Booties

Booties are the first shoes for a little one. During the waiting period for the baby, future mothers often knit booties themselves (or ask craftsmen to knit children's shoes to order). But few people think that when choosing the right "comfortable" booties for the baby, several parameters must be taken into account.

I, like most moms, knitted booties for my daughter myself. A total of 11 pairs. Among them were both high and low, woolen and cotton, boots and shoes, with bows, buttons, beads, and sequins. BUT, I realized that out of this large assortment of booties, only 3-4 pairs were used at best. I called them "successful"! If you want your booties to be successful, consider the following points:

1. Purpose of the booties

First, determine the purpose for which you need the booties. There are not many such purposes:

A) Booties "For every day". Such booties are primarily intended for warmth and serve as a substitute for home slippers. If you knit booties for every day, it's better to use warm yarn and modestly decorate the item.

B) Booties "For going out". Such booties are usually used only a few times: when leaving the maternity hospital, when going to the clinic, for the baby's first photo session, for christenings. Be prepared for the fact that these booties will not serve you for long.

2. Size

To avoid the situation where summer booties are in winter size, and winter booties are summer cotton sandals, correctly calculate the baby's shoe size by seasons. Below is a table of approximate foot length for children's feet by age:

Table of age and foot length correspondence (GOST 8541-94).

Age, months Foot length, cm
3-6 months 6-9 cm
6-12 months 9-10
1-1.5 years 11-12
1.5-2 years 12-13
2-2.5 years 13-14
2.5-3 years 14-15
3-4 years 15-16
4-5 years 16-17
5-6 years 17-18
6-7 years 18-19

3. Composition.

Booties can be made from any yarn, but it is preferable that the yarn has a compliance certificate and is allowed for children. Booties "for warmth" are better knitted from children's yarn (acrylic, for example, VAVY and/or acrylic with wool, for example, NAKO bambino). You can also use 100% wool, but keep in mind that such booties "itch" and are better worn over tights (crawlers or cotton socks). It is not recommended to knit booties from "fluffy" yarns like "mohair". The fibers of these yarns can get into the child's nose and mouth and cause allergies.

Insole.
We cast on 16 chain stitches. In the fourth stitch from the hook, we make 3 double crochets. Then we knit according to scheme 1. In the fourth row, there should be 70 stitches.

For row 5, knit half double crochet (h.d.c.): yarn over and insert the hook under the stitches.

For row 6, knit regular double crochets. Cut the yarn.

Straps.
Fold the sole in half and find the middle at the toe. The middle should equal 5 stitches. Tie a regular knot with the yarn and knit 13 chain stitches, then attach with a half double crochet (h.d.c.) to the opposite side of the toe (distance of 5 stitches). Continue knitting according to scheme 2.

Heel.
In the last row, you attached 2 half double crochets to the sole. Then:

Row 1: 3 chain stitches, attach them with half double crochet to the strap (skip 3 double crochets). Knit 34 double crochets and also attach with half double crochet to the strap.

Row 2: 1 chain stitch and the entire row of double crochets = 35 double crochets.

Row 3: Again 3 chain stitches and 34 double crochets. 4 chain stitches, 3 double crochets in the middle of the strap, 4 chain stitches, attach with half double crochet.

Next, a row of arches for the ribbon: 5 chain stitches, double crochet every 1 double crochet of the previous row. Double crochet, 1 chain stitch, double crochet, repeat the row around.

Row 5: 3 chain stitches and knit the entire row of double crochets. Cut the yarn.

Edging.
Now we start to edge the bottom, starting from the center at the back of the bootie, with the hook we grab 2 stitches of the chain that formed during knitting row 5 of the insole and knit a row of ruffles: half double crochet and double crochet in one stitch, chain stitch, skip one stitch, and repeat around. Cut the yarn.

Do the same edging for the top of the bootie.

Now you can thread a satin ribbon through the holes.

4. Decoration of the booties.

Some booties can be considered a work of art.