Crochet 101 and DIY baby booties

Today's post is from a blogger friend of mine, Katelynn. She is super creative and a soon to be mommy. Go and say hi over at Waygooken Housewife.

She was kind enough to not only do a tutorial but also a crochet 101 for people like me who have yet to venture into that area of craftiness - she made it look so easy that I might just have to find those crochet hooks that I was given as a gift...

I leave you in her capable hands.

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Hey everyone! I am so excited to be over here today! Gabi is seriously one of the coolest people I know and she is so talented! Some days I just sit at my computer and wait for her to post something because I know it is going to be awesome and inspire me!

Today I want to share with you some super simple, super cute crochet baby booties.

Uh oh, I just saw your eyes glaze over. Come back to me now, it'll be alright.

I've met a lot of people who say they tried to crochet, got one long chain finished and got confused. I FEEL YA! The crochet "code" can be pretty hard to crack, but in reality, it's pretty simple. All you're doing is tying lots and lots of knots using one string and a hook. 

I found the pattern for these booties on Ravelry.com and they are FREE! (Don't you love free stuff?) If you want to look at the pattern for yourself you can find it at Bev's Very Easy Booties. I modified the pattern just a little.  

Ok, let's get started. You will need some yarn and a crochet hook.

Try to choose a smaller size hook because you are making these booties for a baby.

First thing we are going to do is CHAIN.

Let's try that again. 

Once you have your 26 chains, it's time to start the body of the project. The second stitch we'll learn is the

Half Double Crochet (HDC)

Repeat until the end of the chain

Here is what the HDC should look like half way through.

This is what it should look like when you finish the chain.

When you get to the end, make 2 chains.

Turn your project so that the 2 chains you just made are on your right. It's ok if your chain 2 gets a little twisted.

Starting in the second stitch from the end, HDC in each space all the way across.

 Ok, good job!

When you get to the end, chain 2.

And turn.

Repeat the whole process. You should have 3 lines of stitches. 

Chain 2

Ok, now it's time to learn a new stitch . This one is called a 

Double Crochet (DC)

DC all the way across the row. 

Turn. 

Ok, now we're going to do something a little weird. This stitch is called a 

SLIP STITCH 

A slip stitch is a kind of invisible stitch when you want to move your hook but don't want to cut the yarn. 

Starting with the very first stitch (the one right next to the hook), put your crochet hook through the stitch. 

Loop the yarn over (as pictured) and pull through BOTH loops. (Like the Chain stitch, but now you pull the hook through 2 loops).

Do this 5 times. 

It will look like this. 

Chain 3

Remember that DC? 

Do one in the SAME stitch as the 3 chain. 

It should look like this. 

DC in each of the next 15 stitches. You should have 17 total, including the 3 chain. 

(you should also have 4 "empty" stitch on either side)

Chain 3

Turn.

DC in each stitch across.

Chain 3 and turn. DC in each stitch across

(This is the last time!)

Finished! 

Does it look like a bootie yet? Just wait. 

Turn the bootie a quarter turn to the right. 

Slip stitch through the first row of DC. 

Fold the bootie in half. 

Put your hook through BOTH sides of the bootie and slip stitch the sides together. 

When you go from the top of the bootie to the bottom and you get to the end chain 2. 

Pull your loop really long and cut at the top of the loop. 

Take your fingers and slide the 2 chain down towards the bootie. It will make a knot. 

TADA! You're done! Wasn't that fun!?

Cut the strings shorter and turn your bootie inside out and fold the top down. 

It should look just like this one. 

Accent with ribbons or leave it just the way it is! 

Make 2 : )

Thanks so much for having me Gabi! 

If you have questions about the pattern or the tutorial, you can contact me at waygookenhousewife@gmail.com and I would be happy to answer any questions!