How to make knitted boot toppers

Make a splash with these sunny welly boot toppers designed by Helen Ardley. Wear your welly warmers inside or outside your boots, with the rib cuff turned over the tops to protect your trousers and keep precious heat inside your boots for those colder days. This pattern uses purl stitches and slip stitches, so it's a great project for beginners to learn these stitches or a quick project for those who already know how to knit.

Once you've finished this project, how about some more rainy day knits, like this knitted hot water bottle cover or gorgeous knitted book cover. If you’ve knitted this project, don’t forget to share it on Facebook or post them on Instagram, we love to see what you make!

To make these knitted welly toppers you will need:

Drops Cotton Merino DK Yarn:
- 2 x 50g balls of Yellow (shade 15)
- 1 x 50g ball of Green (shade 10)
- 1 x 50g ball of Blue (shade 9)

4mm (UK 8, US 6) knitting needles
4 medium-sized wooden buttons

Knitted welly toppers pattern

Tension

29 sts and 42 rows over pattern on 4mm needles to make a 10cm or 4in square

Finished size

11 x 16cm (41⁄4 x 61⁄4in) when sewn together and rib turned over

Abbreviations

You’ll find our standard knitting abbreviations in this pattern. This pattern is written in UK metrics but it’s really easy to convert, just check out our yarn weight conversion chart and beginner’s guide.

Special abbreviations

yf take yarn to front of work between needles

yb take yarn to back of work between needles

Yarn alternatives

Sirdar Cotton DK sirdar.co.uk
Patons Washed Cotton DK makeitcoats.com

WELLY TOPPERS

With 4mm needles cast on 93 sts in Yellow.

Row 1: P1, *k3, p1 rep from * to end.

Row 2: K1, *p3, k1 rep from * to end. These 2 rows form the rib.

Work a further 2 rows in rib. Now work in pattern as follows:

Change to Blue.

Row 1 (RS): P1, *k1, yf, sl1, yb, k1, p1, rep from * to end.

Row 2 (WS): K1, sl1, p1, by, sl1, k1 rep from * to end.

Change to Green.

Work rows 1 and 2 of pattern.

Change to Yellow.

Work rows 1 and 2 of pattern.

Cont in stripe and pattern until work measures 8cm (3 1⁄4 in) and end with Green on a WS row.

Change to Yellow.

Next row (RS): P1, *k3, p1 rep from * to end.

Next row: K1, *p3, k1 rep from * to end.

These 2 rows form the rib. Work in rib for a further 13 rows.

Cast off.

To make up

Sew in all loose ends.
Sew back seam using mattress stitch.
Fold over rib and attach a button to both sides at top.

Download the knitted boot toppers pattern

Get a PDF version of this pattern here: Knitted welly toppers

Holly SpannerStaff Writer, BBC Science Focus

Holly is the staff writer at BBC Science Focus. Before joining the team she was a geoenvironmental consultant and holds an MSc in Geoscience from UCL.

How to make knitted boot toppers