Baby Footy Shoes In Team Colours

Baby Footy Shoes In Team Colours

What Is Being Made

The Footy Shoe Book by Jennifer Lee presents a collection of knitted baby shoes designed in the colours of eighteen Australian football teams. These practical footwear pieces combine functionality with novelty appeal, making them suitable for babies to wear daily or as distinctive gifts for sports enthusiasts. The shoes are specifically themed around team colours, allowing crafters to create footwear that represents their favourite AFL teams.

Design Styles and Team Options

The pattern is organized into three distinct styles based on colour complexity:

• Style A: One colour shoes with contrasting laces, featuring teams such as Carlton (navy with white laces)
• Style B: Two colour shoes representing teams including Collingwood (black and white), Essendon (black and red), Fremantle (purple and white), Geelong (navy and white), Gold Coast (red and gold), Hawthorn (brown and gold), Melbourne (navy and red), and North Melbourne (royal blue)
• Style C: Additional team variations available within the pattern

Style B teams offer flexibility, as they may alternatively be knitted in a single colour with contrasting laces—for example, an Essendon shoe in black with red laces, or a Sydney shoe in red with white laces.

Techniques and Stitches

These baby shoes are constructed using garter stitch, one of the most fundamental and beginner-friendly knitting techniques. Garter stitch creates a textured, reversible fabric by knitting every row, making it ideal for creating structured pieces like shoes that require durability and definition.

The shoes feature i-cord laces, a decorative and functional element. I-cord (idiot cord) is a simple tubular knitting technique created using a small number of stitches on double-pointed needles, producing a cord-like trim that serves as functional lacing for the shoes.

Materials

This project uses DK weight yarn, a medium-weight yarn that provides good stitch definition and is suitable for creating baby garments with appropriate drape and structure. The yarn weight allows for clear stitch visibility when working in garter stitch, making it easier to follow the pattern and maintain consistent tension.

Standard knitting needles appropriate for DK weight yarn are required, along with double-pointed needles for constructing the i-cord laces.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate difficulty, these baby footy shoes are accessible to knitters with foundational skills. While garter stitch itself is simple, the intermediate classification reflects the multi-step construction process, colour work coordination across different team styles, and the additional technique of i-cord creation. Crafters should be comfortable with basic cast-on and cast-off methods, maintaining even tension, and following pattern instructions for shaping.

Project Summary

The Footy Shoe Book offers a creative and practical knitting project that combines sports enthusiasm with handmade baby wear. By selecting from eighteen AFL team colour combinations across three style categories, knitters can customize their creations to match personal preferences or gift recipients' favourite teams. The use of simple garter stitch keeps the construction straightforward, while the i-cord laces add a polished, functional finishing touch. This downloadable PDF pattern is ideal for intermediate knitters seeking a meaningful, themed project suitable for babies and sports fans alike.