Souvenirs from the gate of heaven

At the gate of heaven little shoes they are selling
For the little barefooted angels there dwelling
Slumber my baby, slumber my baby
Slumber my baby, arru arru.

- traditional Basque lullaby (see below for original Castilian Spanish)

Saartje's Booties for Baby Hana




Pattern: Saartje's Booties
Yarn: Jager Icelandics Single-ply Sport
Yarn Source: a gift from lovely Lizbon, who bought it at Rhinebeck.
Needle: 3mm bamboo double-points
Finished size: 3" long. (Newborn to about 4 months?)
Cast on: March 16, 2008
Bound off: March 17, 2008
Buttons sewn on: March 24, 2008
Notes:
I made three of these because all babies kick off their booties, but the third one was inexplicably larger than the others until my daughter said "I like dose baby shoes mummy. I twied one on but it was too snall for me." I'm including it anyway.

I tacked down one strap on each of the booties so that the mother wouldn't have to button them both every time.

This pattern was cute - nice and easy. They barely take any yarn, too, so overall they are a definite thumbs up, but getting the button placement right can be tricky. They also look better stuffed, so I filled them up with a bunch of blue cotton balls.

I think the baby's mother will have to put some cotton socks on underneath the booties, as they are a bit scratchy.

There's something so whimsical about booties. I think they've faded a bit from popularity in the last few decades, replaced by socks and little sneakers, or little leather footlets with elastic at the top. But there's a charm about making and receiving them - with their amazing tininess and their rounded edges and their plump looking toes. They just seem so suitable for little teeny babies with their warm, soft, untrodden soles.

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A la puerta del cielo vendan zapatos

Para los angelitos que andan descalzos.

Duermete, niño, Duermete, niño

Duermete, niño, arru, arru