Boots for the Snow Maiden

I knitted booties for the Snow Maiden from yarn Ogonek, hook #2, and the Happy trim from Yarn Art, with a pattern from Alkodav. Step 1 - knitting the sole. For the sole, I take a thicker yarn than the main one I will use for knitting. And I knit it a bit tighter. This is because the sole needs to be firmer and thicker, as it bears the main load. The sole of the booties also contributes to the beautiful shape of the shoes; it is the foundation, if you will) So, depending on the desired size, it’s worth experimenting with how many stitches are needed for each size. Yarn comes in different thicknesses and densities, even with the same yardage on the labels. Keep this in mind. I took Gabia cotton, which is 170 meters per 100 grams. Despite this, I manage to knit with a hook size of 2.5) For knitting the upper part, I love using Lanoso Alara yarn - it's cotton/acrylic, 140 m/50 g or something similar. I knitted a braid of 17 chain stitches for the sole, measuring just over 12 cm - this is approximately for an age of 10-13 months. The pattern was developed by me independently based on many tried options. So to speak, I made the optimal variant for myself in the process of knitting. In the last chain stitch, I crochet 2 single crochet stitches. Then I knit another 7 single crochet stitches. Thus, I capture exactly half of the chain (8 stitches). The next stitch is a half stitch as a transition to the expansion of the sole at the toe, and then I finish the row with double crochet stitches. Schematic representation of the sole looks like this (only in the second row I made a mistake, labeling it as 5 single crochets - there are, of course, single crochet stitches). I hope it will be clear from my not-so-successful sketches) In the end, I finish everything with single crochet stitches, without making any increases. As a result, I ended up with such a sole. If you need to knit for a tiny newborn's foot, you can skip the 4th row (single crochet stitches). How do I attach the upper part? There’s a small trick. First of all, I start the row not from the back but from the inner side of the sole. I do this to have fewer seams visible; after all, the inner part of the shoes is less accessible to the eyes, wouldn't you agree? Just for aesthetics. We fold the sole in half and approximately in the middle, we thread the yarn for edging along the top. I thread the yarn as if from below. And so I knit the first row of the upper part with single crochet stitches, without making increases or decreases. Then I knit a couple more rows (for a small size, you can knit only 1 additional row instead of 2), then I fold the sole again and find the middle of the toe. And I work out the toe according to this scheme. ATTENTION here, there is an inaccuracy in the captions + - these are single crochet stitches! I apologize for the typo. It can be varied depending on the size - that is, the smaller the size, the fewer decreases will be on the edges; if larger, then you will need to add more symmetrical decreases. For a small size, double crochet stitches are replaced with half stitches. At the end, in the upper two rows, you can also make 2-3 symmetrical decreases on the heel part of the booties for a more physiological fit on the child's foot. As a result, it should look something like this: Then we fold the booties along and from the middle of the upper part, we set aside about one third on the side opposite to the seam. We insert the hook there, and if you knitted from the same side as in my sample, then you need to make 5 chain stitches on the hook and knit from the inside on the toe side with single crochet stitches. When we reach the end of the row, we turn the knitting and start knitting a row of double crochet stitches from the front side. Again, we turn the knitting and knit a row of single crochet stitches. At the beginning of the row, we make a buttonhole by crocheting 2 single crochets and 2 chain stitches, skipping 2 stitches from the previous row below. Next, we crochet a row of double crochet stitches, then a row of single crochet stitches, and again a row of single crochet stitches; in one of the rows, you can make a couple of increases for expanding the boot shaft. And then we make the second buttonhole in the same way, and the edge will have an overlap and buttonholes. The bootie is almost ready, just need to finish with a fur trim and sew on the buttons. For the trim, I take yarn like Kroha Nazar-Rus or Anakuzusu Kartopu, which is very similar to Kroha but even softer. And I knit it along the inner side of the upper edge and the overlap of the booties. Why from the inside? It has also been established through experience that when knitting with this yarn, the front side of the knitting looks less fluffy and shows parts of the thread, while the inside of the fabric knitted with Kroha or Anakuzusu looks like a solid fluff! The penultimate step in knitting UGG booties is sewing on the buttons. It’s better to take some pretty children's buttons that match the color. I think this is logically clear, but just in case, I’ll add that we make the second bootie in a mirror reflection) That is, if you started the overlap by knitting on top of the braid of chain stitches, then on the second bootie, you will need to knit those stitches at the end of the first row of the upper part. Here’s the result I got; I hope yours will turn out much better)