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Altering Darts on Commercial Patterns
One of the most exasperating
problems with darts is to finally get the dress or blouse to fit right, but the
dart ends up above the bust line or below the bust line.
We know it looks funny, with the dart not pointing TO the bust line, but
rarely does the home sewer know what to do about it.
Before we get started talking
about adding darts to patterns that have no dart, or moving the existing dart to
various new positions, let’s get the dart that comes on the pattern to fit
right! Correcting the angle of the
original dart so that it will point to the bust point, and not
“above” or “below” the bust is really very easy once you know the simple
steps.
Try on a few dresses or blouses that you’ve made or have bought to
check out what the dart line really looks like – once you’ve noticed how it
actually looks, you’ll be determined to never have the side bust dart in the
wrong position again! The
following diagrams and instructions will help you get the dart position right
on every future garment you make!
RAISING AND
LOWERING AN EXISTING DART
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To
find the correct position of your dart, measure from the shoulder to the
bust point and mark that distance on your pattern.
If this mark is above or below the dart on the pattern, you’ll
have to move the dart.
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The
easiest way to lower a dart is to measure the necessary distance and make
a mark at the dart point and along the side seams.
Connect the new marks and the dart is moved – shown by dashed
lines.
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In
order to restore the shape of the side seam to its original position, tape
tissue paper under the dart so it extends past the side seam as shown.
Fold and pin the dart as if it were sewn and cut the tissue paper
that extends past the seam line, following the original seam line.
Remove the pins and you have your new seam line.
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The
same method is used for raising a dart.
However, if you have to raise it quite a bit, you’ll need to
angle the dart (E) so that the top line of the dart doesn’t come too
close to the armhole. When
you angle the dart, you need to use the same dart width at the side seam
as it previously had. Fold
and pin the dart and redraw your side seam (C ).
Raising and lowering an existing dart on a commercial pattern is an excerpt from
the full length class "Darts That Fit and Flatter". This
class teaches you how to ADD darts when a pattern doesn't have dart, how to take
the dart out of patterns, as well as giving step by step instructions on how to
MOVE the dart to different positions (turn it into an "armhole" dart,
"below the waist" dart, "curved dart", etc). With all
the new dart positions and designs, you can turn one basic pattern into a
variety of styles and be assured that every dart will be pointing to the
bust point for perfect fit.
To participate in the "Darts That Fit and Flatter" class,
Darts101 -- $9.95 simply click on the link that follows:
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