I made these fun little tulip-shaped booties for Adali Patience, the daughter of our friends Paul and Jessica. These booties are almost exactly the ones from this pattern in Knitty, with only the exception of 4-strand braided ties instead of i-cord laces. I don't have the patience to knit 22 inches of i-cord on size three needles, so until I buy one of those cool crank-handled spool knitters, I'm going to keep looking for ways to avoid hand-knitting i-cords. I think the ties worked pretty well anyway, and the booties are definitely pretty cute, especially from the back.

Ties make a lot of sense for baby booties, because babies are always kicking their legs, and without a firm way to hold shoes on their toes can get cold fast! Ties also allow a bootie to be adjustable, which makes it fit longer than a fixed-size slipper.


This was a fairly time-intensive project compared to the finished size, knit on size 3 dpns and with three overlapping petals going up the leg. Thus, the price is higher than a simpler pair of booties.

Suggested retail: $24