If you’ve ever had a baby, you’ve heard the phrase, “do you know your baby is missing a shoe/sock?” so often that you’ve started answering “excuse me, ma’am?” with “yes, it’s in my pocket.”

And if you’re a knitter, you know there’s nothing nicer than home made booties, until baby starts pulling up and you learn why baby socks have no-slip appliqués on the bottoms.

Three years ago we were deep in Ian’s “won’t wear shoes” phase and I was working hard on booties of every description. After a lengthy perusal of the Ravelry forums, I concluded that gel-style fabric paint was a good option for non-slippage. It worked great and didn’t look bad, since the bottoms of booties are often visible. But, after three years in storage, it turned hard and slick, which is no use. So I’m retro-fitting Ian’s old booties with puff paint.

I originally made these with ties. Which worked fine for Ian, who was walking. But on a crawler/scooter/tiny trouble maker, they don’t work so well. So I’ve replaced them with knitted elastic. Which seems to be working. So maybe baby booties that stay on are not a sign of the end of the world. At least, not just yet.