What if my block or pattern has 1 dart and I want 2 darts!
I am often asked what to do if a block or pattern has 1 dart and the designer wants 2 darts, in the skirt or trouser style they are working on. It really isn’t that difficult to amend a block and reduce or even increase the number of darts, as long as you follow a few rules.
Measure the 1/4 waist and divide into thirds.
The first third of the waist is close to the hip and there is already shaping there so in order to keep a good fit and spread the suppression around the waist line, it is best not to plan the new dart in that area.
Mark lines where you want the darts, they do not need to be vertical lines, you can angle them gently if you want to.
Cut down these lines and along, to the apex of the dart you want to remove, keep the paper attached by a couple of millimetres – don’t worry if you do cut it accidentally , it just needs to be pivoted from the apex position ( tip of the old dart).
Fold out the old dart and balance the suppression equally between the two new darts.
The darts can be taken down as low as the hip line, but they are best at about 9 cm (3 9/16″ in length.
Here is my half scale pattern pictured above, The darts are folded in as they would be sewn and the waist now needs to be reshaped as the waist level. Where the old dart was positioned has risen slightly as the new darts were opened. This means we need to reshape the waist line run to keep a nice smooth shape.
Remove the excess and this completes the process, take a look at my 1/2 scale pattern on my much loved 1/2 scale stand!
In the background you can see an upcoming blog post in the making! If you have a dress stand I am going to demonstrate a wonderful technique for creating fitted patterns. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss the post!
If you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
If you want to know more about darts check out this great dart workbook.
If you need 1/4 and half scale blocks to practice you can find them here.
Nicola x
