The Booty Shuffle


  Time's getting short and I need to hustle, so I'm busy doing the "Booty Shuffle". Hey, that kinda rhymes... Maybe it should be a song and dance. Serious question: Is it "booty" or "bootie" when referring to a singular foot covering?

  Anyway, the more important thing is that I know a Mommy-to-Be, and she should be just "Mommy" pretty soon! She requested booties in university colors, but I only have the right shades in worsted weight yarn.


booties, baby booties, crochet, accessories


  My money is still tied up in the bank after the whole card-fraud situation. I was going to order some sport-weight yarn the same day that they emptied my account, so I never got to it. If Mommy-to-Be pops early, I might not have them done in time! So even though I'm worried that worsted booties might be too warm for a Spring Baby in Florida, I've gotten started on playing around with designs.


http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-crossover-bootie


  The first design I tackled was a popular one - The Crossover Baby Booties. This is an awesomely cute and easy design, but I had a little problem: After sitting down with the free pattern I downloaded, I realized there's no gauge or size included. That's the whole reason I was using a well-used pattern! I have trouble making things for babies... The little boogers are all different shapes and sizes, and they grow so quickly. I've never been around many of these strange little noisy creatures, so it's hard to judge if I'm getting the fit correct. I found later that the gauge is available on the Ravelry page, but I didn't think to check while I was working on the booties.


Crossover Baby Booties, FSU team colors, crochet


  Google searching to the rescue! I was still able to use the Crossover design after looking up some size charts, but I added a few of my own touches. I made the uppers and the soles in two different colors for Mommy-to-be's sport's team request, and instead of sewing I joined the pieces with surface crochet. I think they're too bulky in worsted, but cute nonetheless.


Crossover Baby Booties, Ravelry, crochet


  Now more confident with sizes, I set about designing my own pattern. I could see that using worsted weight yarn makes the seams ridiculously thick, so I wanted to go with a smoother in-the-round design. The main part of the toe is more like a sock, so I planned on using something like a short-row design to complete the heel. Somewhere along the line I remembered that I have to feed The Other Half so I took a break to cook dinner. By the time I got back to the project, I was exhausted and forgot what my original plan was for joining the sections. I kept trying, but couldn't figure out why it wasn't going the way I originally wanted it to go.


baby booties, FSU team colors, crochet


  A bit of sleep and a lot of coffee later, I'm back at it. Oh, yeah! I was going to do a color change, then seal up the sides with single crochet for a contrasting-colored, textured seam. But now I can't decide if I still want to do that color change or not. Or how high I want the back of the heel to be... I'm thinking something like a moccasin or slipper would be cute, but I also like the idea of a more-classic booty. (Or bootie?)


crochet, baby booties, work in progress, FSU team colors


  Aw, heck, make 'em all! Baby booties take so little yarn and time, I think I could make the kid a pair for every day of the week and still have plenty of scrap. The next job to tackle is a hat and diaper cover to match, but I'd much rather make those in a lighter weight yarn. Still stuck in this "can't go anywhere, can't spend money" limbo, Mommy-to-Be could possibly receive a year's supply of booties for the little snot monster.


crochet, baby booties, FSU team colors


  The expected poop-machine is The Other Half's first grand-baby, by the way. I have a feeling I'll be ordering lots of yarn in these colors. I do have some lighter weight yarn, but it's all in pastel baby colors. Although Mommy-to-Be wanted only garnet and gold, maybe I'll get started on some surprise items anyway. After all, you can't have enough spares with a little laundry-maker around, right?

Happy Crocheting!

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