Itty Bitty Baby Booties!

Recently a complete stranger, a non-knitter, asked me to knit some baby booties for her to give to a friend. See, I am such a hardcore knitter that here in Austin lots of people I don’t even know know I knit (It’s a long story but the short version is that I often knit in public, and there’s a well-known DJ that likes to talk about my knitting on-air, and also I sometimes knit “premiums” to folks who make donations to support my various blogs).

Well the baby booties in the picture she sent me looked so cute and seemed like they’d be easy enough. Plus I like the challenge of trying to figure out a pattern before I actually break down and resort to hunting down the original. Well dagnabit if figuring out how to make these did not elude me. Try as I might, I could not create a proper prototype. I found a similar pattern at ETSY, but when I bought it, it seemed way, way too complicated for what I guessed would be a super quick project once I figured out the trick to the kimono wrap.

Fortunately, I did track down the actual pattern for these booties eventually. And sure enough, they were quick to make, to understate the matter-- this despite the instructions are in French. Aren’t they super adorable? I did them in green since I don’t know the gender of the baby who’ll receive them. (Besides, I don’t like the old pink/blue assignations for girl/boy and try to avoid those colors even when I do know the gender.)

I’ve made baby socks in the past, and I think socks are even more adorable. But considering how wickedly fast newborns grow out of this stuff, I confess this crossover booty is a much smarter choice—no turning the heel. I mean, not that it’s that hard to turn a heel on an itty-bitty sock. But not turning a heel is quicker still!

What about y’all—any favorite baby patterns? And when you make something for a baby who has non-knitting parents, do you emphasize how much work went into the project, and offer washing advice, and strongly hint they should keep the item as an eventual heirloom? I’ve made a number of gifts (especially blankets) that just seem to disappear and I wonder what happened to them. Has this ever happened to you-- The Mystery of the Disappearing Handknit Gift? Do tell!