Summer with Tess

My daughter got her first 2 Tess shorts last summer.

I had allready made her a third one with the scraps from the Oceana skirt during spring.

When Melissa asked het testers to check the new rebranded version of the pattern ... it was time for number 4. She wore all her Tess shorts a lot during Summer and when the sun shows her face in these last days before the Fall sets in ... out they come again :-)

For this last one, my daughter picked a quilting cotton with a subtle gray print. The selvedge says it from the Microlife Textures line by JWylie Designs for Robert Kaufman. She paired with a matching grey bias tape  and we were ready to start cutting and sewing!

Adding the bias tape takes a few extra steps, but it's worth it. I love how it emphasizes the shape of the petals.

I made some pics along the way to show you how I added bias tape. The pattern does tell you were to and when to add trim like a bit of lace or pompons. I remembered struggling a bit with bias tape and piping on my earlier versions. So I made a few pictures about how I applied it.

The pattern tells you to hem a little part of the petal in step 5. That's when I start the bias tape. 

The side seams have not been sewn yet, you just apply the bias tape to the tiny bit of hem you won't be able to reach later on. Stitch down the bias tape on the right side of the fabric first, then fold it under and stitch in the ditch to get near invisible stitching on the right side. 

If you pinned carefully the stitching in the ditch will catch the back of the tape. When you pin you should mind that the side of the tape overlaps the stitches from the first picture. Stitch the first step a few inches further than the second and you can continue to apply the tape all the way around in step 13. 

I also do the side seam in 2 parts so I can fold the bias taped hem out of the way in step 13. 

There will be a long end of bias tape hanging out of the project for a while but that's just life. Just keep in mind that it's there and you won't sew it into the pockets or on the backside etc. I like to finish one leg completely steps 5 through 13 before I start on leg number 2 because 2 strings of bias tape hanging out while you are sewing ... that's asking for a tangled mess ;-)

If you want to give the pattern a try, head over to the BSD website!