Please LOGIN or Join PatternReview

Go to Page: 1 of 1

rotate dart what exactly does this mean?
Bobbi A Advanced Beginner NE USA Member since 3/23/12 Posts: 6	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 6/11/12 2:12 PM I have been reading a lot about fitting lately, and I'm trying to understand what it means when (for example) the instructions say to pinch out excess fabric from the armhole and rotate it into the side dart. Does that mean you pinch the excess, measure the depth and then create a dart of the same size in the side seam? Does that work? I'm completely new at the fitting side of sewing and while some adjustments are pretty straightforward, others I'm finding hard to grasp. ------ Bobbi
diane s Intermediate OR USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 3887	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 6/11/12 2:47 PM It means you close up the dart and remove it, and move the dart's fullness to another area. I often close the dart and open another dart at the shoulder. Instead of sewing the shoulder dart, I gather it, for soft shirring at the shoulder seam. ------ My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 10, and I've been sewing ever since.
marjoriekh   Intermediate VA USA Member since 8/28/10 Posts: 547	Login to reply to this post 3 members like this. Date: 6/11/12 2:49 PM I've found this tutorial helpful in understanding dart rotation and visualizing what can be done: A Crash Course on Dart Rotation - House of Tatterdemalion Use your actual bust point (tissue fit to determine it on your pattern piece) when rotating darts; the finished dart(s) should end up 1-2 inches away from this point, but you use the actual bust point as the point to cut to. The above tutorial illustrates manipulating darts that extend to the bust point (this is how the manipulation must be done); it does not show that the finished dart (the one you actually sew) will be shorter, though it will have the same amount of uptake at the seam line. With excess armscye fullness, pinch out the excess on your pattern to form a dart that ends at your bust point; draw the lines of this dart. Cut this dart out of your tissue. If you have an existing side dart, you can extend the center line of that dart to the bust point (it should already be pointing there -- if not, move it) and cut along that line almost to the bust point, leaving a small hinge of tissue. Now you 'rotate' the armscye excess into the side dart, closing the armscye opening, and opening the side dart wider. This 'rotation' is well illustrated in the tutorial. If you have no side bust dart, you can also create one by this process -- just draw a line from the side seam to the bust point where you want the center line of your dart to be, and cut along that. Remember that when you have finished rotating the fullness, you will need to redraw the dart lines so that the dart ends 1-2 inches away from the bust point, and not at the bust point itself. (You end up with a shorter triangle that is just as wide at the base.) ETA: How to Move a Dart -- A Fashionable Stitch Blog This blog post illustrates the lengthening of the dart to the bust point for rotation, and describes the shortening of the dart again after the rotation (no illustration -- the text describes it as 'doing the opposite' of what you did to lengthen the dart). -- Edited on 6/11/12 5:41 PM -- ------ marjoriekh
Bobbi A Advanced Beginner NE USA Member since 3/23/12 Posts: 6	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 6/12/12 9:37 AM Thank you! This is very helpful, and the tutorial clarifies things for me a lot, too. ------ Bobbi
Dianne22   Advanced Beginner TX USA Member since 3/18/11 Posts: 52	Login to reply to this post In reply to marjoriekh << Like this post Date: 6/12/12 11:18 AM Thanks so much for the links. They are both helpful for visualizing this technique.
meleliza   Intermediate PA Member since 5/4/11 Posts: 493	Login to reply to this post In reply to marjoriekh << Like this post Date: 8/22/12 9:55 PM thank you for the link to that tutorial. It is very very useful! ------ Melanie

Go to Page: 1 of 1

Please LOGIN or Join PatternReview

Printable Version

* Advertising and soliciting is strictly prohibited on PatternReview.com. If you find a post which is not in agreement with our Terms and Conditions, please click on the Report Post button to report it.