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Today I’m going to tell you bit more about my comeback to crochet with the story of the Crochet Baby Vans by Yara!
Inspiration
This is a wonderful pattern for baby shoes, but not just any shoes. They have such detail that you can recognize the brand just by looking at them. And this pattern is by Yara Nascimento, a fantastic designer of baby shoes! If you can think of any shoe, most probably she will have a pattern for it. If not, I’m sure you can always ask
But how did this come to be?
At the beginning of this year, I was picking up my hooks again and I was aching for projects. I wanted to have more practice and try new stitches and types of projects so I was asking my friends for things they wanted that I could do in crochet. At the time, a friend from work was about to become the proud uncle of twin girls! And he and his sister (the mother-to-be) had a thing about Vans. And just like that, we came to the idea of me doing these for the girls.
This was all nice and dandy but I had never done baby shoes before.
What I am saying? Baby shoes or shoes of any kind. Or anything with such amount of shaping. And as if it weren’t enough, I had no idea how to do such a specific type of shoe! Nevertheless, I was confident that somewhere in the world, someone could help me. And that someone was Yara! She has a channel on Youtube where she shares her patterns for crochet baby shoes. And boy, those are quite the baby shoes! Here is the link for her channel, so you can see for yourself. 🙂
The Project
I finished the shoes and they were beautiful! I was so proud of how they turned out! I was anxious to get them to my friend, but at the time I finished them, I had moved out of the city where I was working. I wasn’t going back soon, so I decided to mail them. I packed them, with all the care in the world and sent them.
The days passed…
The weeks passed…
And my friend never got them. 🙁
I went back to the post office, I filled a complaint, I did everything I could think of (except looking for them myself from Lisbon to Barcelona) but since I did not have the receipt there was nothing they could do for me. Now, this was quite a stab in the heart! How could they lose the most beautiful shoes in the world?!?!
I never really got over the shoes, so I decided to give it another go. I couldn’t let a pair of baby girls grow up without the most awesome present from their most awesome uncle! So, I got back on the horse and decided to make them again! And then I realized… I didn’t have a written pattern. 🙁 The first time I did the Vans, I was crocheting along with Yara’s video, and I was so into it that the noob in
Hoping to give a fellow crocheter a hand, I asked Yara if I could write and translate her pattern and she was the kindest and said YES!!! So, below you will find the written pattern, along with my notes to make the shoes as you see pictured.
As for this pair’s fate, I delivered them personally to my friend. No chances this time! Thing is… Even though I did them bigger to fit the twins, that are now 8 months old, they are just about the right size. Which means they’ll be able to wear it for a week, at most! 😀 What a fail!
Once again, I cannot thank Yara enough for letting me write her pattern. She has a wonderful gift and you can sure see it in her designs.
Here is the link for Yara’s video. Thank you Yara for sharing!
Without further ado, the Crochet Baby Vans by Yara!
Pattern
Skill Level
- Intermediate
Have in Hand
- US Size 1/B (2.5 mm) crochet hook
- Stitch markers, scissors, tapestry needle
Sole & Shoelaces
- 1 skein Drops Safran White
- 1 skein Drops Safran Black
Body of Shoe
- 1 skein Drops Safran, color 11 (Yellow Mustard)
- 1 skein Miss Kits Yarn, color 0441 (Bordeaux)
Finished Measures
- Sole: 4.25”/11 cm
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- BLO: back loop only
- ch: chain
- dc: double crochet
- dc2tog: double crochet 2 stitches together
- FLO: front loop only
FPsc : front post single crochethdc :half double crochet- sc: single crochet
- sl st: slip stitch
- st(s): stitch(es)
Notes
- The pattern below is for a 4.25”/11 cm sole, which should fit a 6 to 9 months baby. Yara’s pattern is for a 3,5”/ 8.9 cm sole.
- The chains at the beginning of each row count as a stitch (sc or dc).
- Always slip stitch in the chain that counts as a stitch.
- Round 1 of the sole is worked around the beginning chain.
- The black stripe is my little contribution to Yara’s pattern and it is described below.
Crochet Baby Vans by Yara
Sole
Ch 18
Round 1: Ch 3, make 2 dc in 4th ch from hook, dc in next 16 st (by now you should have 19 dc, which includes the first 3 ch), 5 dc in next st, dc in next 16 st, 2 dc in last st, sl st <42>
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in next 2 st, sc in next 7 st,
Round 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in next 4 st, dc in next 16 st, 2 dc in next 10 st, dc in next 16 st, 2 dc in next 4 st, 1 dc in last st, sl st <70>
Round 4: Ch 1, sc in next 69 st, sl st <70>
Body of shoe (White Sole)
A little trick that Yara teaches in her video is to change the position of the yarn, so that it is less noticeable. Insert your hook from the inside of the sole to the outside, right under the st where your yarn is coming from. Grab the yarn and pull it through so that your loop is now inside the shoe.
Round 1:Ch 2, FPsc in next 69 st, sl st <70>
Round 2:Ch 1, sc in next 69 st, sl st <70>
Round 3-4: repeat Round 2. Cut and weave in ends.
Body of Shoe (Black Stripe)
Between Round 3 and 4 of the body of the shoe you will make a round of sl st. Note that you should make your sl st so that the top of the stitch is actually inside the shoe.
Body of Shoe (colored)
Round 1:Ch 1, BLO sc in next 69 st, sl st <70>
Round 2: Ch 3, dc in next 7 st, sc in next 8 st, dc in next 7 st,dc2tog in next 24 st, dc in next 7 st, sc in next 8 st, dc in next 8 dc, sl st <58>
Round 3: Ch 3, dc in next 5 st, sc in next 8 st, dc in next 9 st, dc2tog in next 12 st, dc in next 9 st, sc in next 8 st, dc in next 6 st, sl st <52>
Round 4: Ch 3, dc in next 3 st, sc in next 8 st, dc in next 4 st,
The body is not finished but we will leave it for a while in order to work on the shoe tongue. If you want to cut the yarn, make sure you have enough to make one more round.
Shoe Tongue (same color as body)
You will make this part in the back loops of the sc where you did FLO from Round 4. With the toes of the shoe towards you, start the round in the rightmost FLO sc.
Round 1:Ch 3, dc in next 4 st, 2 dc in last st <7>
Round 2:Turn, 7 sc <7>
Round 3: Ch 3, turn, dc in same st as Ch 3, dc in next 5 st, 2 dc in last st <9>
Round 4:Turn, 9 sc <9>
Round 5: Ch 3, turn,dc in same st as Ch 3, dc in next 7 st, 2 dc in last st <11>
Round 6:Turn, 11 sc <11>
Round 7:Ch 3, turn, dc in next 10 st <11>
Round 8: Turn, 11 sc <11>
Round 9:Turn, sc in st, hdc in next 2 st, dc in next 5 st, hdc in next 2 st, 1 sc, sl st <11>.Cut and weave in ends.
Body of shoe (colored) [cont.]
Round 5: sl st in next 13 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch, sc in next 2 stitch, sl st in next 20 st, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next stitch, 13 sl st (54 st), sl st to finish.Cut and weave in ends.
Shoelaces
Ch 120.
Assembly
Locate the last dc2tog and the first dc in Round 3 of the colored body. With the coming from the inside of the shoe to the outside, insert it between the sc from Round 4. Pull the lace inside. Do the same for the opposite side.
Count 2 sc in Round 4 and insert your hook (from the inside of the shoe to the outside). Cross the shoelace and pull it inside. Repeat for opposite side. Do this 3 times.
Count 3 sc in Round 4 and with the hook coming from the outside to inside the shoe, pull the rest of the shoelace to the outside. Do this for both sides.
babyclothingshoes
