Oh, no. What did I do?

So a current order of mine is for a pair of baby shoes. The shoes are for a (now) 4 mo. old baby. It's the first time I had to go smaller on my pattern so it was quite an adventure.

At first, I was a little bit hesitant to make shoes for a baby. After all, what does a baby really need shoes for? As they don't walk, shoes don't really serve much of a purpose other than keeping feet warm. In my mind socks can serve that function. Although, recently, I've come to a new conclusion. I recall that many moms are bothered by the lack of ability baby socks have to actually stay on the baby's foot. I have experienced this myself. I've heard several people say they've put shoes on their babies solely to keep the sock on. Here's the way I see it now: if a shoe is required to keep a sock on, at least it can be a soft flexible shoe that will not constrict growth or movement. This function is served well by my soft-soled shoes and therefore, there is a rationale to make them that I can live with. Call me strange, but keeping with my ideals with the products I make plays into maintaining my integrity. But I digress.

In any case, I set out to rework my pattern, this time for a smaller foot. What I developed should have been a shoe that measured 4 in. to fit a baby with a 3.5 in. foot. I measured everything out and very carefully drew out my pattern to maintain the exact size differences that previous patterns had given me. When sewing the shoes I was diligent (as I usually am) about maintaining consistency in my seams, etc. When all was said and done, I had created just about the cutest little shoes I had ever seen. Then I measured them. Yeah, they were 1/2 in. too short. I have no idea how that happened. That's not a small amount when we are talking itty bitty baby shoes.


So, it was back to the drawing board. I used some (more) scrap fabric and leather to make another pair of shoes just to check sizing before I made the final pair for my order. The second pair came out the way they were supposed to. Kinda. The larger pattern I used was supposed to make a 4.5 in. shoe (even though it was the "next size up" from the other one). The shoe turned out to be 4.25 in. I'd throw in the towel, but these shoes fit my little one who is close in age to the baby who will wear the shoes so I figure with the time that has gone by and the fact that babies grow, the shoes should fit. I'm going to make the pair the mom requested (with the fabric she requested), cross my fingers, and hope for the best.