I’m going to reprint the pattern for the moonbooties here. I think it’s acceptable to do so because it was copied for me by my LYS from a photocopy from a 1989 Threads Magazine. A 95-year-old woman named Christine Bourquin had sent it in because she didn’t want the pattern to die with her, so I’m honoring her wish. I’ve rewritten a few sections that were confusing to me, and I’ve added directions for a larger size, too. This pattern is very easy to adjust to fit your gauge, so feel confident that you can experiment until it suits your yarn and the baby you’re knitting for. Grab the PDF file for the pattern here: moonbooties

Materials: Any fingering- or sock-weight yarn (I used Trekking XXL), and a set of five double pointed needles in the appropriate size (I used US #2). You may find a small crochet hook useful to make the ties, but you can use ribbon if you prefer.

Sizes given are for a newborn, with 3-6 months size in parentheses.

CO 10 (12) sts.

Work sole: K 36 (48) rows straight in garter stitch until sole measures about 3″ (4″). Leave the 10 (12) sts on Needle 1. With Needle 2, pick up 18 (24) sts along one side. With Needle 3, pick up 10 (12) sts at the cast-on edge, and with Needle 4, pick up 18 (24) sts along the other side. 56 (72) sts.

Work welts for foot: Taking care to keep working around in the same direction, P 4 rounds, K 4 rounds, P 4 rounds, K 4 rounds, P 4 rounds.

Work top of foot: K back across 9 (11) of the sts on N1. Slip the 10th (12th) st to N4 and knit it together with the closest st on N4, returning the new st to N1. 10 (12) sts. Turn and purl back across N1, slipping the last st to N2 and purling it together with the closest N2 st. In this manner, work 16 (24) rows, always keeping 10 (12) sts on N1. You should have 10 (12) sts left on N2 and on N4 and 40 (48) sts in all.

Work ankle: K around the 40 (48) sts for the ankle. To prevent a hole at the end of the first round, pick up 1 extra st from the gap and knit it together with the 1st st on the 2nd round. Work 2 more rounds.

Work eyelet row and cuff: Make eyelets for the ties on the 4th round: *K2, yo, k2tog* 10 (12) times. K 22 rounds and BO.

Finishing: Weave in ends. Crochet or finger-knit two chains of sts about 12″ long each for the ties (or use ribbon) and thread through eyelets. Tie a bow at the front.

It was a weekend for knitted gifts.

Here’s baby Alex, quite well grown for his three-and-a-half months, sporting his new footwear. I’m calling these moonbooties for their decided resemblance to ’70s moonboots. But they stay on beautifully, and they’ll fit the little fellow for at least another month or two. Apparently even the doctors remarked on his large feet when he was born!

And here’s Marika in her clapotis:

May it keep her warm through many hours of studying at the barbarously air-conditioned NYU library!

There’s been a rash of feline destruction Chez Blue Garter of late. My camera lacks the ability to really zoom in on the wanton damage here, but you can observe that the right tip of the needle that’s horizontal is, well, completely gone. I left the furry little hoodlum apparently snoozing beside my booties for exactly the amount of time it took me to walk to the kitchen and rinse a peach. Fifteen seconds, perhaps? Since I already lost the fifth needle of this set, that’s effectively the end of their useful lives. I was able to limp through the remaining rounds of booty cuff by slipping the stitches off the back of the wounded needle to the free one each time, but I’m not likely to cast on for a new project knowing I’ll have to do this every round. Darn it, Mingus, I really liked these Brittany Birches, and they were my only set of #2s. Send a cat muzzle…or metal needles.