Some Sewing firsts

I've been looking for adventure lately, but it's hard to white water raft or bungee jump with a baby and a toddler, so I decided to try a few new things in the sewing room. I've been promising Mitch a pair of dress slacks for some time, but while basic pants are easy, slacks are very detailed and involve techniques I've never done before. So, I decided it was time to stretch myself a little. It took me a while to find a pattern that I liked (flat front, straight leg) which also had the things Mitch needs (pockets both front and back, comfy and indestructible), but I finally did. This is Burda 7841. So, now I had no more excuses, and it was time to dig in. It took me the better part of 2 weeks (one week almost entirely on the welt pockets in the rear), but they are finished and look fabulous! The only problem is that despite tissue fitting and re-drawing the pattern, they are too snug in the rear. Apparently European men do not have butts! While I am highly annoyed at my failure, I'm not really discouraged. I learned a lot making these pants, so I don't think that they were a complete loss. Anyone need some pants with no butt? My second "adventure" was this sleep sacque for Myra. It is only adventurous in that it is the first thing that I have made with a pattern that I drafted entirely on my own. It fits her well and was perfect last night when the temp was freezing. You win some...

And finally, I found the cutest pattern for booties online, and after a fruitless search for shoes that matched Myra's peach Easter dress, I decided to try my hand at baby shoes. I had some white pleather left over from a Halloween costume and a little bit of trim from the dress, so even if it was a total failure, at least I wasn't out anything but some of my time. Fortunately, after some alterations to the pattern, since Myra's feet are narrow like Mommy's but fat like a baby's, they actually turned out really well! I'm definitely going to do this again, but perhaps next time with a more forgiving material. Pleather was an enormous pain. Next time - felt.

And now, on to a retro dress from 1952 for me! I'm completely restructuring the bodice so that I can nurse in it - more adventure!! I hope it works out.