Simple Ruffle-Butt Onesie

When I was in high school I used to babysit for the cutest little girl.  Her parents dressed her in the most adorable dresses, and always with ruffled bloomers underneath.  One day my mom was admiring her outfit, and the dad rolled his eyes and sighed, saying "Yeah, no outfit is complete without those ruffle-butt panties."  My mom and I thought we were going to die of laughter, and ever since I can't see a little girl in a ruffled diaper cover without thinking "Heh, ruffle-butt."

I have several friends who are expecting little ones, and it's always a challenge to find something 'new' to make to bring to a shower.  Blankets are always appreciated, as are hats and booties, but I like to go for the wow factor.  Especially if it doesn't take too much time or effort (ie. faster and easier than a blanket or booties).

And the last part of this (I like to tell you all the weird thoughts that have to collide in my brain in order for my latest idea to develop, I know they all seem so random, but hang with me)  my friend E, who is new to crochet, but is a bad-ass knitter, is the queen of the knit picker.  Do you have one?  Am I the only one that didn't know about this amazing little latch-hook tool?!  Okay, so we've been getting together monthly and calling it Crochet Club, which is really just an excuse for me to play with her baby and to see each other's projects in person.  Well, she's been making these adorable purses and crocheting the lining in.  Crocheting the fabric lining in.  Yeah, I kinda flipped out, because it was all kinds of awesome, and she said that she did it using a knit picker.  I couldn't wait, I immediately ordered one online (although my Joann's and Michaels do carry them, but I got all excited and ordered mine from Amazon.).  I got the ergonomic version, because it was green, which is my favorite color.

The possibilities of crocheting across fabrics was enticing, but once I had it, I wasn't sure what to do with it.  It's taken me nearly a month to come up with a project for it, but now that I've actually used it, I adore it.  I will warn you that there's a technique to it, but the learning curve is steep and I picked it up pretty quickly.

So, if you're interested in making a Simple Ruffle-Butt Onesie for a little one in your life read on.  The pattern in crazy simple, but this is a very image heavy tute because if you're like me and this is a new idea lots of pictures equals a high success rate!  And I love high success rates!!!  ;D

Simple Ruffle-Butt Onesie
Supplies (in order of appearance):
Purchased Onesie (I used a size 3-6 months, but you can use any size, the 'pattern' is adjustable)
Ruler (a plastic or wooden one, not a soft tape measure)
Disappearing Ink Fabric Marking Pen (I used one that will disappear without water, but if you already have a water soluble one, just use it and rinse the marks off when you're done)
Dritz Knit Picker
Baby Yarn (I used Cuddle by Sensations in Cuddle - Pink)
Scissors
Yarn Needle
Size D Crochet Hook

Start by marking the back of your onesie. You're going to make 4 lines straight across the back of it.  For size 3-6 months, or larger, make your first line across the back about an inch above the leg opening (for newborn or size 0-3 months make your first line 1/2 inch above the leg opening).  Make the next line an inch above your first line (3/4 inch for the itty-bitty sizes).  Make 2 more lines (4 in total!) leaving an inch between lines (3/4 inch for the NB and 0-3 mo sizes).

Mark each of the lines at 1/4 inch increments.  Start at the side seam and mark the line all the way across to the other side seam.  It really doesn't matter how many marks are on each line as long as they're 1/4 inch apart.  This is going to be your stitch guide.

Get out your Knit Picker and let's get going! I did a practice row, so you can see what we're going to be doing next.

The Knit Picker has a tiny (sharp!) latch hook end.  For this first part, we're going to use it like a crochet hook, and wiggle it into the fabric at the first mark.  I found it was MUCH easier to use the sharp point of the hook to pierce the fabric, instead of trying to force the rounded head of the hook through.

Once you get it through the fabric, push it in far enough that the 'latch' part is through too.  We're going to need it for the next step.

To start the row of stitches, I just held the yarn as I looped it through the hook part.  When the yarn is inside the hook section, flip the latch up to secure it in place (it won't stay up, but we only need it to hold the yarn as it goes through the fabric).

Pull (gently, but firmly) the loop through the fabric.  The loop doesn't have to be very big, but make sure that it's not too small.  It's super important that these stitches be a little loose.  Now, do it again!  Put the hook part through the fabric at the next mark, add the yarn, flip the latch and...

Pull another loop through!  This time, pull it through the first stitch as well!  Yippee, we're making a chain!  Keep going!  Go to the end of the row!  Your first stitches will be awkward and you may get some splits and other unpleasantness, but by the end of the row you'll have gotten the hang of it.  (It's so cliched, but this really is a case of practice makes perfect).  If you really hate it, you can always pull it out and try again.

When you get to the end of the row, leave a big loop.

This time, instead of putting the Knit Picker through the fabric from the top going in, you're going to put it through the fabric from the inside coming out.  Ideally it would be just a few threads over from the last loop you made.  Put the latch around the loop and pull it to the inside of the onesie...

Okay, this picture makes my thumb look freakin' huge!  In reality, I have almost freakishly small hands, so this is a really good picture to show how tiny the tip of the Knit Picker is.  Now that you've got the loop pulled to the inside, you can fasten it off.

This is what the inside of your onesie will look like at this point.  Now weave in those ends before we go on to the next part.

This is what the outside of the onesie should look like at this point.

The ruffle is the easiest part! Attach the yarn to the first stitch of the row.  Using your size D crochet hook, chain 3, put 5 dc in the first stitch, 4 dc in each stitch across, 6 dc in the last stitch.  Fasten off, weave in ends.

Repeat on the other three rows.  Give yourself a pat on the back for trying something new!  Go get an ice-cream cone to celebrate how awesome it turned out! Wrap it up in fancy-shmancy packaging and steal the limelight at your friend's baby shower... Uh, did I just say that part out loud?...

(My kid was half booty when she was a baby, thus the spacing on the ruffles.  If your kid is more back than booty, you could add another row that starts at the top of the leg openings, and take the top row off. Custom Ruffle-Butts for everyone!!)

xoxo