Having failed to get Atreyu to keep the mittens on, I resorted to what can only be described as hand socks – basically a mitten (with no thumb) and an extra length cuff which goes inside his coat/jacket.

I made the pattern up as I went along but here are the basic notes I took (using dk wool and a size 4.00 hook) – I’ll iron out any wrinkles on the next pair :)

Cuff  Ch 30, join with ss Foundation row: ch3 (counts as first treble), work 1 tr into each ch to end (30 tr), join with ss Rib row: 1 tr (worked around back of stem), 1 tr (worked around front of stem), repeat to end, join with ss Repeat step 3 until cuff is long enough to go from the child’s wrist to elbow Mitten Evenly work 30 dc into the last row of rib Inc row: (1dc into each of the next 2dc, 2dc into next dc) – repeat to end (38dc) – join with ss 1dc into each dc to end – join with ss – repeat in dc for about 18 rows (or until length of hand) Dec row: (1dc into each of the next 2dc, work next two dc together to decrease) – repeat to end Repeat last row Slip stitch the opening closed and finish off  

The pattern for this lovely Crochet Bearghan can be found here – http://yarncrazy.blogspot.com/2009/05/bearghan_08.html

Note: the pattern uses American crochet terms so you will need to translate it into English crochet if that is what you are used to!

The lady I made it for sent me a list of colours that she wanted it to contain.  I love how it turned out.

It’s such a customisable design – there are endless options for making it match any nursery or colour scheme.

I can see me making this again over and over.

The front and back of these wool soakers were crocheted in one piece (a simple rectangle).

Using UK dc (US sc), the rectangle was worked in rows (into the back of each stitch to give the ribbed effect). I didn’t have a pattern, I just made it to fit the width and rise of my son – width being half his waist measurement and the length being the rise.

To measure the rise, take a cloth tape.  Measure from belly button, through legs to just above baby’s bottom.  Easy peasy!

The sides were sewn up, leaving an opening for the legs.

To finish it off, a rib was added to the waist and legs using alternating front and back post trebles.

Lanolin on and success!

These are probably the quickest, easiest soakers I’ve ever made.  They fit lovely, wash and dry with surprising ease and do exactly what they should – soak!