Bootie help

#1

Hello, making little t-strap booties (Baby Sandals) from a book called [I]The Knitter’s Year[/I]. After you shape the instep you do a little piece in the middle of the front for the front strap. (This folds over and your other strap goes through it - if that makes sense). It is just 4 stitches wide and you bind off at the end of 2 1/4 inches. After that it says

[I]With right side facing, rejoin yarn at base of strap, pick up and k 12 sts along side edge of strap. Turn and bind off knitwise all sts at this side of strap.

With right side facing, rjoin yarn to top of other side of strap, pick up and k12 sts along side edge of strap, then k rem 20 sts. Bind off knitwise.[/I]

so I am knitting along the actual strap side?

#2

That’s what it sounds like. You’re knitting an edging on one side of the strap and then on the other side. Where are the “rem 20sts”? Are they around the side and back of the sandal?

#3

Yes, around the side. But what is also somewhat confusing to me is that you go up one side of the strap turn around and bind off. But then on the other side you start at the top and go down and then knit the rem 20 sts (yes, these are still on the needles and will be the top side of the sandal) but why do you do this on this side and not the other??? It had me bind off after 12 on the other side adn on this side you do 12 and then 20? weird…I’m still too new to be able to “see” it!

#4

You’re putting one row plus the bind off as a finishing edging on the top of the sandal. I think that if it were a more complicated pattern, you might do it all in one step (pick up along one side of the T-strap, across the top of the strap, down the other side, knit the 20sts on the needle and then bind off). Perhaps the designer just doesn’t want the extra sts at the top of the strap?
Good luck with the sandals which sound adorable.