Customer Reviews

50 Baby Bootees to Knit

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read some of the other reviews, and thought that perhaps this book wasn't worth the price. It also didn't seem very practical to buy a book that's just about bootees and nothing else.

But then, I happened to see it in a bookstore and found myself transfixed by page after page! The designs in this book are absolutely adorable! Yes, it's true, they are all variations of the same four basic "patterns" -- but, with the exception of one or two, each seems unique enough to me to warrant being considered its own "design." And, why get hung up on the fact that they're called "bootees," but some patterns are actually socks?? The point is, they're almost all adorable. Besides, I don't know anyone who buys a pattern book expecting to love and create every single item within, anyway.

What I love about this book is that it covers everything -- dressy/casual, novelty/practical, cold weather/warm weather, girl/boy. You can find something to knit for any baby, any time of year, for any occasion.

I LOVE this book!! I have been knitting for 30 years and have a ton of pattern books. (I started knitting at 10.) This book is FULL of REALLY cute booties. I have made some of the patterns and have been very happy with the results. Most only require 1-2 balls of yarn and so make an inexpensive gift even using a more expensive yarn. As a 40 yr old mother of 5 I have little spare time. I knit while relaxing and listening to books on tape or watching TV. These beautiful little projects are perfect for that. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

All the designs look so sweet and adorable.

I agree that there seem to be some designs that are variations on the same theme. However, I found this helpful because they are scaled to different sizes, which makes it easier to adapt a style to size.

For my first project I tried the fair isle checkered shoes from the cover. The size was perfect. Although I found a few minor counting errors in the pattern.

The edging instructions produced a very different looking shoe with more of a cuff. If I were to skip the edging I would have the same style shoe as the cover. Also, the edging instructions contain extra eyelets for the ribbon and it wasn't clear how to thread them.

I'm looking forward to trying some of the other bootee designs.

This book has so much variety in booties. I'm a new knitter and chose the Herringbone booties as my second project. It was quite a learning curve but I really wanted to learn how to do them so I could make special presents for my friends. There are so many good choices in here that you have a hard time choosing. Definitely a good choice for your knitting library. I've also knit the wedding booties as a christening gift. So far, no corrections needed. The patterns were perfect.

I fell in love with this book. If you are looking to try new things on a smaller scale such as cables, Fair Ilse etc this is a fun way to experiment. I have no children of my own and felt a little silly buying this book but have had such a great time choosing funky colored yarn and embellishments that I would reccomend this book to anyone looking for quick projects they can be creative with.

Many have soles knitted separate and sewn on -(you can't tell this in some of the pictures - really talented finisher, I guess). Some cute patterns. Some just goofy embellishments -(sequins and yarn tassels? They just beg to be swallowed). I have made one pair of the shoes (with the sew on soles) and there may be a couple more that I will do.

I love the patterns in this book, each one is very cute and I plan to make them over and over again. BUT, a new knitter should be aware that most of the yarns specified for the patterns have been discontinued and you should know how to substitute other yarns for the patterns if you're going to use this book. I was very disappointed to see just how many patterns required searching and refiguring to find substitutes. It's worth it for the cute end results, but if you don't know how to do it, you could find yourself with some ill-fitting bootees.

This book has lots of errors and, if you are not an experienced knitter with time to rework them, you should not buy this book. I have tried locating an errata sheet for the book but have had no luck. Consequently, I am having to chart and rewrite the patterns. I think that the proofreading was amiss, if done at all. Susan

This book is filled with beautiful designs and instructions that are easily read and understood. This is not a book for busy Moms with little time on their hands, though, because nearly every pattern requires size three needles! Buy this book if you like to knit heirloom quality gifts that show off the time and skill put into them.

There are NOT 50 DIFFERENT booties in this book, there are some socks (click to get a larger image of the photo, where you can read the extended title) and booties with several variations.

To me, changing the edging design or using a pompon instead of a bell on the toe does not make it a different bootie. Also, they all use expensive yarns with no pictures to make substituting easier when the featured yarns are discontinued. Another bad thing is that if you're looking for booties that are completely done on dpns, you won't find them--they all (except for the socks, which you can adapt to the toe-up method to avoid kitchener stitch if you wish) require some sewing up.

However, that said, there are a few (and I mean few--several are commonly available designs with pricier yarn) really cute designs in the book which make it worth buying. It is also nice in that it is spiral bound so it will lie flat.

And the biggest issue I have with the book is that they never show the booties on the babies' feet. You can can only see the top of the booties, but realistically because of how babies are held in one's arms they need to look as good on the bottom as they do on the top. You really wonder how good the stiched together parts look. They have been carefully photographed so that you can't see either the bottoms or the backs, which usually indicates sloppy finishing work. And there are NO pictures on how to stitch them up properly.

Too bad the patterns aren't scaled up for grown-ups--the ones on the cover, for example, would make great Mommy-Daughter gifts. Baby booties are also a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn, especially for charity work.