Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Free Online Pattern: Baby Booties

It's been awhile since I've posted a free online pattern. While looking at a couple blogs it was recommended to check out a pattern for baby booties by the blog Pickin' and Throwin'. So I headed over there and was surprised to see a pattern for some baby booties that are totally seamless. They are knitted on dpns and the bottom of the sole is finished with a 3-needle bind off. So when you're finished all you need to do is sew in your 2 yarn tails. Not too shabby!

So here are the details:
Pattern: Baby Booties
Designer: Pickin' and Throwin'
Yarn: Recommends dk or sport weight
Needles: Recommends U.S. 5 dpns
Notes: I made 3 pairs of these. The first pair I knit with Cashcotton dk yarn. The pattern does not list gauge - but I know that I'm a loose knitter and a lot of the comments mentioned that the booties turned out huge - so I used U.S. 3 needles. Boy am I glad I blindly made this choice - the booties still turned out pretty large! And I wasn't really a fan of how the Cashcotton yarn turned out. Since it's mainly a cotton yarn, the booties kind of lack shape.
So the second time around I picked some Reynolds Soft Sea Wool which is fingering weight yarn. I also chose to go down another size in needles to U.S. 2 dpns. This was the magical combination - small needles and a springy yarn. I also chose to knit the cuff in 1x1 rib instead of the 2x2 rib. I think it looks cuter that way.And then I knit this a third time (can you tell I enjoy this pattern?) This time I used Lorna's Laces Swirl DK and used U.S. 1 needles for a tight gauge. These turned out to be my absolute favorite combination. Thick, plush, and soft... yum!
Other than the modifications in needle size and 1x1 rib, I knit the pattern as written (I still need to add the tie for the booties through the eyelet round). It's a fabulous pattern. I memorized the whole pattern after the first booty was knit and there are no typos. So it's going to be a great project that will be easy to transport to doctor appointments, etc.
So head on over to Pickin' and Throwin' and check out the pattern. It's a great gift and a pair only takes about 6 hours. Have fun!

3 comments:

YarnThrower said...

I'm so glad you like the pattern. Thanks for sharing your comments and modifications!! It is truly fun to see the ways in which people put the pattern to use...and who doesn't enjoy looking at a bunch of cute little booties?!

Laura

Megan said...

Quick question- how big did your booties turn out with your yarn substitutions and smaller needles? I'm trying to make these for a baby blessing this weekend, and I wanted to make sure they really would fit. Would you mind posting the length of the sole for each yarn combo? Thanks so much!

Sarah G said...

I'll need to grab these out of some moving boxes to measure the sole so I won't be able to post until tomorrow the length for each sole (I knew I should have done this!)
But... the U.S. 1 needles and Lorna's Laces made what was comparable to a 0-3 month booty. The U.S. 2 needles and Sea Wool made what I would think would fit like 1-4 months (not big enough for 3-6 month). The U.S. 3 needles and COTTON yarn looked huge - I would guess like 6-12 months. Cotton just isn't springy and they turned out large and in charge!
I'll measure these tomorrow hopefully and post it here. Thanks for the request!