Vintage Thursday: The Little Princess Baby Bootees

Don't let the name dissuade you; the Little Princess Baby Bootees are great unisex baby booties. There's none of the funky feminine frills found in some of the other vintage booklets I have. (And believe me, there is quite a bit in those. I may have to work some them up to prove it.) I knit a lot of bootees when I was expecting V., and these became my favorite. They are now invariably my go-to gifted bootees - virtually everyone I know who has had new baby around me has a pair of these from me. The perks to this pattern, aside from it's comparative readability, is the simplicity of the design and the fact that V. could not wiggle or kick them off. (That in itself was worth any amount of knitting fuss.)

Knit with Regia sock yarn on US #1 (2.25 mm) dpns

I love these bootees SO much, I am passing the pattern on to you. It is from Bear Brand-Bucilla Baby Book Volume 328, last copyrighted in 1944, so it is now in the public domain. I could just scan the pattern and try to sell it to you, but that somehow feels cheap to me. No offense to those who have done just that - I am grateful to you, since I use those patterns! But being the perfectionist I am, I don't feel like I'm working for it enough if I do that. However, in future I will offer for sale vintage patterns, with the catch that I will also include my interpretation of the pattern and knit a sample up myself, if possible. That seems far more appropriate.

The much loved (a.k.a. falling apart) cover of my copy.

And now, on to the pattern!

Little Princess Baby Bootees #1874

The Little Princess Baby Bootees are part of a set, but I've only included the bootees here.

I find that just about any fingering weight yarn will do. I've knit these bootees in everything from the coarser sock yarn like Regia or Jawoll to very soft, all merino yarn that has no added nylon. I used US #1 (2.25 mm) dpns, and found that the the sizing is pretty much correct: sometimes the bootees fit an infant, and sometimes a 3 month old, sometimes older. Kids vary.

As far as working the actual pattern is concerned, when it came to decreasing the sole I worked "k2tog, ssk" rather than "k2 tog twice," simply because it's more symmetrical, and I used the three needle bind off inside of a conventionally bound off and sewn seam. I also didn't make tassels; those instructions were not included anywhere in the booklet. I suppose knitters in 1944 just knew how to make tassels. (Along with argyle socks.)

I hope you enjoyed these bootees! Please feel free to comment with any questions or remarks.

Savage ends!

I'm making progress on the "Cross Country" sweater for V., although I'm starting to think I need more needles. That's always the refrain, isn't it? I need more. More yarn, more magazines, more books, more needles. But I do. The collar is supposed to be done using a circular US #2, something which I (lap knitter) would be very surprised to possess. I do have some circulars, but they are #0's, I think, because the thought of trying lace on multiple dpns made me want to cry.

I think I'll block it somewhat while it's in this flattened state

I have the arms on the body and the shoulders joined, as you see above. I tried it on the kid and it all seems fine. V. is a lean 4 yr. old, and any of you familiar with slip stitch patterns (such as this one) know that there is a LOT of give in the fabric.

What she is going to wear with it, I don't know. I've really only begun her winter wardrobe for this year. I have some stuff I've found at thrift stores and such that I'm rather proud of, but nothing that is basic like a pair of jeans:

This $2 thriftstore sweater is hand made in Ireland! With SHEEP!

The inside of "Cross Country" is giving me pause:

Not actually savaged, just not woven in. :(

I need to find my crochet hooks and address it at some point. That point is NOT today. I may, in fact, finish the Funky Sweater first. But this sweater will be cute in the end. I've laid it out so that you can imagine it better:

Imagine all those ends gone. I know I'm trying to.

Winter is coming!

No, really. I know it's +80 degrees outside right now, and my air conditioner sounds like it might have a stroke, but winter will be here before any of us knitters know it, and then where will we be?

That's right - so desperately behind in holiday knitting that we will be forced to give our loved ones our own knitted accessories. Then we will spend all winter tucking our hands into our jacket sleeves and walking around like a hunchback in the snow, a cheap dollar store beanie on our head.

Ok, perhaps I mean I will, not us. But not this year!

I'm making this for V:

I'm taking a pass on the pants and the stick

This is from Tessa Watts-Russell's Nursery Knits, which I scored at a thrift store. Some of the patterns are very dated ('80's) but most of them are classic and worth having. This particular sweater is called "Cross Country" (I suppose the little tyke is cross country skiing...? Looks more like an Alps adventure to me.)

It's a very basic sweater with slip-stitched stripes. I was expecting to purl on the reverse, since that makes the second row of color go smoother (no moving the yarn from front to back every other stitch) but that's not what the plan is, apparently. I suppressed my desire to modify and went with it. The result is the texture you see in these photos.

Completed back and front. Those ends will probably kill me.

The hem is being done on US #2 needles, so it's a tight affair. I went up a needle size or two for the body because I was concerned. But so far, so good. The yarn I'm using is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in sport weight. I confess, yesterday I had to order more. But that is alright, because I also had to order more of the same kind of yarn for a sweater I've started for myself. I am NOT freezing my tuckus off this winter. Really.

Nice, tight bottom... edge. (I obviously need to get out more.:P)

Saving a buck

I've been thinking a lot lately about extreme frugality, and this thinking has driven some of my projects. It's debatable whether it's really worthwhile to mend a piece of kid's clothing that could probably be obtained from the thrift store for $1, but that's what I've done. V. has worn a hole in the knee of a pair of brown leggings she wears frequently. I decided to patch it. This grand idea was partially inspired by the butterfly pants I recently fixed up for her, and partly by the heart-shaped pocket on shirt that I just put in the "recycle" pile because it's outgrown. That heart would make a perfect patch. However, being stark white, it would look dingy in no time at all, so I decided to embellish it since I am on an embroidering kick.

I lightly inked in a design to embroider

Main embroidery finished

Blanket stitched onto the leggings.

V. chose the color of the flowers from my box of embroidery thread. I made the bow holding the bouquet of flowers brown (and the blanket stitching) to tie-in the design to the color of the leggings.

I have yet to try them on V., but I think they will be cute on her, especially with a lavender or purple top.

Mossiness

I have been working on a sweater to fit a 12 month old as a commission. It's basically a crew neck, long sleeved pullover, with buttons at one shoulder.

I've actually progressed a lot further than this, but I don't have any more recent progress photos to show. I've been insanely busy, except when I'm not, in which case I just sit, overwhelmed.

I figured if instead of stocking stitch I used moss stitch the sweater would be fairly entertaining. And it was. But the next one will be a Gansey, i.e, only textured patterns on the upper half.

I used KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, in Sapphire Heather, which is quite a bold color, although these photos certainly do not reflect that. It's a really popping blue.

Extreme Budgeting

I don't know how many of you have noticed, but I have gone from being a woman who works in an architectural firm in Boston to a woman who works in an architectural firm in the Bay Area who has a toddler. The economy has also changed. All in all, even with a decent income, I am broke.

So, extreme budgeting time. I need to restrict my spending. This about more than the yarn diet I am already on... I need to not eat out, or splurge on anything not carefully planned. That's not easy as a single mother, because life throws random stuff at you and sometimes there simply isn't time or opportunity to pack a lunch or make dinner.

I am going to start logging where the money goes as much as seems prudent.

Today I:

• Spent $5 at a bagel place for coffee and bagel with cream cheese, because I woke up late this morning and the coffee I made was crap and I didn't eat breakfast or have time to pack a lunch.
• Made V. oatmeal and toaster hash browns, and she barely ate any of it, because she wanted to play with my housemate's kids, who were home sick.
• In retrospect, I should have eaten her breakfast.

Knitting
On the knitting front, the poncho is not yet done, but I have a pair of swatch booties that are almost complete and ready for their guinea pig recipient, my co-worker's new baby.

I need to make the ties...

Poncho Progress

I have been slowly knitting away at the Hooded Baby Poncho I started the other day; slowly, I say, not because it's a project that takes long, but because I've only been working on it intermittently. I probably could have gotten it done in a day. It is, after all, on US #10 needles!

Front

You can see in the photo above that I have just passed the neck hole and have begun the back. I have also just started the second ball of Lion Brand Jiffy (El Paso is apparently the name of the colorway I'm using for the most part) and since it took an entire ball to do the front, plus that miscellaneous Jiffy of unknown colorway, I think I definitely need to procure some more yarn for this project. There is, after all, still a hood and a pocket to go after the back is done.

Close-up of Neck Hole

The neck hole looks pretty wonky, but I am hoping that will resolve itself once I attach the hood.

"Artistic" view of progress

I think this may turn out to be an acceptable play poncho in the long run. We'll see.

Scottie Baby Cardigan

Last year I knit this cute little flaming red cardigan for V. from a 1980's retro pattern - that is, a pattern from the 1980's that was nostalgic for The Little Rascals. I have, of course, lost the pattern since then, but the sweater remains.

Front view

I knit it in size 2, using Paton's Classic Wool, and if the shade of red you are seeing on your screen is searing the retinas of your eyes, then you are getting it about right. I thought ahead with this cardi somewhat and made the cuffs twice as long as they needed to be. I just folded them up, and when V. had a growth spurt, I folded them down. She tends to lanky and lean, figure-wise, so it was safe bet.

Overstitched Scottie in gray alpaca

The Scottie was what made me want to knit this pattern. I am a sucker for animals like this on clothes. I can't tell you how many dresses she has that feature Scotties or poodles or some such animal tethered to it. I had a little bit of heathered gray alpaca laying about, so I used it, and the effect is, I think, appropriately fuzzy.

Knitting From the Stash

This project is the result of my desire to knit from the stash. I have about 2 1/2 balls of Lion Brand Jiffy (Color 325, Lot 44109) - or rather, 2 balls of that color and a half ball of the same yarn in a slightly different colorway or lot, I'm not sure which. But it's close enough that I'm just throwing it in with it. I've decided to keep things simple, so I'm going to eat up this yarn by using a pattern intended for it, the Hooded Baby Poncho. V. could use a poncho that is easy to wash and is cheerful, so here it goes!

You can really see where the colorway changes

I started with the 1/2 ball of whatever colorway/lot, which was probably a mistake. I probably should have reserved that for the front pocket. But oh well. It's not critical, like the matching of stripes on a pair of socks. Which I will go completely anal and crazy over, to the point of cutting the yarn and rejoining it to make it all come out right... but that's not applicable here. It's just a play poncho. And besides, the pattern calls for 3 balls, so I may have to go get another ball somewhere anyways. The yarn I have was a hand-me-down, so it's really unlikely that any new Jiffy I get will be a great match.

Little Red Hat/Hood

A couple months ago I knit up a vintage hat/hood bonnet-like thing for V. I'm not really sure what to call it, but it's cute. (Please excuse the poor picture quality - these photos were taken on my camera phone, since somehow someone managed to stick their very tiny fingers into my camera aperture and break my camera... again.) It's a pattern from a Columbia-Minerva Baby Book Vol. 67 (1943).

Side view

Front-ish view

You can see the thing a bit more clearly in the photo below.

I used a fiery red colorway of Paton's Classic Wool, which has turned out to be one of my staples when I'm in a jam. I had just enough of it to make it, which was about 3/4 of a ball, because I had previously made V. a retro-themed red sweater. (I haven't shown that one yet - I need to!)

She hasn't worn it much yet since it's spring, but because it's really more of a  tie-on hood than a fitted hat, it will fit her next season. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and even brought her a dress to go with it for next fall/winter.

Commissioned Baby Hat Set #3

Here is the third and final baby hat/scarf set I was commissioned to make through my etsy shop around the holidays this winter. This one is for a three year old boy.

It's 100% wool.

Close-up of hat

On all the sets, I did some hand embroidery on the scarves and hats that matched. I figured that would make them more special than just plain hand knit hats. :)

Commisoned Bay Hat Set #2

Today I:

• Stayed home from work with a sick toddler.Such is life!
• Aren't feeling so hot, myself. 

Baby Hat Set #2
This is the set of three hat/scarf sets I made via an etsy shop commission. This one is for a one year old girl, in 100% wool, with matching embroidery on the hat and scarf. I used Paton's Classic Wool.

Hat and scarf together

Close-up of hat

Close-up of scarf

The remaining hat/scarf set was for a three year old boy, and is of a slightly different style. I really liked how it turned out, so I am likely to write up a pattern for it once I do what I consider my final version. :)

Comissioned Baby Hat Sets

Today I:

• slurped a little kefir and then grabbed a coffee by work and ate the rest of V's breakfast sandwich;
• ate a cookie;
• had a pre-lunch turkey sandwich;
• am still hungry. Go figure!

Around Thanksgiving I was commissioned via my etsy shop to make three sets of baby/toddler beanie and scarves. Here is the result:

Set #1:
For a one year old girl. Yellow 100% wool beanie and scarf with hand embroidery. It was really difficult to find an economical but good 100% wool yellow yarn quickly, but a vigilant search yielded a single ply wool that is relatively soft after washing.

It really is this yellow!

Hand embroidered flower

Note hand embroidered flower that matches hat embroidery

Close-up

Tomorrow: Set #2.

Quickie Baby Hat

I whipped up this toddler beanie out of some Malabrigo I had in my stash as an esty item to sell:

It's just a basic worked in the round, drawn-together top beanie. I embellished it with some embroidery in another brand of single-ply knitting yarn with a leaf, since the color scheme seemed autumnal to me.

Below you can see the drawn-together top:

I'm not a big fan of drawn-together tops, but they are good for getting a general fit, rather than very specific, more tailored one. And that's kind of important with toddler heads. :P

I've been thinking a lot lately about hat sizing, and bonnet sizing. Usually, it's just head circumference and sometimes hat depth given, but how to determine hat depth was always a puzzler for me. I think I may have finally figured it out: measure from ear to ear (either below ear, or whatnot, depending on the intended fit) and then divide by 2, and consider ease. Bonnets are a bit trickier, I think, but I've been feeling bound and determined lately to figure out some standardized sizing chart for bonnet making.

Vintage Baby Jacket Sans Playsuit

It's been a while, but hello! I'm back. :)

You really don't want to know what I've been eating today. It's one of those days. Onward to knitting!

Vintage Baby Jacket
This knit is from the Rock-a-Bye Baby Book by Columbia Minerva, which you see below. The green outfit that little boy is wearing is what I made, with some qualifiers:

• I did NOT use Columbia-Minerva Quick Knit Baby Yarn, as the pattern suggests, because much like you good folk are no doubt also suspecting, a book with a cover price of 60 cents may not be massively current. I'm pretty sure that yarn is discontinued, but I'm more than willing to be corrected on that point. I used some Berroco Comfort DK in a cream color that was left over from old baby projects, since a gauge of 6sts = 1" was needed on Size 6 needles.
• This pattern is a jacket and playsuit set. I did not make the playsuit. 

Aside from that, it's all pretty much as the pattern calls for. (Which, by the way, is incredibly simple!) 

I'm quite happy with the result, here:

I found the buttons by accident at a clearance fabric store. I bought them in two sizes because I didn't have the jacket with me to size the buttons. I didn't regret it. I was delayed for quite some time in finishing this project for lack of good buttons, and now I have them, and some to spare.

This isn't the only Columbia Minerva pattern I've done up. You may recall that I made a lacy baby jacket in black Caron Simply soft, and a mock cable baby cardigan out of some leftover burgundy Encore worsted. And I doubt this will be the last pattern. I highly recommend this book to anyone who can get their greedy little hands on it. Although you may not be as lucky as to spend only 60 cents on it anymore.

Vintage Thursday - Cabled Baby Cardigan UFO

The hope is that this will not be a UFO forever. In the grand scheme of things, it has not in fact been a UFO for very long - maybe four months. It's from this booklet, which you may recall I have mentioned before:Unfortunately, I don't have close up of the page in question at the moment. It would involve a lot of digging through boxes (and a waking of the baby) to disgorge it from my piles of stuff. (I moved recently - I'm not that bad of a slob. Really.) So, until I get it out and scan it for your viewing pleasure, I'll simply tell you that it's a hooded cardigan with a cable running up either sleeve. Very simple, actually. I'm undecided whether to include the hood, or to make a collar, but I did decide to make it out of Caron Simply Soft in the whitest of whites. I wanted V. to have a good, very washable, white cardi that could coordinate with practically anything.
But because I can't leave plain very well alone, I'm added Peter Rabbit buttons:
Aren't those almost too cute for words? I nearly had every button different, but the fact that I would have to repeat Peter Rabbit (posed differently, but still very much Peter Rabbit, rather than another character) I nixed it and stuck with this one.

This project was delayed by the moving, and was supplanted by the garter stitch scarf. Foolish, foolish me.

Bunny hat progress

Ever have everything be so hectic around you that doing something simple - something that is really and truly a no-brainer - takes you days and days and many a ripping out? That's me with this bunny hat. Originally, I started with the scarf part, thinking, "Wouldn't it be great to simply knit up from the scarf to the crown?" But then I had head size issues, to say the least. (You'd think I didn't know how to check gauge!) Then I started to think about how spiffy it would be to be able to make the hat with or without the scarf part, depending on your taste. So RIP! it all went again. And then I cast on too many stitches. I think that had something to do with trying to count while watching an active toddler and listening to a lecture on psychology on YouTube while, of course, the husband tries to give running commentary on a tangential idea. (Really - how could I cast on wrong int hat situation? Silly me!) Naturally, I only realized the mistake once I was beginning the second bunny ear and the number of stitches I was picking up didn't add up correctly.

But I am on the right path now. I grabbed about an hour - ALONE - at the coffeehouse and made a fresh start. Whoo-ee!