, ssk, k1, turn.
Row 2: sl1, p5, p2tog, p1, turn.
Row 3: sl1, knit within 1 st of the gap, ssk, k1, turn.
Row 4: sl1, purl to within one st of the gap, p2tog, p1, turn.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all heel sts are worked. There are 16 heel sts.

Heel gussets: sl1, k15 heel sts, pick up and k11 sts along the side of the heel flap. Work 26 instep sts in established pattern (round 2 of zigzag pattern, but repeat from * a total of 2 times). With an empty needle, pick up and k11 sts along the other side of the heel flap, 8 sts from the heel needle. There are 13 sts on needles #2 and #3, 19 sts on needles #1 and #4.
Round 1: Work to 3 sts from end of needle #1, k2tog, k1. Work instep sts in established pattern (round 1 of zigzag pattern). K1, ssk at beginning of needle #4, work to end.
Round 2: Work to 1 st from end of needle #1, sl1. Work instep sts in established pattern (round 2 of zigzag pattern). Sl1 at beginning of needle #4, work to end.

Note: in the heel and foot portions, the instep stitches on needles #2 and #3 are demarcated by slipped stitches at each side to resemble the patterning of the leg portion. The slipped stitches are made every other round on those edges of needles #1 and #4 which border the instep.

Repeat the last 2 rounds until there are 11 sts on needles #1 and #4. There are 26 instep sts and 22 sole stitches, 48 sts total. The difference in the number of instep and sole stitches accounts for the varying tensions of zigzag and stockinette stitch patterns.

Foot
Continue even in established pattern (including the slipped stitches mentioned above) until foot measures 2 inches (5 cm) less than desired finished length. End with round 1 of zigzag pattern.

Toe
Round 1: Work needle #1 even. *K1, ssk at the beginning of needle #2, work to 3 sts from end of needle, k2tog, k1. Repeat from * for needle #3. Work needle #4 even. 44 sts remain.
Round 2: Work needle #1 even. K1, ssk at the beginning of needle #2. Work to 3 sts from end of needle #3, k2tog, k1. Work needle #4 even. 42 sts remain.
Round 3: Work even.
Round 4: Work to 3 sts from end of needle #1, k2tog, k1. K1, ssk at beginning of needle #2. Work to 3 sts from end of needle #3, k2tog, k1. K1, ssk at beginning of needle #4, work to end of needle.
Round 5: Work even.
Repeat the last 2 rounds until there are 4 sts on each needle, 16 stitches total. Work to the end of needle #1. Move the sts on needles #1 and #4 onto one needle, and the other stitches on another needle. Kitchener stitch these sts together.

Finishing
Weave in all ends.


baby jay finished

2 comments:

azurerocket said...

Thanks for the pattern! I'm making some for my 2.5 year old daughter and they are turning out very nice. In the example photo, is the cuff really 6 3/4 inches before dividing for the heel? I have at least as many rows knit in the chevron pattern, but the cuff is only about 3 1/4 inch long. Maybe my gauge is way off.

dyetara said...

Sorry, seems like I forgot to change that number, I just knit until it looked tall enough. mine ended up at 3 1/2 inches for the cuff.