Earlier this year my friend, Alex, was gifted a Quince & Co. baby duck booties kit while she was pregnant, but she didn't get around to knitting it before the baby arrived, so she asked me to knit the booties for her son. They are really cute, if I do say so myself. This is the first time I've knit with Quince & Co. yarn and it is really nice. I didn't have any problems or major adjustments to the pattern, which I really appreciate! The kit is from Quince & Co. or you can purchase the booties pattern and yarn separately from London Loop Knitting. I made the larger of the baby size booties in 6-12 months (not the toddler size) and had enough yarn leftover to make the adorable baby hat, too.

Quince & Co Baby Duck Boots and Knit Hat by Warp or Weft

For the booties - It takes a few rows to realize that the booties are knit flat and then you build out the toe, which leads into the tongue. After that, you pick up the rest of the bootie to form the actual boot. I knit the back part of the bootie with two needles instead of three to prevent a gap between the two needles (you could also use 2 circular needles if you have them in the same size and are more comfortable with that method instead of double pointed needles). I also added the picked up stitches at the end of the first row instead of the beginning of the second so that the two sides of the boot are even. And I omitted the 12 inch tails for seaming. They are unnecessary as you can seam it later without having a mess hanging down while you are trying to knit AND you will want all the available yarn if you want to make a hat, too.

Knitting Baby Duck Booties & Hat / warporweft.com

The most complicated part of the booties for me was blocking because the tongue curled a lot on both sides when I was knitting it. To adjust for this, I pinned the sides of the tongue to the sides of the bootie after the wet block.

Overall, I'd say the booties pattern is intermediate level as double pointed needles, short rows and picking up stitches on each side of a row are required (as well as creative blocking). If you are an absolute beginner and are dedicated to taking on this project, make sure you have patience, access to youtube videos and a good teacher to help you out.

NOTE: If you are making the hat, make sure that you fully complete the booties first, including cutting two adequate lengths of yarn for the laces. That way you won't accidentally use all of the white yarn in the hat and not have anything to sew the bottom of the booties with.

For the hat - I modified a baby hat pattern to adjust for the amount of each color yarn that I had as the hat progressed. I knew I didn't have enough yarn to make even stripes or to complete a pattern as written. I had the most apricot left over, so I used that as a base for the hat. If you run out of the other colors, you can substitute more rows at the end with apricot. The hat is knit in the round.

Cast on 88 stitches in size 3 US (3.25 mm) needles. Place a stitch marker. Join, being careful not to twist.

Ribbing: Knit in a *knit 2, purl 2* rib for 6 rows

Main Hat: Switch to a size 5 US (3.75 mm) 16 inch circular needle (or dpns) and Gingerbread color yarn.

Row 1: Knit 2, make 1, knit until 2 stitches before the end of the row, make 1, knit 2. You will now have 90 stitches.

Rows 2 and 3: Knit with Apricot.

Rows 4 and 5: Knit with Egret.

Rows 6 and 7: Knit with Apricot.

Row 8: Knit with Gingerbread.

Rows 9 and 10: Knit with Egret.

Row 11: Begin the brown and gold pattern - *Knit 1 Gingerbread, knit 2 Apricot* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 12: *Knit 1 Apricot, knit 2 Gingerbread, knit 2 Apricot, knit 1 Gingerbread, knit 1 Apricot, knit 1 Gingerbread, knit 1 Apricot* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 13: *Knit 1 Apricot, knit 2 Gingerbread, knit 1 Apricot, knit 1 Gingerbread, knit 3 Apricot, knit 1 Gingerbread* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 14: *Knit 1 Gingerbread, knit 2 Apricot* repeat to the end of the row.

Rows 15 and 16: Knit with Egret.

Row 17: Knit with Gingerbread.

Rows 18 and 19: Knit with Apricot.

Row 20: *Knit 1 Apricot, knit 1 Egret* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 21: *Knit 1 Egret, knit 1 Gingerbread* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 22: *Knit 1 Apricot, knit 1 Egret* repeat to the end of the row.

Rows 23 and 24: Knit with Apricot.

Row 25: Knit with Gingerbread.

Row 26 and 27: Knit with Apricot.

Row 28: *Knit 2 Apricot, knit 1 Egret* repeat to the end of the row.

Rows 29 and 30: Knit with Apricot.

Row 31: Knit with Gingerbread.

Rows 32 and 33: Knit with Apricot.

Row 34: With Egret knit 1, knit 2 together, knit to the last three stitches, knit 2 together, knit 1. (You should have 88 stitches)

BEGIN DECREASE ROWS WITH APRICOT (change to double pointed needles as needed):

Row 35: *Knit 6, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 36: Knit.

Row 37: *Knit 5, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 38: Knit.

Row 39: *Knit 4, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 40: Knit.

Row 41: With Gingerbread, *Knit 3, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 42: Switch to Apricot for the rest of the hat. Knit.

Row 43: *Knit 2, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 44: Knit.

Row 45: *Knit 1, knit 2 together* repeat to the end of the row.

Row 46: Knit.

Row 47: Knit 2 together on all remaining stitches.

Break thread and pull through remaining 11 stitches tightly. Weave in the ends. Wet block the hat (I used Soak wash) and lay flat to dry .

If you are feeling less adventurous, you could knit in a color block pattern. I'd suggest casting on in the apricot, then switching to the gingerbread (the darker brown color) and egret (the white color), then back to the apricot to balance the design of the hat.

EDIT: I haven't made the bigger size booties, so I don't know how much left over yarn you will have if you make that size. If you try it, please let me know whether it works out!

Quince & Co Baby Duck Booties Kit - Here - or buy the pattern and yarn separately - Here