BABY BOOTIES (FREE KNITTING PATTERN)
These baby booties are made for walkin’! With their ribbed cuff and faux-suede sole, your baby will be warm and stylin’ through the winter months. In this project, you’ll work with fabric form soles; master a simple, ribbed cuff; and step up your skills with an I-cord bind-off. There’s nothing cuter than a kiddo in cute kicks!
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Step 1
Skills: Hand Sewing Knitting to Fabric I-Cord - With dpns or circ, cast on stitches. Knit across row. Once that row is complete (a), slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle, and switch hands so that the needle (or end, if you are working on a circular needle) with the knit row is in your left hand. The working yarn will appear to be at the wrong end of the row, but just bring it behind the stitches and begin knitting again (b). The strand of yarn stretched across the back will create a cording effect. Continue in this manner (c) until you achieve an I-cord of the desired length.
Size: Unisex infant (one size)
Finished Measurements: Sole: 4 in/10 cm long Knit cuff: 5 in/12.5 cm tall by 5 ½ in/14 cm wide
Yarn: Boston Tweed Shelter (100% Targhee-Columbia wool; 140 yd/128 m): Button Jar, 1 hank (you can get several pairs out of 1 hank) or substitute any worsted-weight (#4) 100% wool or wool blend
Needles: 2 US 6/4 mm double-pointed needles or 1 circular needle (or size needed to obtain gauge) 1 spare double-pointed needle
Notions: 1 pair, Boye Starting Points Baby Booties 6 buttons, desired size Sewing needle Thread in coordinating color
Gauge: 16 stitches and 20 rows per 4 in/10 cm in pattern
Step 2
Instructions (make 2)
Cuff CO 16. Rows 1–3: Knit. Row 4: Purl. Repeat rows 1–4 until piece measures 5 ½ in/14 cm from CO edge. Knit 2 more rows.
I-cord button-loop BO BO 4, *K1 (2 sts on RH needle), leave the rest of the sts hanging (on hold) on LH needle. Hold needle with 2 sts in left hand, and pick up spare needle with right hand. Work 2-st I-cord for 1 ½ in/4 cm (or until long enough to fit around chosen button). BO I-cord, leaving tail for sewing. Let hang. BO next 3 sts; rep from * twice more.
Note: Last I-cord will be worked on last 2 sts.
Step 3
Edging
Pick up 28 sts evenly along one side of cuff piece. Work in k1, p1 rib for 6 rows. BO in rib.
Step 4
Finishing
Using yarn needle and tails, sew button loops in place.
Following bootie manufacturer’s instructions, hand-sew long (non-ribbed) side of cuff to inside of bootie.
Sew on buttons to correspond with button loops.
Step 5
This baby bootie knitting pattern is excerpted with permission from Step It Up Knits: Take Your Skills to the Next Level with 25 Quick and Stylish Projects
by Vickie Howell and published by Chronicle Books.
