Baby´s first shoes in crochet - day 3 -

Good morning!!!  here is the finioshing part of our baby´s first pair of shoes!!!

10.  We are going to use our 2 safety pins again, and this time, we are going to count 4 stitches from the end and beggining of the back strap, and we are going to put them there.  Another way to  do them, is to fold again in half the shoe, and count 11 stitches on each side and mark there.  You can see:  we had 50 stitches, we used 20 to form the back strap, we are using 22 to form the front, and  we are leaving free 4 on each side.....we add them all and that gives us 50 stitches!!!  (I took this picture when I was doing the tweens baby shoes, so the one on the picture is actually smaller, but you can apreciate how to put the safety pins)

11.  For me, it is easyer to start on the right side of the shoe, so I started just where the safety pin was, and I did 3 chain stitches.  (that will be the center of the front, right there)

12.  This time we are going to use "triple crochet stitchings" or "triple bars", that means that the bars are much taller, and we need them that way!!!  So, here I am, doing a triple bar.....but....please do not finish it....leave the last  chain undone.....you will see why

13.  We start doing our triple bars,  and when we knit  them to the front of the shoe, we leave 2 chains without doing.....we leave spaces of 2 chains, and then we do another triple bar without finish, and another one.....we do 6  triple bars in total to close them all in the center with just one stitch. 

13.  Can you see???  we close all the triple bars together.  Now we just have to  knit 3 more chains to go over the  shoe, and finish them!!!!

The 3 chains to finish the shoe come out of the center to the side, where we finish!!!  You see???  look carefully at the shoe here....he have the 3 starting chains, plus  6 triple bars, plus 3 more chains that finish the shoe.  I  take the yarn with a big needle and  weave it inside the shoe, because NEVER EVER we cut it righ at the beggining or at the end of a stitch.

14.  The last detail..........the button, you see??  we sew in the button and it is so easy to pass it thrue one of the bars to strap them.    Our shoe is finish, and it is time for you to make the other one!!!  it is easy, and if you want  to make it larger, just add chains at the beggining!!!  do not be scare please!!!  and if you want to ask me anything, please do not hesitate to do it, I will be only happy to answer any question.

Now that you know how to make them, and how little yarn they take,  may be you can look around your stack of left overs, and while watching TV you can make some of these shoes.  You can give them as presents to friends having babies, or......you can give them to a home for abandoned children, or to your church to give them  to people in need.  Remember my friend:  God have been so generous with us, that we even have left overs in our baskets, so, let´s us be generous with our brothers of the world.  Never forget that you are special, you are wonderfull, and there are many people in this worlk that NEED YOU!!!

Cup of coffe for us???   here it is!!!  Have a blessed day !!! 

Baby´s first shoes in crochet - day 2-

5.  Now that we have finished the little shoe sole with 50  double stitches or bars, we are going to start knitting the sides, back and front of the shoe, and we are going to do it, using a "single crochet stitch".  This is not a bar, is very low, and is a very basic stitch also.

6.  What you have to do, is to knit  "all around" the sole of the shoe, 50 single stitches.  Now you do  not have to add any more!!  we are going to work with the  number of stitches we finalized in the sole.

7.  Look!!!  we are advancing!!!  what I did here was:  I went around the whole sole 7 times!!!  only doing the single crochet stitch, and please....not too tight.  And after going around 7 times, we ended up with the same 50 points that we started the side of the shoe with.  Can you see now how it is forming????

 

7.  It is time to make the strap.  We fold the shoe in the way that you see in this picture, and from the center back, we count 10  stitches on each side and mark the place with a small safety pin.  (remember we have a total of 50 stitches)

8.  From the center back, we continue doing single stitches till we get to one of the safety pins.  The right shoe goes in an opposite way to the left shoe.  Here is where we mark the difference.....right-left. Once we get to the safety pin, we start making  the base of the strap, with 20 chain stitches, as you can see in this picture.

 9.  To  make the strap, we are going to do again the double crochet stitch or bars, and to start forming them, we add 2 chains and we start knitting over the chains, 20 bars or double crochet stitches, as you see in the picture in the center.  Now the strap has to continue at the back of the shoe, and we continue knitting over the show, 20 more double stitches till we arrive to the other safety pin.  Can you see it???

Please look carefully how the shoe is being form.  We have now the sole, the sides and the back strap finished.  Now we only have to do the front part, and add the button on the side.......it is simple!!!  and really cute.  You can make them larger, by starting your sole with more than 15 stitches, you can do 20, and make the sole a bit wider too.  Please, try to experiment on your own, do not be afraid....the worst thing that can happen is that you have to undo and do againg!!!!!  and....what is the problem with that?????  patience is the key to learning crafts......and remember:  God is in our side  hurraying us  all the way  for our efford!!!

Now my dears, it is time for our morning cup of coffe, it is 6:40 am here, and I have to start running, but not without sharing my delicious Costa Rican coffe with you!!!  We will finish tomorrow and I really wish you a blessed day.....

Baby´s first shoes in crochet -Day 1-

I know, Iknow, this is not suppose to be a crochet blog, but.....It is a blog of details, and knowing how to crochet, is an art, and belive me, we can also use it in our Couture garments!!!!  this time we have some lovely baby´s shoes.  I have done 3 pairs:  1 pair for a baby girl that was born a couple of days ago, and 2 pairs for the twins!!!  who are not born jet.  It will take you a couple of hours to knit a pair of these, but if you are a fast knitter, they will be done much faster.

You will need:  100% mercerized cotton yarn for kneeting, and the one I use, is to work with a
                        crochet hook  size 4
                        2 round pearl buttons small
                        Thread and needle to sew in the buttons

 

How do you like them???  For summer they look just adorable!!!  with no socks showing off those beautifull legs!!!  OMG!!!   so, lets us start, and these are for new born baby they are about 3" long at the sole.

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1.  We start at the sole of the shoe, doing 15 chain stitches .

 2.  Make 2 extra chains  to be able to start stitching  "double crochet stitches" on top of  of the 15 chains, that will give us 15 bars of double crochet stitches.

 3.  Now on the 15th bar  we stitch 5 more bars or double crochet stitches, and continue on the second row, doing 15 mores double chain stitches or bars, as you see on the picture abobe right.

 4.  As we arrive to the other corner, we make 5 doble crochet stitches there, just in one place, and then continue doing the 15 more on top of our first row. 

What we did, is, we went around our firt row of 15 bars or double stitches, and we added 5 new stitches on one extreme, and another 5 at the other extreme.  When we finish this second row, we have a total of 40 bars or double stitches.

5.  Now, we look at the top picture, and we can see that we are starting to knit the 3rd row of double crochet stitches.  Since we start at one end of the shoe´s sole,  we now have to add 5 more new stitches or bars, and we do that, by stitching one in place, and in the next place we stitch 2 of them.  So, we end up with 10 double stitches on the extremes.  We continue making the  15 bars till we arrive to the other extreme, and again, we stitch one bar, and in the next one, we stitch 2 in the same place, till we have a total bars of 10.  We now continue again making the 15 more bars that we need to finish the sole of our little shoe. 

Sunday lunch in Cartago

How do you like this place????  well....you are here with me....in this beautifull Country,  you are here, in  our Rainforest!!!! 

This lovely restaurant, is in another city named:  Cartago.  And, it is only 40 minutes drive from my home.  I live in the Capital city of San José, and  this is one of the many things I love  about  this country, everything is soooo close!!! 

The day was hot  about....27C,  and to eat outside

 it is just wonderfull.....apart from the mosquitoes....but just with this view in front of us.....I do not need much more.  And you???

Cartago used to be the Capital city of Costa Rica.  All the well known families in this country, have their roots here.  We have here the most beautifull Catholic Church,  builded in honor of "  La Virgen de los Angeles" who is the "Mother" of this  land.....where God put His Hand....and that is why it is so beautifull.  There is a typical song that says that, and I have to learn to include videos with music in here, for you to listen also all this that I share with you!!! 

This beautifull plant full of flowers, is known here as "Veranera" or Buganvilea

Don´t you think is..............breathtaking?????

What about going for a nice walk after lunch???  We did, and  in the nice trail, we found a place for us to seat, take a nice deep breath, and feel the lovely aroma of the mountains.....looking around, there is only one thing that I can say:  God is more than great.....He gave us all this beauty....and our obligation is to take care of it, to keep it, not to destroy it, the children of the world deserve  to share all this beauty as it is today.  Please,  let us all, help to  preserve our mother nature.  It is only one....and is ours!!!