A dart takes width out of a flat piece so the fabric can follow a curve of the body, at the bust, waist, hip or shoulder blade. A wedge is folded together and sewn along a line that tapers to a point.
A dart has two legs and a point where they meet. The distance between the legs is the dart intake and decides how much width is removed. The length decides how the shaping runs: a short, deep dart shapes sharply, a long, shallow one spreads the curve over a larger area.
Most darts start at the cut edge. A dart can also lie fully inside a piece, with a point at each end, as in a fitted dress or a waist dart on a bodice that continues into the skirt.
On the pattern the legs and the point are drawn in. At the cut edge the two legs are marked with notches. The point, and every dart that does not reach an edge, is marked with a punch hole so it can be found on the fabric after cutting.
You sew from the wide end towards the point, and the last stitches run out close to the fold so no bubble forms at the tip. Afterwards the dart is pressed. Which direction depends on the garment and the fabric.
PatternScan Pro captures the outline. The two points where the dart legs meet the edge are marked with notches, detected during digitizing or set in the editor. The point and the legs themselves are not in the file. Add them in pattern CAD or in the vector program.
Digitize sewing patterns without tracing.
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Photograph your paper pattern and get an automatically scaled digital version with PatternScan Pro.
Usage
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