banana split for my baby

Spumoni Mary Janes are finished and gifted, and I must say they were very well-received.


These ones knit up super quick, and were insanely easy to make. They're essentailly just the Saartje bootee with no second strap. I didn't end up gifting my original bootees, as the craftsmanship looked pretty shoddy next to these.

Some notes:

• After trying it both ways, I have to say that I think using two contrasting colors detracts from the cuteness. I'd recommend going a single color, or at least staying in the same color family.
• This works much better with a regular M1 than a lifted M1, which is what I did accidentally on the last pair.
  
• I did a crocheted button loop, which worked out much better than the totally ghetto improvised button loop I tried last time.
  
• I still don't quite understand how you're supposed to cast and work the straps. Whatever I did last time really didn't work out so well. This time I just cut a long tail on the working yarn, cast on the additional stitches off the ball, and continued working with the yarn still attached to the ball. I ended up with lots of tails to weave in, but it looked... well, more attached than whatever nonsense I tried last time.
• Still wish there was some seaming guidance. This time I did a combo of mattress-type stitch (though a bit different as it was worked on garter) and just a regular sewn seam on the sole.

Tomorrow's a big day. We're off to the Knit & Crochet Show, and a world of buttons awaits us there...