Capsule

# 1.1
THE DART
What? Why? When? Where? How? Width? Amount?

What?

- A dart is an excess of fabric.
- It has a certain width on the outline of the piece, and ends at nothing somewhere
inside the piece.
- This excess is sewn and usually hidden inside the garment.

Why?

- A dart is used primarily to adjust the length of a contour measure.
- It is used to model, follow the 3D shapes of the body or to create one.

When?

- We make a dart when the style requires it, to get the desired fit and a good fall.
- We will need dart in all fitted garment made of woven materials and in some knit
fitted garment.

Where?

- A dart can be placed anywhere on the outline of a piece, but it must point to a
climax call the pivot.
The higher points for the upper body are; the apex of the chest, the tip of the
scapula to the upper back.
- The highlights for the lower body are; the hips, but also, the small belly in the
front and the buttocks in the back.
- The stronger point for a sleeve is the elbow, for movement and to follow the
natural fall of the arm.

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How?

- From a central line, which connects the culminating point to the decided location
on the contour.
- We place ½ of the value to adjust on each side, on the contour, then we connect to
the culminating point (pivot).
Center line
½ ½
ajustement ajustement








pivot pivot


- Once drawn, the contour must be corrected by adding the jug to the top of the
dart, in order to retain the material at the seam.
- To get the jug, fold on the line of the side where you wants to direct the back of
the dart and fold in the opposite direction the central line.
- * Often, a small correction of the contour line is necessary, to soften it.
- We can then place the 1st side on the 2nd, then we trace with the tracing weel, the
top of the outline.

The mathematical way
- Draw a square line to the dart side (side where we want the back of dart) and
which touches the central line.
- Report the measurement of the center line to the dart side on the other side of the
side of the dart.
- Draw a new line from the pivot to this new point and extend it.
- We then measure the new line, from the pivot to the contour, then we report the
length on the central line. Finally, we join this center point to the 2 sides of the dart
to form the jug.

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The final draw of the dart on the pattern piece

The final layout is composed of ;

- The jug added on the contour.
- 2 notches, one on each side of the dart.
- As well as a punch hole, placed about 1 cm at the top of the pivot on the
central line.
Jug

notch notch






Punch hole





Width?

- The width or depth of a dart depends on the necessary adjustment and the height
of the volume relative to the distance between the culminating point and the end of
the dart on the contour.

- The width is the opening of an angle, so the same dart, when it is pivoted to
another place, may look wider (longer distance between the pivot and the
outline) or narrower (shorter distance between the pivot and the contour)

How many?

- We will choose to make a second dart when a single dart is too sharp, to get a
better fall, when the volume is distributed more widely (skirt or pants).
- You can also distribute the dart for the style.

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 Capsule # 1.2
SEWING A SIMPLE DART
How? Complications?

How?
Here are 4 ways to go;
1. Fold the material by aligning the 2 contour notches & the punch hole, then
sew from the notches with a back stitch at the beginning and at the end.
2. Foldd the material by aligning the 2 contour notches with the punch hole,
then pull the threads a little longer than the lengthof the dart. Start with a
back stitch, place the end of the thread 1 cm below the punch hole, then sew
following the thread with a back stitch at the end.
3. (My favorite) Fold the material by aligning the 2 contour notches & the
punch hole, then start with a back stitch, place a piece of paper straight from
the notch until 1 cm past the punch hole. Sew following the right side of the
paper with a back stitch at the end.
4. Fold the material by aligning the 2 contour notches & the punch hole, then
trace with a tailor chalk up to 1 cm below the punch hole. Sew from the
notches with a back stitch at the beginning and at the end.

Complications?
1. The back stitch point of the beginning is often gathering the material,
because it is in the notch.
2. The end back stitch point, often makes it too thick.
3. Difficult or moving fabric makes it difficult to flatten materials. The seam
line is bias and can also stretch.

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 1. Start back stitch points?
To avoid the gathering at the beginning, start a little further down, with the
revers, than do your seam.

2. The end back stitch points?

For the ends of dart too thick. Here are 2 ways to make the end of the
dart;
1. Finish the dart without back stitch point, then cut the 2 stitching
threads, keeping a certain length. Then make 2 knots manually, and cut
the threads 1 cm from the knots.
2. (My favorite) Finish the dart without back stitch point, then continue
sewing for a few centimeters, keeping the material under one side of the
foot. Cut the threads keeping about 2 cm. In this way, the machine
points intersect and hold the end of the dart.
3. Finish the clamp with back stitch point, changing
the direction of the revers, towards the inside of the
dart.

3. Difficult fabrics?
For difficult materials, you can start by pressing the center of the dart
on the wrong side of the fabric. Pressing the center fold will make the
2nd fold easier to do and usually stiffen the material, so it will be less
moving.

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