Baby Shower Gift – Saartje’s Booties

What’s a cutest baby shower gift than a pair of handknitted booties? They’re so tiny and soft, and everyone can see at once that time and care was showered on the mum-to-be (and the baby, of course!).

I whipped up these booties for a Coworker. Believe it or not, this is the third work-baby gift in three months (!). I usually stick to my baby boom bear hat for quick gifts, but the last recipient proudly showed the gift all over the office. As sweet as that is (so sweet, seriously), I think a little variation is called for, so it’s clear to the mum-to-be that I made something Just For Her.

Saartje’s booties (or Saartje’s Bootees, if you prefer that spelling!) are one of those patterns which are famous for a reason. They’re quick to make, use just scraps of yarn, and look as cute as the buttons which fasten them closed!

And did I mention it’s a free pattern?

I made the classic booties, but there’s also a seamless variation. I don’t know about you, but I prefer a short seam to all that purling!

I made these all in white as I’m not sure which sex the mum-to-be is expecting, and if she’s sticking to traditional colours, and I didn’t have any machine washable red or yellow scraps in my stash anyway, so… I did dive though the stash for a contrast colour, but came up short – now that I’m working on it again, my sock yarn blanket has been eating all the scraps up!

The yarn itself is deep stash – it’s fingering weight, and either a washable merino, or an acrylic blend. Either way, it can go in the machine. Even on 2mm needles, these booties knit up in an afternoon. The buttons are deep stash too. I shipped my tiny button collection over from New Zealand. At the time, I thought that was a ridiculous indulgence, but I’ve been grateful for it a dozen times! (And don’t worry – those buttons are sewed on securely!)

I’m really happy with how these booties turned out, and will knit them again. I think they’ll make a sweet baby shower gift – next time I might pair them with a bunny hat!

Project Notes

• Ravelry link to free pattern
• Link to my Ravelry project
• Yarn: stash fingering weight
• Needle: 2mm
• Approx time: 3 hours