Wonky darts anyone? I’ve sewn a few, I’ll be honest. However, that is what tutors are for, no? My tutor has passed on a couple of tips for sewing darts that have really helped me improve mine. So here goes….imagine this is your dart, on the RS of the fabric…
Stick a pin through one of the dart legs and the dart point, from the WS of the fabric…
Join the two points at the base of the dart together by pushing the pin through the second point….
Then flip over, and use the pin to secure the base of the dart (A). Use the head of the pin you put through the dart point (B) to centre the dart fold and pin in place. “A” becomes the start point for your stitching line (or just before actually, a bit into the seam allowance) and “B” the point at which you want to run the stitching off the edge….
Now for my favourite little trick! A strip of masking tape stuck down on your sewing machine,in line with the needle position, like so….(sorry you’ll have to tilt your head to the side as the pic is the wrong way round!)
When you sew, you use the head of the pin you stuck in the dart point (A) as a marker and keep it in line with the edge of the masking tape as you sew. This will ensure a straight stitching line! Clever huh?! The gap that opens up at “B” is the exact mitrror image of the dart you are sewing….
Don’t forget to remove the pin just before it goes under the presser foot….then run the stitching off the fabric at the point where the pin mark is….and you’re done..
You should end up with an accurate, straight stitching line. All that remains then is to finish your thread ends and press.
Px
Excellent dart tip, but most important of all – do I recognise that nail varnish?!
Great tips – I’ve used pins to mark out darts like that before, but never thought of using masking tape in that way! Will definitely try it next time.
Great tips! I just tried making darts for the first time and they were a little sloppy– next time I should have better luck thanks to you!