Bootie Call by Franklin Habit

Margo Lynn

It probably has to do with the Hayes Code – not being able to use certain terminology (why Lucy was “expecting” and not pregnant) they had to come up with something for the wife to use.

Colleen Sheelen

No booties, but I did cast on the “Baby bib o’ love” from Mason – Dixon Knitting (my first ever knitting pattern book) as a way to signal my knitting group that I was expecting. My knitting skills weren’t quite at bootie level yet, or I may have fulfilled the stereotype 😉

Laura Ferguson

As a pleasingly plump woman in her fertile years, the last time I knitted a baby blanket for a gift, I stated to each and every person who asked what I was knitting the following, “It’s a baby blanket and no, I am not pregnant.”

Lizfm

I think you’re safe with Midge as a Presbyterian. The town where I grew up was so small that the Presbyterian and Methodist churches were combined. It was called the Highland United Methodist Presbyterian Church…aka the HUMP church. Yes, it was referred to by this acronym in all town calendars, etc.

I’ve never been pregnant, but as I’m grandma age, I get asked if I’m knitting for future grandchildren sometimes. I usually just say, “nope”

Pam

It is such a common misconception. I find that most knitting groups I have attended (including my local, weekly knitnight group) all give a giant middle finger to all the common knitting misconceptions…sometimes we knit booties, but we usually use words to share news.
And yes…Gazoo! lol!

Lila

I had to go look it up — and yes! It’s a recognized TV trope:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KnittingPregnancyAnnouncement

Dana Strotheide

I’ve not had children, but now I feel compelled to try to tell my husband I’m pregnant (if and when such a thing happens) via booties. I’d probably be with the Garden Club woman though, I doubt he’d notice. Or would notice and assume that it’s for someone else. 🙂

Barbara Stoner

I was going to tell my husband I bought these cute new shoes and show him some baby shoes. That was before I really started knitting more than just scarves and wraps though.
The first sweater I knit was a baby sweater and I made sure to let everyone I worked with know I WAS NOT pregnant.

Barbara Vaccaro

I think it has been replaced by the purchase of a home pregnancy test.

basementmatt

So, which one are you?

knittnchick

You know i told my husband I was pregnant? I vomited on him. True story.

AJ

I am now on layette #4 of 5 (maybe 6, depends on one of the attorneys decided whether to commission a set for one of the HR folks). No one asks if it’s for me. Mostly because they ask WHAT it is, and get told the entire “at first, it was just two people, and I’m thinking, February, two layettes, no problem! And then this person turned up pregnant, and that person turned up pregnant, and someone commissioned a set, and goddammit, I have other things to knit, stop getting pregnant already!” And by then their eyes have glazed over.

Cathryn

I never had to tell my husband. He figured it out before I even took the test (we both knew before then). I did, however, make booties for the Facebook announcement, which was a big hit!

Pam

The day I knew I was expecting our first child, I was not able to tell my husband in person, because he worked 1st shift and I worked 2nd. So, I took some pink and blue yarn and made bows, and taped them to the front door of our home. When I got home from work, I was expecting a “Honey, I’m so excited” type greeting from my husband, but instead found all of the bows on the table. I asked hubby if he saw all the yarn on the front door, and he said “yes, what the he!! was that about?”

CarolynK

Didn’t Morticia Addams knit a baby garment to let Gomez know she was pregnant?

JJ M

Wilma had Pebbles, Betty Rubbles had Bam-Bam.

Angie

I enjoy knitting baby hats and booties. My “excuse” is that I’m a doula. New moms I work with usually get a knitted gift, too.

Sheila

Not to send the message. However, I have been asked by strangers whenever making baby items for gifts or charity even at almost 50!

Janet Fletcher-Meyer

This was so fun to read (as usual). And the fish cartoon………..very clever. Wish this was an every week event instead of every month!

Swapna

This thing crosses cultures, because it’s common for women in India to be asked “Are you pregnant?” when they knit, as well. I never tried to tell anyone such a thing via my craft, although I was successful at camouflaging my pregnancy on social networks because all the stuff I knit or crocheted for my own baby was indistinguishable from what I was doing before (everyone on FB had a nice surprise when we put up pictures of our baby 🙂 )

suezeejay

Didn’t Clifton Webb as Mr. Belvedere pull baby knitting out of his pocket at the end of ‘Sitting Pretty’? I think it seemed like he knew his employer his employer was pregnant before she did!

Honora

Knitted a pair of pink an d a pair of blue booties. Sent one of each to the grandparents to be. They got the message. Now a grandma and still knitting.

carriea

I have never been pregnant but the first thing I felt compelled to do when my daughter( Yep, can’t say I do anything the most common way) became pregnant was run out and get baby wool to knit booties and a cap. We wouldn’t find out the sex of the little bun for months.

Amy Knits & Crochets

Your fun drawing made me laugh out loud, Franklin. Love it! Funny stuff. 🙂

When I used to live in Los Angeles, I would often crochet while riding the bus. It used to puzzle me that I’d be crocheting, for example, a black eyelash scarf or something, and other passengers would ask “when’s the baby due?” I’d wonder — do I somehow look pregnant? And how on earth could anyone mistake this for a baby project? At the time, I found it quite puzzling, repeatedly having the same general conversation with different strangers on different occasions.

I must’ve watched a zillion episodes of the Flintstones as a kid, but somehow missed the one with Wilma Knitting. That explains a lot!