Surprise, Surprise (Baby Booties)

I recently ordered some custom-designed labels from JennifersJewels' Etsy Store. They are simple, but (in my humble opinion) gorgeous. They go with everything I make. Best of all, she was willing to trade a RAINN-y Day Anklet for the labels. Two sets. She fronted me a bit of a credit. She didn't have to do that.

So I tried to think of a way to repay her kindness. She was initially interested in baby booties, but I didn't have any immediately available. She decided to hold off on booties in any case until she had a bun in the oven. As I was packaging up her anklet, it hit me: make the baby booties and send them along.

It's hard to make booties for an unidentified child (hence why I've made nothing for my own baby - it's one thing to make something to sell, an entirely different thing to make something for a person with a personality and preferences all their own). I settled on a simple white bootie with a ribbed cuff. Now I just had to find a pattern.

Once again, I was irritated with the patterns I found. Too dainty, too frilly, needs elastic, made in three pieces (three pieces! For a baby bootie!), too lacy, has buttons. You name it, I hated it. I ended up playing with an idea I had when I made my husband's slippers. It called for working the bootie in a single piece, from toe to heel, all in rounds. No seams. No sewing. Just a continuous tube of bootie.

I also had to settle on a size, and I decided that, since I've been told to buy the 6 month size for my newborn, I should make a 6-month-old sized bootie. For those of you who are baby-size stupid (that's me, too, so don't worry), this is about 3.75". I set to work, and had a cute pair of booties together in about two hours. Most of that time was spent experimenting with the cuffs. Once I figured that out, it was a breeze.

The booties are now in a bubble envelope and awaiting a trip to meet their new mommy, who, with any luck, will be a new mommy within the year.

Lessons Learned:
1) Babies have very small feet
2) I have a strong distaste for Red Heart's baby yarns - they split and fray too easily
3) Bernat's baby yarns are much more stable
4) I should write down the patterns I design in case I ever need to recreate the item

I'll eventually get around to making baby booties for my Etsy store, but for right now, these were just a goodwill item that I hope will put a smile on Jenn's face.