Ashley Hough

Tips for Sewing Darts into Lightweight Fabric

Ashley Hough
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Duration:   7  mins

Darts can be added to many garments as a way to add shaping. For example, many shirt and dress bodice patterns use a dart on either side of the front to shape the garment into the waistline. Sewing darts doesn’t have to be tricky – Ashley Hough shares several tips on how to achieve professional looking darts, even on lightweight fabrics.

Marking and Sewing

One of the main components of sewing darts is marking where the dart needs to be sewn. On commercial patterns, where to sew the dart is generally indicated by several small circles. If you are not following a commercial pattern, rather you are making up your own, Ashley explains a simple way to measure and mark a dart.

She also gives a tip on how to mark the stitching line for the dart using pins rather than a marking pen or pencil. While there are many different kinds of removable pens or pencils on the market- Ashley explains that it can sometimes be difficult to remove these markings depending on the fabric and the marking tool used. Instead of using these tools, Ashley shows an easy way to mark the darts using straight pins. She explains how to mark the beginning and end of the dart and then how to place pins in the direction you will be sewing to mark the stitching line.

She then shows how to sew a dart, explaining what end to start and finish on when sewing darts. Because doing any kind of backstitching on lightweight fabric can show, beginning and ending your stitching in a way that allows you to hand tie a knot in the thread is the best way to secure the ends. Marking with pins and hand tying the thread ends are just several of the different finishing touches you can learn when sewing garments that help give your project a professional look. Check out additional tutorials for more sewing tips and techniques.

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4 Responses to “Tips for Sewing Darts into Lightweight Fabric”

  1. Supriat Abdul rachaman

    Wow..this is really professional..I just knew it..because I always got problem with the end of sewing the darts..looks not nice..thank you..love this very much

  2. Donna

    Everything was good until she marked the point of the dart. Mark 1/4” to 1/2” before the point. In these directions that would be a pin. Sew to that pin then stitch ON THE FOLD to the point. This avoids the “bubble” on the outside of the garment and gives a smoother finish to the point.

  3. Irene Pratdesaba

    Video is black.

  4. Janet Hammond

    This was a fairly useful video, however the couture way to sew darts in sheer fabric is to use your bobbin thread. As for marking the dart, what could be simpler than the late Nancy Zieman's method of just using a straight-edged piece of card as a guide? I'm afraid this is why I don't subscribe to National Sewing Circle - I need content to teach me new techniques, not hackneyed old ones that are not the best method anyway.

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