My Little God-monster

My godson is a good eater, and it shows in his size. At two months old, he is in the 100th percentile for his length and is 13 pounds.

I made these for him just after he was born (April 2010).

I LOVE the yarn I used - Fleece Artist, Peter Rabbit - it's so soft and beautiful! 70% angora, 20% nylon, and 10% wool. I purchased it at Urban Yarns in Vancouver. It's a bit more pricey than some yarns but you can get at least 3 pairs of booties out of it (probably more!). I had it wound into two balls and held it double to achieve the correct gauge (US 7 - 4.5mm needles).

It seemed like they would be easy for a baby to kick off so I added a crocheted chain as a tie (I don't know how to crochet but it's easy to do, just search youtube for directions). Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off was perfect for this pattern (I would definitely recommend this bind off for any bootie, sweater, or project that might need some extra stretch at the edge).

I wanted them to come up slightly higher on the baby's leg than the pattern called for so I added some extra rows of ribbing (I did 10 instead of 6 rows).

Youtube was definitely helpful when it came time to make the french knot toes! Check out this video if you are looking for instructions. This video was also helpful. The french knots were my least favorite part of this project (but totally necessary!) - it took me a few times to get them looking half-decent and to not pull them through to the wrong side of my knitting! Weaving the ends in was another story...so many ends, so little room to weave them in. I ended up mostly tying tight knots in the yarn of the french knots on the wrong side of the project. I wonder what an experienced knitter would have done? Oh well, it was NOT pretty but it worked!

I was so excited to make these monster booties for him, they are too cute! Unfortunately, they barely fit him. The pattern is for a newborn but his feet were too big even though he was only 3 weeks old when I gave them to him! Good thing they are planning on having more children :) I think they would fit a 'normal-size' newborn. I may end up making him another pair and adding a bit to the length (which would mean adjusting the pattern slightly - another new adventure!).

Here they are on his feet, since they were too small, it was easy for him to kick them off. They are stretched to the max lengthwise.

I ended up making another pair for a friend who was expecting. These make great gifts and I will definitely be making more!

This was a free pattern I found on Ravelry by Shana Kreikemeier - here is the link to the pattern on needyl.com: Monster Booties.