The Elusive Art of Darts: A Step by Step how to do darts the Romy way.

In this blog post I’m going to give you the complete rundown on how I do darts. This method has come to pass due to my severe dislike for carbon paper.

Recently I was speaking with my husband and dear friend Emily about how I’m pretty sure that I have some not-so-normal sewing techniques. This came about when I was watching some instastories and stumbled across a post my friend Shelley shared. It was about stitching the ditch and pinning. Anywho, long story short I messaged Shelley and said how I thought this method was normal because I do it! It was then I had a light bulb moment, how many things do I do that other's that sew don't?

Fast forward to today: I started sewing my new Ellis dress from Merchant and Mills and just when I was about to start on my darts I figured I’d document it and see if anyone else out there does it like me. So here goes the play by play. Please note: I am in no way a professional and this method has just come about over the last 5 years I’ve been sewing. It gives me great results each time and I personally think it saves me time. So if you appreciate good results with minimal efforts then you’re in the right place. Oh and if you hate carbon paper like me then definitely stick around.

Step 1:

Take your original pattern and draw on dotted lines between the dart point and where the dart ends on the seam line. NOTE: Some patterns have this done already for you.

Step 2:

Take a keyhole cutter from your buttonhole kit (I picked mine up from Amazon). Link here. Use it to cut a little hole on the bust dart point (where the lines meet up to a point). Be sure to have a cutting mat underneath.

Step 3:

Grab thread snips and snip a tiny cut into your fabric. Place your pattern on top, line it up and then snip where the dart lines meet on the seam edge. Make sure you don’t snip in more than the seam allowance in your pattern. Looking at about 1/4” snip at most.

Step 4:

Next take your marking tool of choice. My marking tool is this chalk pencil that I picked up from Amazon. Linked here. You’re then going to place your pattern piece back on your fabric (wrong side) and you’re going to use your marking tool to mark a dot on your fabric where you cut your small hole earlier.

Step 5:

Grab your ruler and let that join forces with your marking tool. Now you’re going to draw two lines (still on the wrong side of the fabric). One between the dot we marked and one of the little snips we did. Repeat for the other little snip. You will have successfully transferred your dart onto your fabric. Whoop whoop! Go one treat yourself and do that happy dance.

Step 6:

Repeat the above steps for any other darts in your pattern.

Step 7:

Time to grab some finger stabbers, I mean pins but now you know what I do with them most (my fingers are allergic). You are going to pinch the fabric (right side together) between the two lines you've drawn on your fabric, matching up the two lines. You will then pin through the fabric where you’ve drawn your lines. If pinned correctly the lines will now overlap. NOTE: To save yourself a headache with it comes time to sew make sure your pins are facing the “correct” direction. I sew from the seam edge towards the dart point so I place the sharp edge of the pin facing away from me.

Step 8:

Continue to pin along the line until you reach the dart point. Repeat for all darts in your pattern. NOTE: Just make sure it’s going through both lines evenly. Check the front and back side of the dart as you go.

Step 9:

Now it's time to sew. Stitch from the outer edge in to the dart point. Start with a stitch length of 2.5 and continue down the line removing pins as you go. Once you reach the last pin, adjust your stitch length to 1.8 (I find this helps darts sit better at the end). Continue to sew until you reach the point and back stitch. NOTE: I like to leave about a 2-3" tail at the end so I can tie a little knot. This is just a thing I do. Not sure if it helps in anyway but it eases my soul.

Step 10:

Repeat Step 9 for any other darts for your project.

Step 11:

Now it's time to press, press and press. Pressing is vital in darts. Press your darts downwards with the wrong side of the fabric facing up first. Then press on the right side. And BOOM your darts are done!