There’s nothing quite as heartwarming as tiny baby feet, and keeping them warm in handmade booties is a joy. This pattern will guide you through creating a delicate and adaptable knitted baby bootie, perfect for gifting or for your own little one. This specific size fits 0-3 months, but we’ll include tips for adjusting the size!
Skill Level: Easy
Finished Size (Approximate):
- Sole Length: 3.5 – 3.75 inches (9 – 9.5 cm)
- Suitable for: Newborn to 3 Months
Materials You’ll Need:
- Yarn: DK weight (Light Worsted / 8 ply) baby yarn in your desired color. (Approximately 40-50 yards per pair).
- Tip: Look for soft, washable yarns like baby acrylic, cotton blends, or superwash merino wool.
- Knitting Needles: Double-pointed needles (DPNs) or a short circular needle (for magic loop) in size US 4 (3.5 mm).
- Adjust needle size if needed to meet gauge.
- Tapestry Needle: For seaming and weaving in ends.
- Scissors
- Stitch Markers (optional): Helpful for marking rounds.
- Ribbon or Cord (optional): Approximately 12-15 inches (30-38 cm) per bootie for embellishment.
Gauge (Crucial for Sizing!):
24 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch.
- Please swatch! Knit a small square (e.g., cast on 30 stitches, knit 40 rows) to check your gauge. If your swatch is too big, use smaller needles. If it’s too small, use larger needles.
Abbreviations:
- CO: Cast On
- K: Knit
- P: Purl
- K2tog: Knit 2 stitches together (decrease)
- P2tog: Purl 2 stitches together (decrease)
- SSK: Slip, slip, knit (decrease) – Slip 1 stitch knitwise, slip next stitch knitwise, insert left needle into front of both slipped stitches and knit them together.
- St(s): Stitch(es)
- RS: Right Side
- WS: Wrong Side
- BO: Bind Off
Let’s Knit!
We’ll start by knitting the sole flat, then pick up stitches to create the sides and top of the bootie.
Part 1: The Sole (Knitted Flat)
Using your knitting needles, CO 10 stitches.
Row 1 (RS): K all stitches. Row 2 (WS): P all stitches.
Row 3 (Increase Row – RS): K1, M1L, K to last st, M1R, K1. (12 sts) * M1L (Make 1 Left): Lift the bar between the last stitch and the next stitch from the front with the left needle, knit into the back of it. * M1R (Make 1 Right): Lift the bar between the last stitch and the next stitch from the back with the left needle, knit into the front of it.
Row 4 (WS): P all stitches.
Row 5 (Increase Row – RS): K1, M1L, K to last st, M1R, K1. (14 sts) Row 6 (WS): P all stitches.
Row 7 (Increase Row – RS): K1, M1L, K to last st, M1R, K1. (16 sts) Row 8 (WS): P all stitches.
Rows 9-28: K all stitches on RS rows, P all stitches on WS rows. (20 rows total of stockinette, maintaining 16 sts). * This creates the main length of the sole. For a longer sole, add more rows here.
Row 29 (Decrease Row – RS): K1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. (14 sts) Row 30 (WS): P all stitches.
Row 31 (Decrease Row – RS): K1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. (12 sts) Row 32 (WS): P all stitches.
Row 33 (Decrease Row – RS): K1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. (10 sts) Row 34 (WS): P all stitches.
BO all stitches. You now have a flat, slightly oval-shaped sole.
Part 2: Picking Up Stitches for the Body
We will now pick up stitches around the perimeter of the sole.
- With the RS of the sole facing you, and starting at the center of one of the short ends (the heel end), pick up and knit 10 stitches along the short end.
- Pick up and knit 20 stitches evenly along the long side.
- Pick up and knit 10 stitches along the other short end (toe end).
- Pick up and knit 20 stitches evenly along the remaining long side. (Total: 60 stitches picked up)
Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Part 3: Bootie Sides
Rnd 1: Purl all stitches. Rnd 2: Knit all stitches. Rnd 3: Purl all stitches. Rnd 4: Knit all stitches.
Part 4: Shaping the Toe
Now we’ll work back and forth in rows to create the toe shaping.
- Locate Center Front: Count 20 stitches from your beginning of round marker. Place a new stitch marker. This section of 20 stitches will be the front of the bootie.
- Row 1 (RS): K15. K2tog. K1. (17 sts worked). Turn.
- The remaining stitches on your needle are for the sides and back of the bootie. You are only working on the 17 stitches for the toe.
- Row 2 (WS): P1. P2tog. P to end of toe stitches. Turn.
- Row 3 (RS): K to 2 sts before gap. K2tog (knitting the last stitch of the toe section with the first unworked stitch from the side). Turn.
- Row 4 (WS): P to 2 sts before gap. P2tog (purling the last stitch of the toe section with the first unworked stitch from the side). Turn.
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until you have 8 stitches remaining on your toe section. Continue until all side stitches have been incorporated into the toe shaping, and you have only the 8 toe stitches remaining on your needle.
Part 5: Ankle Cuff
Now we will knit the ankle cuff in the round.
- Pick up and knit stitches along the side edges of the toe opening. Pick up 1 stitch for every row end of the toe shaping.
- Continue knitting in the round across the remaining stitches from the sides/back of the bootie. (You should have approximately 48-52 stitches in total, depending on how many rows you worked for the toe shaping).
Rnd 1 (Eyelet Row): K2tog, YO, K to end of round. * This creates holes for the ribbon or cord. * YO (Yarn Over): Bring yarn over the needle to create a new stitch.
Rnd 2: Knit all stitches. Rnd 3: Purl all stitches. Rnd 4: Knit all stitches.
BO all stitches loosely.
Part 6: Finishing & Embellishment
- Seam the Sole: Fold the sole in half lengthwise. Using your tapestry needle and a length of yarn, seam the cast-on and bound-off edges together to form a closed sole.
- Weave in all ends: Securely weave in all remaining yarn tails using your tapestry needle.
- Add Ribbon/Cord (Optional): Cut a length of ribbon or make a knitted/crocheted cord (ch 40-50, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across). Thread it through the eyelet row (Rnd 1 of the ankle cuff) around the ankle of the bootie. Tie a bow at the front.
- Make a second bootie: Repeat all steps to create a matching bootie for the other foot!
Video tutorial
Sizing Adjustments:
- For a smaller size (e.g., Preemie/Newborn):
- Reduce the initial CO stitches for the sole (e.g., CO 8 stitches).
- Reduce the number of increase rows for the sole.
- Reduce the number of stockinette rows for the main sole length.
- Reduce the number of stitches picked up around the sole.
- Reduce the number of stitches for the toe shaping.
- For a larger size (e.g., 3-6 months or 6-9 months):
- Increase the initial CO stitches for the sole (e.g., CO 12 stitches).
- Add more increase rows to the sole to make it wider.
- Add more stockinette rows for the main sole length.
- Increase the number of stitches picked up around the sole.
- Increase the number of stitches for the toe shaping.
- Add more rows to the ankle cuff for a taller bootie.
General Sizing Tip: The sole length is the most critical measurement. After knitting the sole (Part 1), measure it to ensure it’s the desired length for the baby’s foot. It should be slightly smaller than the actual foot length as knitting will stretch.
