The carriage boot was worn by Victorian women to warm their feet when riding in horse-drawn vehicles. Based on an ingenious design by one of the leading Victorian needle artists (“Carriage Boot in Tricot Ecossais,” La Mode Winter Book, by Mlle Riego de la Branchadière, London 1862), this is a quick project that doesn’t require much yarn.
One of the striking elements of the design is its unusual construction, worked neither from toe up nor ankle down. The first row begins at the top of the ankle and runs down the back of the ankle to the foot, then up the other side; then it’s folded in half and sewn together. The rows proceed from the ankle, down under the foot, and up to the other side of the ankle.
YARN: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted (100% Merino, 225 yd [206 m] per 4 oz [100 g]); Navy (A), 1 skein; Berry (B), 1 skein.
HOOKS: J-10 (6 mm) Tunisian and J-10 (6 mm) standard, or sizes needed to obtain gauge.
16 sts and 14 rows = 4" (10 cm) in Tss.
9" (23 cm) from heel to toe, suitable for women’s shoe sizes 5–9.
Increase (inc 1): Insert hook as in Tfs (under horizontal bar) before next vertical bar, draw up lp.
Tss2tog (dec 1): Insert hook under next 2 vertical bars, draw up lp.
Return decrease (dec1R) (worked on rtn pass): Yo, draw through 3 lps on hook.
Tunisian slip stitch decrease (Tslst2tog): Sk next st, insert hook in blp of next st, draw lp through st and lp on hook.
Tss double decrease (Tss3tog): Insert hook under next 3 vertical bars, draw up lp.
Refer to diagram on page 131.
Starting at heel end, with Tunisian hook and A, ch 36.
FOUNDATION ROW: Work basic foundation row (see Glossary)—36 sts.
ROW 1: Work 15 Tss, inc 1 (see Special Stitches), 4 Tss, inc 1, 15 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—38 sts.
ROW 2: Work 15 Tss, inc 1, 6 Tss, inc 1, 15 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—40 sts.
ROW 3: Work 15 Tss, inc 1, 8 Tss, inc 1, 15 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—42 sts.
ROWS 4–5: Work even in Tss.
ROW 6: Work 15 Tss, dec 1 (see Special Stitches), 6 Tss, dec 1, 15 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—40 sts.
ROW 7: Work 14 Tss, dec 1, 6 Tss, dec 1, 14 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—38 sts.
Note: Tss sts appear slanted to allow for increases and decreases in pattern.
Toe End
Bootie (Heel End)
ROW 9: Work 14 Tss, dec 1, 4 tss, dec 1, 14 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—36 sts.
ROWS 10–13: Work even in Tss.
ROW 14: Work 14 Tss, inc 1, 6 Tss, inc 1, 14 Tss, draw up lp in last bar—38 sts.
ROW 15: Fwd: Tss in each st across, draw up lp in last bar. Rtn: Yo, dec1R (see Special Stitches), *yo, draw yarn through 2 lps on hook; rep from * across until 3 lps rem on hook, yo, dec1R—36 sts.
ROW 16: Fwd: Work 13 Tss, inc 1, 8 Tss, inc 1, 13 Tss, draw up lp in last bar. Rtn: Dec1R at beg and end of row—36 sts.
ROW 17: Fwd: Tss in each st across, draw up lp in last bar. Rtn: Dec1R at beg and end of row—34 sts.
ROW 18: Fwd: Work 11 Tss, inc 1, 10 Tss, inc 1, 11 Tss, draw up lp in last bar. Rtn: Dec1R at beg and end of row.
ROW 19: Rep Row 18.
ROWS 20–26: Fwd: Tss in each st across, draw up lp in last bar. Rtn: Dec1R at beg and end of row—20 sts at end of last row. Fasten off.
With RS facing, join B in vertical bar of 14th st of last row of bootie.
RND 1: Work 5 Tslst, insert hook under next st (last st of row) and first st of prev row, yo and draw yarn through these sts and lp on hook (sl st made and closes the first rnd), work 12 Tslst, sl st in flp of first st in this rnd, do not work back—20 sts.
NOTE: The rest of the toe is worked in Tunisian short rows. Follow directions closely and count sts at end of each rnd.
ROW 2: Fwd: Draw up lp in blp of next 8 sl sts—9 lps on hook. Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 lp on hook, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hook] twice—7 lps rem on hook.
ROW 3: Fwd: Draw up lp in next 2 sts, draw up lp in next 2 sl sts of Rnd 1—11 lps on hook. Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 lp, [yo, draw through 2 lps on hook] 6 times—5 lps rem on hook.
ROW 4: Fwd: Draw up lp in next 5 sts, draw up lp in next 2 sl sts of Rnd 1—12 lps on hook. Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 lp, [yo, draw yarn through 2 lps on hook] 10 times—2 lps on hook.
ROW 5: Fwd: Draw up lp in next 10 sts, draw up lp in next 2 sl sts of Rnd 1—14 lps on hook. Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 lp on hook, *yo, draw through 2 lps on hook; rep from * across—1 lp rem on hook.
ROW 6: Fwd: Work 6 Tss, Tss3tog, 3 Tss, draw up lp in blp of next 3 sl sts in Rnd 1—14 lps on hook. Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 lp on hook, *yo, draw through 2 lps on hook; rep from * across.
NOTE: The rest of the Toe is worked in rnds.
RND 7: Tslst2tog (see Special Stitches), work 8 Tslst, Tslst2tog, sl st in last st, sl st in blp of next st in Rnd 1.
RND 8: Sl st in blp of each st around—13 sl sts. Do not join; work in a spiral.
RND 3: [Sk 1 sl st, sl st in blp of next st] around until hole is filled in. Fasten off. If toe has some unwanted “holes” you can weave tails from WS over open sps to fill them in.
With WS facing, with standard hook and A, work sl st seam to close back of bootie from ankle to heel, working through one strand from each side. Turn RS out.
With standard hook, draw B through st in top of toe adjacent to Row 26 of bootie, ch 1, inserting hook under 2 lps of both sides to be joined, work sc seam over 12 rows with slanted edge, cont with ankle trim.
ROW 1: Starting on side of bootie that is closest to you, sc in each row-end st around top of ankle (30 sc), turn.
ROWS 2–5: Ch 1, sc in each sc across, turn. At end of last row, fasten off and weave in loose ends.