Denim Tammy’s Tulip Shorts

After test driving the shorts in a woven cotton and then making a pair in knit, I wanted to have a basic denim short for the summer. I thought this project would be a great time to try out Art Gallery solid smooth denim, a quilting weight denim fabric.

Details

• Pattern: Tammy’s Tulip Shorts by Sew Caroline
• Fabric: Solid Smooth Denim by Art Gallery Fabrics
• Size: L
• Modifications: full butt adjustment (see previous post for more details)

I’m not sure that I love the binding, but it’s fun and will have to do. I would have liked the dots a little smaller and closer together. Oh well. I’m sure I will be making more of these shorts in the other denim.

Given that I’ve made these shorts now in cotton, knit, and denim, I’d say the pattern is well on it’s way to being a TNT (tried and true) pattern for me! Now I just have to try it in rayon.

So there’s a few things I added / changed with the pattern. One thing I did was to stitch through all the layers of the waistband (fabric and elastic). Instead of just stitching through the middle, I divided the waistband into thirds and stitched two lines.  I know this sounds confusing, but it keeps my elastic from turning and keeps the gathering evenly distributed.

The second thing I did was not pre-iron my bias fabric. Instead I stitched it right sides together using a ½” seam allowance, then I used my SewKeysE double-sided stay tape to fold and press the bias tape to the wrong side. In other words, I ironed the stay tape to the right side of the bias tape and folded the fabric, leaving the paper on the stay tape. The stay tape doesn’t hold the folded bias tape down, but instead holds the bias tape in place so I can sew it down. If you iron the bias tape with it slightly overlapping the stitching on the inside, then you know you’ll always catch the bias tape when you top stitch. I top stitched the bias tape down from the right side. It was easy, because I had already secured the bias tape in place.

Great pattern. Lots of fun options since they can be made with quilt cotton, knit fabric, or lightweight denim. Super quick to sew if you can just figure out easy ways to sew bias tape. And I love the sporty style of these shorts. Hopefully this helps movtivate you to try out this great pattern!