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Hello and thanks for visiting my blog. I have been knitting on and off for 50 years and I recently learned to crochet. I love looking for wool bargains and making them into something useful. I mainly knit for charity. I occasionally knit for myself and family members if I find a really good pattern or if they ask nicely!!

Tuesday 12 May 2015

A baby hat and bootees set...



I was recently lucky enough to buy a copy of The Big Book of Baby Knitting by Mary Healey.  It was going for only 50p in my local charity shop.  Most of my patterns come free from library books or the Internet.  But this appealed to me because it was published in 1974 and has some really vintage patterns.  Were people still knitting swimming costumes for their children in 1974?  I don't think so; but this book also has lots of really practical and pretty patterns.

I started with two practical patterns....a baby hat that keeps the ears warm and bootees that look like they might actually stay on.  The only change I made to the hat pattern was to knit it in the round.  I always try to avoid seams on hats, especially baby hats.  The bootees are the first I have ever knitted.  I found the p2tog tbl stitch on the instep really fiddly to knit.  A voice in my head told me that there must be an alternative stitch.  Well, there doesn't seem to be; but there is an easier way of doing the p2tog tbl.  Here are the very clear instructions that I found on the Lily Go blog.

The knitting world has really moved on since 1974.  This book has no "knit in the round" patterns, uses different abbreviations for stitches, and has only one size for each pattern.  Luckily the booties and hat should fit a baby aged 3 months. So I am putting them together and calling them a set.  They will be saved until one of my many nieces and nephews (or daughter) have a baby.

In keeping with the vintage pattern, I used some vintage yarn.  It is Family Choice DK by Wendy and there is no barcode on the label.  I always take that to mean it is very old.  (There is no barcode on me either, so I can confirm that theory!)

I have already made a start on one of the prettier patterns, though it is taking longer as it calls for 4 ply yarn.  So I hope nobody is holding their breath waiting for a photo!


9 comments:

  1. My introduction to p2tog tbl came on the collar of that classic Irish sweater that included fishhooks. The hardest thing I ever figured out. I cannot imagine it on baby booties.

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  2. Hi Una, wow the baby hat and booties is so pretty and soft and perfect for a baby to wear!

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  3. You do such beautiful work, Una! I have some of the old pattern books from the 1970’s, when my children were babies. But, sadly I don’t have any of the garments that I made. I wished I would have saved a couple of them.

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  4. I dd crochet myself a bikini in 1970.......I love the hat pattern

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  5. You have done well my friend.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  6. Great pattern and stitching. =). I'm not so good at reading patterns. I can see crochet and copy...but, knit or crochet patterns are hard for me to decipher. =(

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  7. I love finding crafty books in charity shops-it always makes me so happy :-D
    Those are lovely and cute xx

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  8. Beautiful - I try to avoid seams on all my knits! Just goes to show vintage is just as good as any modern patterns.

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