Injury Prevention of Button Batteries - SPREAD THE WORD!!!

I am on a mission to get the word out about a hidden danger that is in nearly every home: coin lithium batteries or "button" batteries. Please share this information with as many people as you can! Having a husband that is an Emergency Medicine Physician has helped me be aware of this issue and I hope everyone that reads this will SPREAD THE WORD about the dangers of button batteries to children.

A recent survey reported that 66 percent of parents have never heard of button battery risks. Another 56 percent reported that they intentionally give their children electronic devices more often than their own toys, because their children prefer playing with them.

Researchers in the US found there has been a significant increase over the last 25 years in the percentage of severe injury and deaths in children who swallow batteries, at the same time as button batteries have become increasingly common for use in household products. This trend is alarming—in the past five years, the number of swallowing incidences of button batteries that have caused serious injury or death has quadrupled.

How many times you have seen an infant or toddler, either yours or someone else's, chewing on a remote control or mom's set of keys? Do you realize how dangerous this can be? Button batteries are in many of these devices and can cause severe injuries or death when swallowed.

True but Tragic Story

May 28, 2009, FORT LUPTON, Colorado. -- A funeral was held Friday morning for 2-year-old Elaina Redding, who bled to death three weeks after a button-sized battery lodged in her esophagus.

Elaina's mother, Donna Ryan, told 7NEWS that they didn't know how Elaina got the battery in her mouth but they later determined it probably came from a small, electronic game. It was from a hand-held Yahtzee, an electronic game," said Elaina's father, A.J. Redding.

The girl swallowed the battery on May 2 and started clutching her chest, saying it hurt, her parents said. Elaina's parents took her to Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton, where X-rays revealed the problem. Elaina was moved to Children's Hospital in Aurora where doctors performed an endoscopy and removed the battery. She was released on May 6.

On May 20 (2.5 weeks after swallowing the battery), Elaina came out of the bathroom saying she was having problems. A few minutes later, Donna Ryan found her daughter on the bathroom floor, where she had coughed up blood."She threw up all over my arm, I had blood on my arm, on my clothes," she said. Mrs. Ryan said Elaina also coughed up blood in her hospital room and was taken to the intensive care unit. She was bleeding faster than the doctors could put blood in, Mrs. Ryan said.

Elaina's mom told us "She already had rolled her eyes back in her head when the doctor went to get help," Elaina suffered another fit of coughing late that night and hemorrhaged to death about 2 a.m. on May 21. Coroner Marcia Vincent told 7NEWS that Elaina bled to death of esophageal hemorrhage due to erosion of her esophagus and aorta from the button battery.

Elaina's mother is now hoping her daughter's death gives parents pause."Put the batteries under lock and key," Ryan said."Throw them away, put them away or keep them where kids can't get them," Redding said.

Understanding Hazards of Button Batteries

The National Capital Poison Center said more than 3,000 people of all ages in the Unites States each year unintentionally swallow miniature disc or "button" batteries used to power hearing aids, key fobs, watches, calculators, remotes, and even those musical greeting cards. Even some toys made to be put into a baby's mouth contain the potential hazard. The dangers of the batteries include chemical burns, choking, hemorrhaging(severe bleeding that is difficult to stop or can't be stopped), vocal cord paralysis, poisoning, and death. Ten percent of kids who swallow button batteries die, according to the poison center.

When I first heard about button batteries causing such problems it didn’t make sense to me. I wondered if these batteries are so small – how could they cause such serious problems? Since the batteries are so small, they do not cause choking, but rather lodge in the child's esophagus (throat, or the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach. It travels right behind your trachea which is your wind pipe).

When swallowed, the saliva ignites a chemical reaction with the battery, and the trauma and burning begins in the esophagus within two hours.

What is so scary about this scenario is that a child can swallow a button battery without a parent or care giver even realizing what has happened. Yet, because the child is not choking, the parent may not even be aware of the serious injuries taking place.

Experts from the National Poison Center say a battery that doesn't move through the gut, especially one that lodges in the esophagus, may adhere to tissue and leak, or the electrical current from the battery passing through adjacent tissue can generate alkali (in chemistry an alkali is a base – just know that this will act like an acid against tissues). Chemical burns may result. Other complications include paralysis of the vocal cords, narrowing (stricture) of the esophagus, severe internal bleeding as a result of a hole into a major blood vessel (like the aorta, the largest artery in our body, as reported above in the story of Elaina), or a hole connecting the windpipe (trachea) to the food pipe (esophagus) called a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), and even death.


Within 6 hours of getting lodged, the disc battery can eat through the esophagus or the organ they are lodged against, and within 8 to 10 hours, it can cause death. Battery removal is done with an endoscope. Surgery is rarely, if ever, indicated.

What To Do If a Child Swallows a Button Battery?

Go immediately to the Emergency Room!!! You won’t know if it’s stuck in the esophagus or actually went through to the stomach. Either way you need medical help!!! Once the battery is swallowed everything depends on how quickly the button battery can be removed – especially if stuck in the esophagus.

What Symptoms Should You Watch Out For?

If your child starts having some of these symptoms, tuck in the back of your mind that it could possibly be a button battery that was swallowed:

• Refusing to take fluids or food
• An increase in salivation
• Vomiting
• Abdominal tenderness
• Chest pain
• Throat pain

However, realize in one study they found that 9 of 25 patients had no symptoms at all. That's why officials say do not wait for symptoms to develop before getting an X-ray. If the battery remains in the esophagus, it must be removed immediately. If you have an inkling that what your child is experiencing is related to swallowing a button battery – don’t take the risk and take them to the Emergency Room.

Where are Button Batteries?

Button batteries are in dozens of electronic devices. PLEASE be aware of these batteries and DO NOT leave them within the reach of children. The following can have button batteries in them:

• Remote controls
• Hearing Aids
• Key Fobs
• Watches
• Calculators
• Bathroom scales
• Flameless candles
• Singing greeting cards
• Talking books
• Hand-held electronic games
• Battery operated door alarm

The scary thing is, button batteries can easily fall out of devices—most compartments for button batteries are not required to be secure, because the products they are in are not designed for children. This happened to me just the other day. I was speaking with someone at my door and accidentally pulled the cover off of our battery operated door alarm (it holds three button batteries). Once I realized what happened I was relentless in finding all three of the batteries immediately.

Button batteries should be treated the same way a medication should be treated. They can be just as deadly upon ingestion. Would you give a bottle full of pills to a child to play with - even if there was a safety lid on it? NO – of course not. Then we shouldn't be giving electronic devices to children play with either - even if there is a cover over the battery. Let's all be diligent in knowing at all times where button batteries are. We all just have to change the way we think about button batteries. They are so helpful in our lives, we just have to be aware of how dangerous they can be.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE – if you have children come to your home or live in your home, go room to room and check for easy to reach things that contain button batteries. One place you might not think of is on a bathroom scale—on the floor and within easy reach children. Or what about those remote controls that children love so much?

Safety Checklist

• Keep items with button batteries out of reach of children.
• Tell everyone you know about this danger, including babysitters, grandparents or others who care for your child.
• Get help IMMEDIATELY if you suspect a child has swallowed a button battery.
• Store unused button batteries in a locked cabinet, along with other hazardous items.
• Dispose of button batteries safely.

Loom Knitting, Newborn Baby Hat, Newborn Baby Booties, Newborn Baby Mittens

Newborn Baby Hat Without Rim

Loom used: 31 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used - blue color).

FYI... for loom sizes... Don't use the blue 24 peg for this. If you use two strands of yarn, with one of those strands on the bulky side (6), then the 24 peg would be for a preemie hat (blue), and the 31 peg (red) loom for newborn, and the 36 peg (Green) loom would be used for young children (1.5 years to 8 years). If you want an adult hat with two strands of bulky yarn (even for women!) you will need to use the yellow loom which is 41 pegs. I learned this the hard way... knitting a bunch of hats and trial and error.

The loom should fit over the head of the person you are making this for - not resting on the head. I know you can't measure for babies so just trust me on this. You don't want to use the smallest loom! It will be too small!!

Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the hat has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes it warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns that are bulky. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds additional color, variety, and texture.

Step 1: Knit 27 to 30 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it). I give you that window because I don't count my rows when I do a hat. I just look at it and estimate as I'm nearing the end.

** Do notice that I did not turn the cuff and make a brim on the hat. I tried this with one hat and realized the brim ends up being so thick (which is cute of course!) that I imagine this could cause some havoc on a little newborn neck. Remember, newborn babies sleep a lot with hats on and they shouldn't be putting the babies neck out of alignment. So I went with no cuff and the little curled rim that you see is just what naturally occurs with loom knitting.

Step 2: Take off with gather method
Step 3: I sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.

Newborn Baby Mittens

Loom used: 12 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used)
Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the mitten has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes them warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds additional color, variety, and texture.

Step 1: Knit 7 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it)
Step 2: Turn Cuff (It's like making a brim on a hat)
Step 3: Knit 11 rows
Step 4: take off with gather method
Step 5: I do not recommend weaving a ribbon to tie around the mittens. I'm a nurse and this sets off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. It would be so easy for mom or dad to tie this too tight and they wouldn't be able to tell because the blue oxygen-deprived foot wouldn't be showing! So I just sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.

Newborn Baby Booties

Loom used: 12 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used)

Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the bootie has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes them warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds color and variety.

Step 1: Knit 6 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it)

Step 2: Turn Cuff (It's like making a brim on a hat)

Step 3: Knit 2 rows

Step 4: Knit the Heel (you will not go around the whole circle. You will use only pegs 1-8)

Heel Template For 12 Peg Loom
This template is good and bad. Good because it makes a cute gradual heel like you see in a normal sock. Bad because it will leave larger holes than the rest of the bootie, and you will have to, at the end, repair the holes.

wrap pegs 1 through 8 knit off

wrap pegs 7 – 2 knit off

wrap pegs 3 - 6 knit off

wrap pegs 5 - 4 knit off

wrap peg 5 only knit off

wrap pegs 5 - 4 knit off

wrap pegs 3 - 6 knit off

wrap pegs 7 - 2 knit off

wrap pegs 1 - 12 knit off


Step 5: Knit 7 more rows (I've done 6 rows and it looks just a bit smaller than I would like. Next time I will try the 7 or 8 rows. This step is where you are making the length of the toe. Adjust according to your personal desire).

Step 6: take off with gather method - leave a REALLY long tail like 18 inches long

Step 7: Turn the bootie inside out (it already should be for the gather method). Use your really long tail to then sew up the holes that you find throughout the heel. If you use nice thick fun yarn you will not be able to see much of this. As I'm doing it I am very aware of what I am doing on the outside of the bootie to maintain a cute look. There is no real trick to this. Just sew up the holes.

Step 8: I do not recommend weaving a ribbon to tie around the booties. I'm a nurse and this sets off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. It would be so easy for mom or dad to tie this too tight and they wouldn't be able to tell because the blue oxygen-deprived foot wouldn't be showing! So I just sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.

NON-SURGICAL Option for HEALING Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Yes you read this title correctly - YOU DON'T NEED SURGERY TO HEAL YOUR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME!!! You can HEAL your carpal tunnel with simple massage - specifically trigger point therapy.

I wrote this blog entry because I really felt the need to pass my story onto others. I hope this can help someone else out there that has carpal tunnel and is trying to find out a way to be healed without surgery. Below I will tell you about getting carpal tunnel and the process I went through to heal myself. I'll tell you what worked for me, and what didn't.

At the time, I was working as a Registered Nurse at a home infusion pharmacy as an intake specialist. What that meant was that I was on the computer a whole lot during the day doing very repetitive movements on the keyboard, with my mouse, and with my phone.

After about six months of working, I suddenly started developing severe pain in both of my hands. The pain then turned into weakness and numbness. My friends, family, and co-workers all told me that I had carpal tunnel syndrome. I was devistated!

As a side note, I do have to admit here that I never went to a physician to get an official diagnosis (a physical therapist did give me an unoffical one though). However, I have learned being a nurse, you don't go to a surgeon unless you want to be cut open, and I didn't want to be cut open. I wanted to know what my other options were besides surgery. You don't go to a surgeon for that!

 I had no doubt that I had carpal tunnel and so I was going to try EVERYTHING I possibly could before turning to surgery to fix my problems. I started using the maximum does of Ibuprofen daily. That dose by the way is 800 mg every 8 hours by mouth - ONLY do this if you have great kidneys AND you are drinking lots and lot of water. Personally I just popped 4 of the 200mg pills instead of getting a doctors order for the 800 mg tabs, remember generic brand will save you money. Ibruprofen is the correct drug to use for this. It is the best NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug) out there for inflamation. You will probably be taking it for several weeks.
I also got splints for my forearms and hands to try and stabilize them while working. It didn't help, and the pain and weakness and numbness was getting worse! I'm sure this was because I couldn't rest my arms and hands. If I could have stopped using them completely, resting, and taking ibuprofen I'm sure the carpal tunnel would have also gone away. I was the provider for my family. Not working was not an option.

I was worried that I was not going to be able to do my job if this kept up. I would NOT recommend you wasting your money on these braces. THEY DON'T WORK! They just make it worse from what I could tell. Because my forearm and wrist was wrapped up tight, it made it much more difficult to use my hands, wrist and forearm, thus inflaming the carpal tunnel and making things even worse. Or maybe things were just getting worse because the braces were not helping. I couldn't really tell either way, but the fact was that they didn't help!

One day on the job, I ran into a physical therapist, and I asked if she had any suggestions about how to help carpal tunnel. The first thing she did was tap on the bottom of my wrist, right over the carpal tunnel, where the median nerve runs. In anatomy, the carpal tunnel is a literal tunnel in between the carpal bones that all the tendons for the hand pass through. The tendons become inflamed and start pinching off nerves.

When my carpal tunnel was tapped on by the physical therapist, I immediately got a shot of electric pain through my whole hand! I instantly pulled away from the electric shot of pain. The physical therapist told me that what she did was the offical test for a carpal tunnel diagnoses, and that yes in fact I DID have carpal tunnel syndrome.
The physical therapist showed me some stretches I could do to help. Personally, I didn't notice that these helped much either.
As I was finally realizing that my last option was surgery, I was in the break room at work wearing a large black brace on each arm/wrist/hand. It's not like anyone could miss it! Someone in the breakroom that was getting a snack asked me what was going on. I explained that I had carpal tunnel and it looks like I was going to have to have surgery, and I was pretty upset about the whole idea. I know several people that have got this surgery and it does not help the carpal tunnel go away. Plus, being a nurse I understand that all procedures (especially surgery!) can have serious complications and so I really wanted to avoid surgery at all costs.
This saint of a person then told me about trigger point therapy. I wish I could remember who this angel was because they would get a HUGE thanks from me!! He explained what trigger point therapy is based on, with the premice that throughout your body there are trigger points, basically nerve centers embeded DEEP in muscles, that can release tension throughout the body. He explained that carpal tunnel is actually not a problem in the hand but in the forearm and/or the shoulder with the bracial nerve plexus, which is a huge set of nerves in your shoulder. The problem is with the nerves. He told me that working the trigger points on the forearm should take the carpal tunnel away.
This all made so much sense!! As an infusion nurse, when I stuck someone with a needle to start an IV, occasionally I would hit a nerve, immediately removing the needle. However, when you hit a nerve it feels the same way that carpal tunnel feels like a jolt of electricity or "electric shock".

The test the physical therapist did on me was nerve pain. I couldn't beleive what I was hearing. It sounded a bit like hocus pocus but I heard so much truth too. Could it really be that simple as MASSAGE??? I was very skeptical that this would work. I've always been one that is leary about alternative medicine. I was ready to try anything though. What could it hurt? I was willing to put a little time and money into trying something that might prevent surgery.So I went home and did some homework on trigger point therapy. I immediately ordered the thera cane massager, workbook, and wooden knobble massager.

Thera Cane Massager - I never ended up using this. I ordered it, and tried it out and it never got deep enough on my back for me to use it again. I'm sure this was user error. It wasn't helpful at all on my forearms. I gave it to charity. There are lots of other brands out there of this too. I don't know much about it because it didn't work for me. This won't be helpful for the trigger point therapy you need for your forearms.

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook - this is pretty in depth. I glanced at the section for the forearm and then started to dig in with the wooden knoble. After my inital glance I never picked the book up again, so I don't recommend buying it. I'll save you bunches of money by not having to buy this. The picture below will show you where you should start massaging:

Focus on massaging all the muscle in the forearm. Both on top and on bottom. Dig in them deep. Along the whole muscle - with all the muscles. Remember you have about 20 different muscles in the forearm. Your hands are very complex, and it's these muscles that allow your hands to move the way that they do.

This is the type of wooden knobble I used. This is the piece of equipment I recommend over ANYTHING else!!! Now knowing how helpful this was, and the fact that it was the one thing that did work so well I would pay over $100 for it today. But it's not that expensive. I just looked on amazon and it's only $17.

What is so amazing about this tool, is that it's super easy to use, but it can REALLY dig into your tissue without much force or strength at all. This is so important because you will be massaging your forearms yourself, and already having carpal tunnel makes it impossible for traditional massage. Your hands are in so much pain and have so much weakness massage is the last thing it feels like you can do. So this wooden knobble will let you massage your forearm without hurting your hands. IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO WONDERFUL!!!!

Do you want to know the best part of this story? After massaging my forearms for just THREE days the pain and numbness went away!!!!!! I have not had carpal tunnel syndrome since!!!! I don't think I would have believed this if someone told me that this was possible. I swear on everything that I know and who I am as a good Christian woman. It only took three days for my body to repair itself with the use of massage.

Now that being said, I had to upkeep on the massage or I could feel my hands getting stressed again. The first few days, I massaged for 6-10 times a day for just 30 seconds to a minute. For instance I would massage when I stopped at a red light, when I was chatting with someone on the phone, or waited for the microwave to heat my lunch. You can find 30 seconds very easily when you think about it. Just give yourself that time. It's worth it.

 I did VERY deep massage. It kind of hurt actually. But you want to make sure that you get deep enough to get to the trigger point. I didn't just do it in that one spot that the picture shows. I did it all over my forearm muscles. I didn't have to move to the top of my arm or shoulder.

Who knows if the trigger point therapy part of all of this is really correct or not. I really don't care. I'm giving credit here to trigger point therapy because that is where I started from, and that is what helped me get to where I'm at.

After about a week of using the wooden knobble massager, I didn't have to use it anymore. Almost daily, I would quickly massage my forearms and hands for just about 10-20 seconds. If I had worked an extra long week then I would have to do it more often. Now, after 7 years (I don't work on a computer anymore) I just have to massage my forearms once every few months when I over-extend my computer time.

I have also found in maintaing my carpal tunnel syndrome-FREE life, the stretches that the physical therapist does help too. It just didn't help when the carpal tunnel was actue and so painful and inflamed.

I wish you luck as you try to figure this out for yourself. I hope that something I have written here might help you, or someone you know that is dealing with this painful syndrome.

What Size Loom Should I Use for Knitting Hats?

After leaning the hard way...knitting a bunch of hats through trial and error (giving the unintended hats to charity), I learned what size loom was appropriate for what size hat. I have a set of Knifty Knitter Looms. I thought I would share with you what I learned. FYI - the picture above does not include the flower loom. I snagged this pic off Google so you could see what I'm talking about.

**Please note this sizing is based on using one normal yarn strand (size 4 bulk), and another fancier and bulkier yarn (5 or 6 - I really like to use 6). Because of the extra bulk of using two strands of yard the sizes become smaller than you would think.

12 Peg Loom (Flesh/Pink colored): Baby Booties, Baby Mittens

24 Peg Loom (Blue): Preemie Baby Hat

31 Peg Loom (Red): Newborn Baby Hat

36 Peg Loom (Green): Hat for Young Children (1 yr to maybe 8 yrs?)

41 Peg Loom (Yellow): Hat for Tweens and adults (this includes women adults especially... it looks WAY too big but believe me you need this size! I'm not sure about the age in between the 36 peg and 41 peg. I've used the 36 peg loom for my 1 year old and my 4 year old and it works great. We do have big heads in my family though :)

Loom Knitting Newborn Baby Hat with no brim

Loom used: 31 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used - blue color).

FYI... for loom sizes... Don't use the blue 24 peg for this. If you use two strands of yarn, with one of those strands on the bulky side (6), then the 24 peg would be for a preemie hat (blue), and the 31 peg (red) loom for newborn, and the 36 peg (Green) loom would be used for young children (1.5 years at least to 4 years. I haven't tried them on an older child yet). If you want an adult hat with two strands of bulky yarn (even for women!) you will need to use the yellow loom which is 41 pegs. I learned this the hard way... knitting a bunch of hats and trial and error.

Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the hat has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes it warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns that are bulky. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds additional color, variety, and texture.

Step 1: Knit 27 to 30 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it). I give you that window because I don't count my rows when I do a hat. I just look at it and estimate as I'm nearing the end.

** Do notice that I did not turn the cuff and make a brim on the hat. I tried this with one hat and realized the brim ends up being so thick (which is cute of course!) that I imagine this could cause some havoc on a little newborn neck. Remember, newborn babies sleep a lot with hats on and they shouldn't be putting the babies neck out of alignment. So I went with no cuff and the little curled rim that you see is just what naturally occurs with loom knitting.

Step 2: Take off with gather method
Step 3: I sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.

Free Loom Knitting Template for Newborn Baby Mittens

Loom used: 12 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used)

Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the mitten has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes them warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds additional color, variety, and texture.

Step 1: Knit 7 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it)
Step 2: Turn Cuff (It's like making a brim on a hat)
Step 3: Knit 11 rows
Step 4: take off with gather method
Step 5: I do not recommend weaving a ribbon to tie around the mittens. I'm a nurse and this sets off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. It would be so easy for mom or dad to tie this too tight and they wouldn't be able to tell because the blue oxygen-deprived foot wouldn't be showing! So I just sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.

Loom Knitting Neborn Baby Booties Template, and Baby Bootie Heel Template

Loom used: 12 peg loom (Knifty Knitter is what I used)

Yarn used: I use two strands of yarn so the bootie has less space in between each chain (no holes which makes them warmer!). I will usually use a normal cheaper yarn mixed with the nicer and softer specialty yarns. I have also used a third strand that is super thin but adds color and variety.

Step 1: Knit 6 rows (I use the basic e-wrap - if you need help with the basics please check out Provo Craft's website - search Provo Craft Knifty Knitter and you will find it)

Step 2: Turn Cuff (It's like making a brim on a hat)

Step 3: Knit 2 rows

Step 4: Knit the Heel (You will not be knitting around and around in a circle. You will use only pegs 1-8)

Heel Template For 12 Peg Loom
This template is good and bad. Good because it makes a cute gradual heel like you see in a normal sock. Bad because it will leave larger holes than the rest of the bootie, and you will have to at the end repair the holes.

wrap pegs 1 through 8 knit off

wrap pegs 7 – 2 knit off

wrap pegs 3 - 6 knit off

wrap pegs 5 - 4 knit off

wrap peg 5 only knit off

wrap pegs 5 - 4 knit off

wrap pegs 3 - 6 knit off

wrap pegs 7 - 2 knit off

wrap pegs 1 - 12 knit off


Step 5: Knit 7 more rows (I've done 6 rows and it looks just a bit smaller than I would like. Next time I will try the 7 or 8 rows. This step is where you are making the length of the toe. Adjust according to your personal desire).

Step 6: take off with gather method - leave a REALLY long tail like 18 inches long

Step 7: Turn the bootie inside out (it already should be for the gather method). Use your really long tail to then sew up the holes that you find throughout the heel. If you use nice thick fun yarn you will not be able to see much of this. As I'm doing it I am very aware of what I am doing on the outside of the bootie to maintain a cute look. There is no real trick to this. Just sew up the holes.

Step 8: I do not recommend weaving a ribbon to tie around the booties. I'm a nurse and this sets off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. It would be so easy for mom or dad to tie this too tight and they wouldn't be able to tell because the blue oxygen-deprived foot wouldn't be showing! So I just sewed on a cute bow for cuteness factor.