This weekend a good friend of mine threw a surprise baby shower for a mutual acquaintance of ours. Naturally, I provided the cake!! As it’s winter, the mother-to-be wanted to go with a “knitted” theme, and so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to bust out my knitted mold collection to create a cute little pair of “knit-effect” baby booties as a topper for the cake. I used the new Marvelous Molds knit molds, which are Uhmazing.
Knitted Booties Tutorial
By Rebekah Wilbur
I found this basic pattern online and printed it out onto plain paper and cut out the pieces. I used them the right way up for one shoe, and upside down to create the opposite foot.
I used the Rib and Cable, and Classic Knit Simpress molds from the Anne Heap collection at Marvelous Molds.
Roll out a piece of white gum paste (I used Satin Ice) to about 1/4 inch thickness, place into the rib and cable mold and press to impress the pattern.
Place the Classic Knit mold directly over the top of your gum paste (in the cable mold) and push down to impress the pattern.
Rebekah notes: This will ensure both sides of your “fabric” have a knitted pattern, which will give the booties a more realistic appearance.
Gently remove the gum paste from the mold and allow to firm up for a few minutes. Place the paper templates onto the knit and gently cut around them.
Rebekah notes: You should be able to cut both pieces from the rib knit panel.
Put a little edible glue around the edge of the sole piece and wrap the other piece around. You can use a little rolled up tissue paper to support the shoe whilst it dries.
To make the pink icing drizzle: Roll a sausage of pink fondant and place into the “Cable” section of the Rib and Cable mold. Roll with a pin to impress the pattern and release from the mold.
I used a slightly compressed piping tip to make the drip indentations. If you don’t want to run a piping tip, you can use a sharp knife. Once you’ve made the cuts. Gently round the protruding ends by squeezing gently between your fingers.
Attach the knitted “icing” to the booties using a little edible glue or water.
Attach some colorful sprinkles to the drip using a little edible glue.
Rebekah notes: You could sprinkle them on but I had attached them individually to get an even coverage.
I used a knitted button mold to make the “cherries”. I used a half button on the booties, but I joined the two buttons together to make the cherries that topped the cake. You can make a swirl of “icing” by coiling a piece of the knit mold.
Once the booties are dry, you can place them on top of your cake. I just love how these little cuteys turned out. So perfect for a winter-baby girl baby shower!