I don't know about you guys, but I have a heck of a time lining up the seam lines on darts, especially on the long vertical darts commonly found on blouses and dresses. I've come up with a trick for dealing with them, and I'd like the share it with you now.
I've actually written a blog post that describes this method in detail (with lots of pictures), so you may want to refer to it.
To Summarize:
1) Add all the marks indicated on the pattern piece, including the small circles and the seam lines. Make sure you keep your dots small, and don't obscure them with the seam line.
2) Take a pin and push it through the the small dots on either side of the dart. Do this for all dots (if there are more than one). In addition, add a pin at the apex of the dart, only catching the dot on the fabric. This will help you fold the dart later on.
3) Slide the fabric along the pin until both dots on either side of the dart are touching. Make sure the pin is going straight through the fabric and that the fabric hasn't twisted. Insert the pointy end of the pin into the fabric below the dot. Do this for all pins. Ensure that the dart is folded in half without any twists, pin, and press lightly.
4) Double check that the seam lines are straight by pushing a pin through the seam line on one side of the fabric and making sure that it's going through the seam line on the other side of the fabric. Sometimes the fabric shifts a tiny amount when you finish pinning, so simply adjust the fabric if needed.
5) Sew your dart!
Hopefully this helps out anyone else having problems with these darts. Happy sewing! |
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Putting the pins through both dart lines is very clever. I put the pins through each to mark but never thought of bringing them together so efficiently like this. Thanks for the well written tip.
4/5/11 7:19 AM
Good tip! I use this same method, but instead of using a different color for the dot, I use my same chalk and draw a short line perpendicular to the dart line at the location of the dot. Where the two lines cross is the "dot" point.
4/5/11 8:32 AM
What a great way to mark the dart. This makes a lot of sense. I always mark each circle with a pin too and never thought to do this.
4/5/11 9:20 AM
That's a smart idea, Lalena! Thanks for the suggestion. :)
4/5/11 3:36 PM
This is exactly how my mother taught me to manage darts back in the 50's. I am glad you are passing it along to help others.
4/6/11 10:48 AM