Sunday 22 July 2012

Help with Jaden Boots Pattern

This post is especially for people who are new to using circular knitting needles and are having a little trouble with the Jaden Boots pattern when they come to pick up round the cuff onto  a circular needle.
Jaden is one of my most popular knitting paterns, and I've seen some great versions knitted up by all my lovely customers. If you want to have a peek, you can buy it here or here.
However, if you haven't used a circular needle before, this can be a bit daunting, so I've posted some more step by step photos here of the bit where you transfer to the circular needle  in the hope that it helps those people get passed the scary bit!!
OK, so you've knitted your cuff and it looks like this.
The buttons will be going at the other end...(they're not sewn on yet, I've just put them there to help you get the idea)
and you need to fold it over as it will be when it's wrapped around that little ankle.

It's the right boot we are knitting, so you need the buttonhole edge on the outside of the leg, facing backwards. Fold it over so that the edge of the cuff is not quite at the centre back, and pin in place. Stand it up to check you've got it the right way round......
and place two markers, one at centre front (mine is red) and one at centre back (blue), both on the bottom edge of the cuff.
Hold the cuff with the markers uppermost and starting at the blue marker...
pick up and knit 8[8,9] stitches up to the cast on edge. (I'm knitting the largest sizer here, so it's 9 sts)
Now you start to pick up from the other side,just passed the buttonholes ....
from this edge you pick up 8[8,9] stitches up to the red marker. Note:- depending on how you folded your cuff, you may have to create two stitches from the same chain a couple of times to fit the right number of stitches in before you reach that red marker - don't worry, it'll all work out in the end!
So now you've got 16[16,18] stitches on your needle.
Next you pick up 15[17,17] along the remaining part of the cuff, back to the blue marker again - this is where that curvy circular needle is essential - you just couldn't do that on a straight needles!! - so push the stitches you've already done onto the curvy bit
so you can pick the rest of the stitches up without feeling like a contortionist!
You should now be back at the blue marker and have a total of 31[35,35] stitches.
If you push them all onto the curvy bit, you can see that you've gone all the way round the cuff, you've got the overlap for the button fastening securely joined and your start and finish for each row from now on is going to be the blue marker (the centre back of the boot).
Super clever people who are used to knitting in the round will go off and do their own thing from this point on and avoid having a seam at all, but this is written for people who want to knit the whole boot back and forth as you would if you were using two needles!
Turn your kniting so that you work back the way you've just come from
You are now at the start of Shape Instep*on the PDF pattern, ready to start Row1
I've just worked 9 stitches so far here from Row 1

Here is the whole of Row 1 completed (if you are struggling to work those stitches, just keep them on the curvy bit of the needle until you actually need to knit them.

Turn your work, ready to knit Row 2

Row 2 done! See how it sits centrally over the red marker (of which you can only see a tiny bit now as it's facing the back (pic)
Now you should be quite comfortable finishing the boot. Remember to keep just a few stitches at a time on the rigid part of the needle, so that you can work round the curve without struggling.

I do hope this has helped those people who are using a circular needle for the first time and that you now have great success with your Jaden Boots. Make sure you post me some photos on my Facebook page!

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