Sewing Darts
Darts used to drive me crazy until I stumbled into how I sew them now..
First, as I cut the patterns, I mark the pieces by stabbing pins through the pattern piece then gently hold up the edge of the pattern and carefully put a pin through from the wrong side into the pattern piece exactly where the first pin marked (I'll try to get pics or video of this up)
The darts are marked by pins at the dart point and about 1/4" from the edge ON each dart leg.
Now, I position the fabric so the dart legs away from me on the ironing board and I can use the left pin to replace the right pin (so the left pin goes down through the wrong side of fabric on the left dart leg, then up through the right dart leg from the right side).
Next, I stab that pin into the ironing board (doesn't my friend have the coolest burn mark on her ironing board cover?). The dart point had been marked by another pin: keep it in place and work the folded edge of the fabric to make a straight, even fold from the pin to the edge of the fabric.
Now, carefully iron the fabric to make a crisp fold without melting the heads of the plastic pins and permanently adhering them to your fabric.. ('cause that would be bad..)
Take a straight edge and something to mark the dart: pencil, disappearing ink..line up the straight edge, draw a line between the two pins.
See how lovely?
Use the pins to pin the dart in place to maintain the edge and keep the fabric from moving whole sewing (a third pin in the middle helps).
Either, sew by hand with small stitches. Or, by machine:
At the normal stitch length, begin by sewing a few stitches backward, and then stitch, stopping about 1/4" from the edge of the fabric.
Change to a smaller stitch length..
..and sew off the edge of the dart. (With practice, you'll be able to change the stitch length at the appropriate place without stopping.)
Leave threads long and tie them in a square knot (really, shortening the stitch takes care of this, and I just snip the threads, leaving ~1/4" ends). Tada!:
Press dart in direction suggested by pattern, and you're good to go!
First, as I cut the patterns, I mark the pieces by stabbing pins through the pattern piece then gently hold up the edge of the pattern and carefully put a pin through from the wrong side into the pattern piece exactly where the first pin marked (I'll try to get pics or video of this up)
The darts are marked by pins at the dart point and about 1/4" from the edge ON each dart leg.
Now, I position the fabric so the dart legs away from me on the ironing board and I can use the left pin to replace the right pin (so the left pin goes down through the wrong side of fabric on the left dart leg, then up through the right dart leg from the right side).
Next, I stab that pin into the ironing board (doesn't my friend have the coolest burn mark on her ironing board cover?). The dart point had been marked by another pin: keep it in place and work the folded edge of the fabric to make a straight, even fold from the pin to the edge of the fabric.
Now, carefully iron the fabric to make a crisp fold without melting the heads of the plastic pins and permanently adhering them to your fabric.. ('cause that would be bad..)
Take a straight edge and something to mark the dart: pencil, disappearing ink..line up the straight edge, draw a line between the two pins.
See how lovely?
Use the pins to pin the dart in place to maintain the edge and keep the fabric from moving whole sewing (a third pin in the middle helps).
Either, sew by hand with small stitches. Or, by machine:
At the normal stitch length, begin by sewing a few stitches backward, and then stitch, stopping about 1/4" from the edge of the fabric.
Change to a smaller stitch length..
..and sew off the edge of the dart. (With practice, you'll be able to change the stitch length at the appropriate place without stopping.)
Leave threads long and tie them in a square knot (really, shortening the stitch takes care of this, and I just snip the threads, leaving ~1/4" ends). Tada!:
Press dart in direction suggested by pattern, and you're good to go!
posted by jennifer. at
2:00 AM
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