Darts in Clothing that hit the Bullseye

This morning I gave a presentation to my local group of American Sewing Guild members. I'm sure you'd like a picture of it, but I can never remember to take photos of the (interesting?) things I do when I'm out and about. I forgot again. Anyway, the topic was darts.

To get us off on the right track, here is a quiz for you. A dart is widely understood to be:

•A) The stinger of an insect.

B) A game in which small, slender, pointed missiles are thrown at a target.

•

• 
C) A sudden, rapid movement.

•

• 
D) A fold sewn into fabric to help provide a three-dimensional shape to a garment.

Though I have moved quickly to avoid being stung by a bee while attempting to hit a target with a small slender missile, I am really best qualified to speak on the three-dimensional fabric type, which I think are largely misunderstood. Here are the basics:

See how nicely those imitation darts (dotted lines) fit so well into the curves of our lady? The main point I would like to make about darts is that 1) the type, shape, length and width need to be personalized. One dart cannot be all things for all people. It can be for some, but not all. Let's see how those lovely darts look on someone of a different figure type:

You see what I mean- Not such a good match up.

The next thing to keep in mind is that a dart should never be longer than the apex of the curve it will be fitting.

So, what happens when a dart is too big? You'll end up with a big poof or bulge where you don't need it, as in the Sewing Lawyers experience with Vogue 1324.

The photo I want you to see:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtBBPD0HxZ15zcq34WHRRcNMl_hzulX3sPh2WSvizaqfU9dCjoxX1Yiuadws2p2Cuc9WN6HRTIckWpjDN36YIrgrxHEnmKjLI4CcYB2AP8gJima8HJrddYKEy_Av_zugJ5z-fEzqgZm4/s320/IMG_1002.JPG

The whole blog post: http://kaythesewinglawyer.blogspot.ca/2012/09/fits-and-starts.html

Okay, but how to fix it? Make the dart smaller (draw in a smaller dart, and not so long) and then take another avenue to reduce the now too large waist.

So What happens if a dart is too small?  You'll see drag lines and/or pulling, but be careful because the cause may not be the darts at all. You might think these draglines point to a need for a full bust adjustment as with Kadiddlehopper when she made Sew Chic 7401:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-UCXdTMKzTyWUug_S2eSuHY2-wNzk2VrE_CJudErESgOyNn-IFQ-t2F6qwzg-5NM3GjKLdfukOZR8I9iiIQCupaBpERb8wLAqvjmzWb2-v1V5zHBUCKTmyMuGUalRDB8D7PaRdJ3i9A/s320/IMG_5478.JPG        

The right solution to this problem may surprise you. Read about it on her blog here:

http://katiekadiddlehopper.blogspot.com/search?q=myrtlewood#!/2010/01/myrtlewood-muslin.html 

Sometimes a pattern comes without any darts when it really needs one. Read about our experience with Butterick 5601.

http://www.sewchicpatterns.blogspot.com/2012/11/when-dart-will-do.html

I challenge you to look for new ways to use darts for fitting. Of course they can be both friend and foe, but when used right, they work wonders!

When a dart will do.

Not long ago, high school girls everywhere were thinking about what to wear to the homecoming dance. My exchange daughter, Mirjam, chose Butterick 5601, a classic sheath with a key hole back. We left the store with black crepe and just a little trim for the waist. Then I get a phone call from my aunt who was making a dress for her granddaughter. She had some questions about how to sew with lace, and as the conversation rolled along, I realized that she was making the same pattern! We laughed and compared notes about the style and fit. She warned me that the skirt was very short, and I mentioned to her that the back yoke was missing some darts. 

What? Missing darts? She noticed the sag, but didn't know what to do for it except tuck it into the seam below. Not the best solution. Anywhere our body has curves, we need a dart to shape that curve, and our shoulder (blade) is one such curve.

Notice how that saggy look goes away once I put in the dart that has been omitted? SO much better. Next I need to correct the pattern, adding in the dart. This helps make sure the two darts are marked the same and if anyone ever makes this pattern again they will know to put in a dart here.

Here's what the pattern looks like now.

Mirjam and I worked on this dress every day after she came home from school for a week. She would press and I would sew. We were quite the sewing team! In the end, we also made some styling changes, adding a unique rhinestone zipper to the back of the dress that could have been a disaster but turned out to be quite dazzling. Stay tuned! Next week I'll show you what we did and how we did it...and the finished dress.

Tutorial: switching from darts to elastic at the waist.

Several years ago I had a student in my fitting class that complained bitterly about a figure "flaw" she called a  "bubble butt." I thought it a pretty good description for the figure type that also belongs to me. Because clothing for the masses do not accommodate a generous back bumper, I knew first hand the difficulty she was experiencing. She asked me "How do YOU deal with this?"  My rule number 1: I do not ever wear elastic, or anything for that matter, that is not fitted with darts at the waist. The one exception is garments made from knits. A soft and drapey fabric won't pooch out like an umbrella, over, above, below my waist. But not everyone needs darts the way that I do, so who can get away with elastic? Kids!... And others who have a tubular figure, with waist and hips that are of similar shape and measurement, a flat rear, or are wider at the waist than at the hip.

I would venture to say that you will never see me designing a style with an elastic waist, just because everyone can wear some version of a dart, but not everyone should use elastic. If you are one of the lucky ones to be ambidextrous, or prefer to make and wear elastic, fear not: it's incredibly easy to turn darts into an elastic waist, but not so easy to do the opposite. In 5 easy steps, here's how: (click on the photo to see a larger view)

That's it! You can use this same procedure for almost any fitted garment. Questions about that? just ask!