Gold Bobble Booties: tapestry needle. Blue Jester Booties:
Tapestry needle; 18 small bells (bells shown from Harlequin
Beads (www.harlequinbeads.com); small stitch holder.
Green Serf Booties: Tapestry needle; stitch holder; two laces: leather strips, ribbons, or felted I-cord.

Gauge:
23 sts and 32 rows = 4” in St st before felting.

Skill level:  Intermediate.

GOLD BOBBLE BOOTIES
Stitch Guide:
Make bobble (MB): (K1, p1, k1, p1) in next st, turn, k4, turn, k4, turn, k4, sl 3 sts to right-hand needle, k1, pass all 3 slipped sts over knit st—1 st rem, back to original st count.

Sole:
With A, CO 38 (44, 50) sts.
Row 1: (WS) Knit.
Row 2: (RS) Knit into front and back of next st (k1f&b), k17 (20, 23), [k1f&b] 2 times, k17 (20, 23), k1f&b—4 sts inc’d.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: K1, k1f&b, k17 (20, 23), k1f&b, k2, k1f&b, k17 (20, 23), k1f&b, k1—4 sts inc’d.  Cont in this manner, inc 1 st each end of needle and 2 sts at center, working new sts in center as knit sts and increasing at outer edges of new sts, on RS rows until there are 62 (68, 78) sts. Knit 1 WS row. Purl 1 RS row.

Upper: Change to B and work 9 (9, 11 ) rows even in St st.
Next row: (RS) K28 (31, 36), k2tog, k2, ssk, k28 (31, 36)—2 sts dec’d.

Next row: (WS) P27 (30, 35), p2tog through back loop (tbl), p2, p2tog, p27 (30, 35)—2 sts dec’d. Rep last 2 rows until 32 (34, 40) sts rem. Work 8 (8, 10) rows even in St st.

Size 4” only:  On last purl row, inc 1 st in the center of row—35 sts.

All sizes:
Next row: (RS) K1 (2, 2), MB (see Stitch Guide), [k3 (4, 4), MB] 7 (6, 7) times, k2. BO all sts. For second bootie, make sole in B and upper in A.

Finishing:
With yarn threaded on a tapestry needle, sew along sole and up back, making a flat seam.

Felting: Place booties in a mesh laundry bag. Toss in washing machine with a towel. Wash on hot and rinse on cold, checking periodically on progress. Do not run through spin cycle. When individual sts are no longer visible, remove booties from bag and stuff lightly with plastic bags to hold shape. Let dry completely.

BLUE JESTER BOOTIES
Note:  Booties are made using two colors of yarn in the intarsia method. Twist the working ends of yarn around each other at the color change to prevent gaping.

Sole:
With straight needles and A, CO 19 (21, 25) sts, then on same needle and with B, CO 19 (21, 25) sts.
Row 1: (WS) Knit, twisting the 2 yarns at color change intarsia-style.
Row 2: (RS) Knit into front and back of next st (k1f&b), k17 (19, 23), [k1f&b] 2 times, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b—4 sts inc’d.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: K1, k1f&b, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b, k2, k1f&b, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b, k1—4 sts inc’d.  Cont in this manner, inc 1 st each end of needle and 2 sts at center, working new sts in center as knit sts and increasing at outer edges of new sts, on RS rows until there are 62 (68, 78) sts.
Next row: (WS) P30 (33, 38), [k1f&b] 2 times, p30 (33, 38). Next row: (RS) P30 (33, 38), place next 4 sts on holder to be worked later for toe bell, p30 (33, 38).

Upper: Working on all 60 (66, 76) sts and maintaining color separation at center, work 10 (10, 12) rows even in St st. Next row: (RS) K27 (30, 35), k2tog, k2, ssk (see box page 4), k27 (30, 35)—2 sts dec’d.  

Next row: (WS) P26 (29, 34), p2tog through back loop (tbl), p2, p2tog, p26 (29, 34)—2 sts dec’d. Rep last 2 rows until 32

Size 4” only:
On the last purl row, dec 1 st in the center of each color—32 sts rem.

All sizes:
Change to dpn. *Next row: K4 (4, 5), leave rem sts on straight needle. Work an I-cord (see box page 4) over these 4 (4, 5) sts, long enough to reach just short of the sole when bent at the top. Finish by working 2 sts tog on each row until 1 st rem. Rep from * to form 7 more tassels, 4 in each color. BO all sts. Transfer held 4 sts to needle and work an I-cord 1” long, finishing as the others. For second bootie, CO B first, then color A. Work as for first bootie.

Finishing:
With yarn threaded on a tapestry needle, sew along sole and up back, making a flat seam. Sew the base of the I-cord toe against the foot so that it stands up straight.  Place booties in a mesh laundry bag. Toss in washing machine with a towel. Wash on hot and rinse on cold, checking periodically on progress. Do not run through spin cycle. When individual sts are no longer visible, remove booties from bag and stuff lightly with plastic bags to hold shape. Let dry completely. Sew a bell to the end of the toe and each tassel, securing firmly so baby can’t pull off.

Sole:
CO 38 (42, 50) sts.
Row 1: (WS) Knit.
Row 2: (RS) Knit into front and back of next st (k1f&b), k17 (19, 23), [k1f&b] 2 times, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: K1, k1f&b, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b, k2, k1f&b, k17 (19, 23), k1f&b, k1.  Cont in this manner, inc 1 st each end of needle and 2 sts at center, working new sts in center as knit sts and increasing at outer edges of new sts, on RS rows until there are 62 (68, 78) sts. Knit 1 WS row. Purl 1 RS row.

Upper: Work 8 (8, 10) rows even in St st. Next row: (WS) P35 (39, 45), p2tog, turn.

Row 1: (RS) Sl 1, k9 (10, 12), ssk, turn.
Row 2: (WS) Sl 1, p9 (10, 12), p2tog, turn.  Rep last 2 rows 5 more times, then work Row 1 again, omitting the “turn”—knit to the end of the row.

Leg: (WS) P19 (21, 25), place rem sts on holder. Turn, use the backward loop method (see box page 4) to CO 4 (5, 6) sts at end of row.

Size 33⁄4” only:  Row 1: (RS) [K1, p1] 2 times, k19.
Row 2: (WS) P20, k1, p1, k1.

Size 4” only:  Row 1: (RS) [K1, p1] 2 times, k22.
Row 2: (WS) P21, [k1, p1] 2 times, end k1.

Size 43⁄4” only: 
Row 1: (RS) [K1, p1] 3 times, k25.
Row 2: (WS) P26, [k1, p1] 2 times, end k1.  *Rep the last 2 rows 13 (15, 17) more times.

Next row:  Keeping the first 4 (5, 6) sts in seed st, change the rem leg sts to rev St st (purl on RS; knit on WS). Work 4 (5, 6) more rows. Work 2 rows in seed st over all sts. BO all sts*.

Other side of leg: Leaving the center 10 (12, 14) sts on holder for tongue, slip 19 (21, 25) sts from other side of leg onto needle. With RS facing, join new ball of yarn.  Knit 1 row. At beg of row, CO 4 (5, 6) sts.

Size 33⁄4” only:  Row 1: (WS) K1, p1, k1, p20.
Row 2: (RS) K19, [p1, k1] 2 times.

Size 4” only:  Row 1: (WS) [K1, p1] 2 times, k1, p21.
Row 2: (RS) K22, [p1, k1] 2 times.

Size 43⁄4” only:  Row 1: (WS) [K1, p1] 2 times, k1, p26.
Row 2: (RS) K25, [p1, k1] 3 times.  Repeat from * to * as worked for first side of leg.

Tongue:  Transfer rem held 10 (12, 14) sts to needle. Work 29 (32, 37) rows in seed st. BO all sts.

Finishing
With yarn threaded on a tapestry needle, sew along sole and up back, making a flat seam. Sew the bottom edge of each side of the leg (the seed st portion) to the base of the tongue.

Felting: Note: It is helpful to cut the lace holes just before finishing the felting, so that the raw edges are softened by the final wash.

Place booties in a mesh laundry bag. Toss in washing machine with a towel. Wash on hot and rinse on cold, checking periodically on progress. Do not run through spin cycle. When individual sts are no longer visible, remove booties from bag and stuff lightly with plastic bags to hold shape. Cut 3 small holes on either side of the leg and thread laces through.

GRYPHON PERKINS lives in Easton, Maryland, where she is opening a new yarn and spinning shop. Visit her blog at www.sanguinegryphon.blogspot.com