Newborn Kneehigh Booties

(WARNING: there's a paragraph of blah blah before the pattern)

I'm in an incredible knitting frenzy today trying to get stuff made to sell tomorrow at the Bizarre Bazaar in the Syndicate Building. This is the first time since I was 7 that I have made things to sell. The last time I was in the second grade and made a bunch of little paper things (like origami animals and fortune tellers) and I sold them in school. The nuns somehow found out and I got busted and had to donate all the money I made to the mission box. It was only like $5 but in 1989 that was a fortune in popsicles to a little kid. Plus, I would totally have split 50/50 with the mission kids. I just hope tomorrow goes better than that time. Mostly I hope people show up. Craft fairs aren't exactly the "in thing" on a Sunday. Then again, most things are uncool on a Sunday, except maybe sleeping off a hangover. I mostly knit toys, stuffed animals, hats, and booties. Everything else requires nice yarn, so I prefer to have the persons measurements. I refuse to knit with crappy yarn. It makes me itch and drives me crazy when it squeaks, splits, or sheds, making knitting an unpleasant experience. I decided to write down my baby bootie pattern and post it for my people from Ravelry. Because anyone that loves that website as much as I do deserves more free patterns in the world. :)

OK, the pattern.....I knit these about knee length because babies kick off short socks the minute you get them on. I dislike hearing a dozen times a day, "oooh your baby is about to lose his sock". It's helpful but distracting. I knit these up in 100% Baby Alpaca for warmth and softness but it's really almost too fluffy to see the lace well. I would suggest something better for stitch definition, maybe an extrafine merino or using bigger needles? *shrug*

Here are some pattern details before you begin. If you are unfamiliar with any of the techniques, I'd watch some how-to youtube videos before proceeding. This pattern uses the following techniques;
-Knitting in the round
-Judy's Magic Cast On or Turkish/Oriental Cast on
-Knitting socks from the toe up
-Basic lace pattern stitches like SSK, K2tog, and YO.

NEWBORN KNEEHIGH BOOTIES
Guage: 6-7" in stockinette, although size tends to hit or miss with babies since their feet are constantly growing, but fear not....the lace pattern is stretchy.

Needles: One US3/3.25mm 32" or longer, enough to use the Magic Loop Technique or
               One set of US3/3.25mm DPNs  or
               Two US3/ 3.25mm circulars
(whatever way you like to knit from the toe up would be fine. I like Magic Loop since it's easier for me to cast on with. DPNs are really tricky to do a Turkish Cast on with.)


Yarn:  Wool yarn in a Sport Weight or use DK Weight for slightly bigger feet. I used Knitpicks Andean Treasure in Amethyst.


Size: 6-12lbs Newborn, every baby is different but the bootie is pretty narrow not good for very chubby baby legs, go up a needle size or two or use a light worsted for a little more room for those adorable chubby legs.


Notions: 2 Lengths of ribbon, long enough to tie around baby's leg
And this has to be said, because people can be careless, If ribbon is longer than 6 inches...
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE RIBBON IN SOCK UNLESS BABY IS UNDER ADULT SUPERVISION. Ribbons longer than 6 inches can be a choking/strangulation hazard.

If you want you can of course knit these two at a time. So you would be doing each of the directions twice.
Begin TOE:
-Using Judy's Magic Cast On or Turkish Cast On, cast on 6 sts onto each needle (12sts).
-Knit 1 round
You should now have 12 sts total, 6 on each needle.

Begin INCREASES:
Starting with needle 1
-K1, KFB, knit to last stitch, KFB, K1
Now repeat on needle 2.
-Knit 1 round
Repeat above steps until you have 14 sts on each needle, ending with a knit row.

Begin LACE/INSTEP:
You will be working the Crab Walk lace pattern from Vogue Knitting's Stitchionary 5, adapted for knitting in the round. It is...
Row1: K1, K2tog, YO, K1, YO, SSK, K1 (rep)
Row2: Knit all sts.
Row3: K2tog, YO, K3, YO, SSK (rep)
Row4: Knit all sts.
(Rep)
Lace is worked only on needle 1(or first 14 sts) , Knit remaining sts.
Continue working in the round until piece measures 2" from cast on edge. End with Row 1 of pattern.
So you should have knit Row 1 (K1, K2tog, YO, K1, YO, SSK, K1 (rep)) on the first 14 sts then stopped right before the last 14 sts. You will work the short rows to shape the heel on these 14 sts.

Begin SHORT ROWS/ TURNING HEEL:

-Knit to last stitch, turn.
-BYO, purl until last stitch, turn.
-YO, knit to st before yo (3sts remaining), turn.
-BYO, purl to st before yo made on last row (they will look paired together), turn.
Repeat until their are 6 unpaired/unworked sts in the middle.
-Knit to first YO of pairs, k2tog (yo with st next to it). Turn.
-BYO. Purl to first YO loop. SSP, turn.
-YO. Knit to next YO loop. K3tog. Turn.
-BYO. Purl to YO loop. SSSP. Turn
Repeat above 2 steps until all the sts are worked and their is a YO on each end.
Knit one round to join sts again, knitting YO's together with a st on each end, and completing Row 2 of lace pattern for front of sock.
You should once again have 28 sts (14 for lace pattern for front of leg, and 14 sts in stockinette for back of leg).

Begin LEG:
-Continue knitting first 14 sts in lace pattern ( starting with Row 3 and keep on)
-Knit last 14 sts.
-Keep working in the round repeating above 2 steps until leg measure 3" from where you ended heel and began leg.

Begin CUFF:
-Knit all sts for 2 rounds.
-Knit an eyelet row- YO, K2tog works well
-Knit 4 rounds of 1x1 ribbing (k1,p1)
- Cast off with a sewn bind off or similarly stretchy BO.

TA DA! Now thread a ribbon through the eyelet holes and you are all done.**

ABBREATIONS:
CO- cast on
BO-bind off
BYO- backwards yarn over
YO- yarn over
SSSP- slip slip slip purl
k2tog- knit 2 sts together
K3tog- knit 3 together
SSK-  slip slip knit- slip 2 sts knitwise then knit together

** Please feel free to use pattern to make booties for gifting, selling, or charity. Feel free to link to pattern or share a printed version with friends and knitting groups. I only ask that you credit me as designer and link back and/or mention my website as the source. And of course if you feel like "like"ing our FB page...I'm sure I wouldn't protest. :)