THE Q & A SERIES
HOW TO MOVE BUST DARTS ON A PATTERN
Hi,
I’d like to know how to turn a French bust dart into a normal bust dart?
Denise
Headly, UK
Hi Denise,
Moving bust darts
A simple way to try pattern hacking is by relocating darts. Once you know how to do it, you can move darts to a wide range of places and this simple adjustment can really change the appearance of a garment.
It might sound a bit odd (because our bust is usually found in one place LOL), but did you know bust darts can actually be moved around a pattern?
Bust darts are commonly placed on the side seam, but can also be relocated to the neck, further down the side seam (this is what we call a 'French dart') or to the armscye... just to name a few.
Why move bust darts?
You might choose to move a bust dart to another position in a garment for a number of reasons, but the main ones are:
To change the look of a garment out of personal preference.
To split a dart value. Dart value refers to the width of a dart at the seam (the dart's widest point). Dart value will depend on the pattern you are using, where the dart is located and what bust cup size the pattern is drafted for. Large darts can be difficult to sew - especially when they are short (like they are in the case of bust darts). If your darts are large you may choose to split the dart value so you have two smaller darts.
In the illustration above, we've outlined a number of places where you could move a side dart to. This technique can be used on any pattern, but it's good to keep in mind that the dart position options may vary depending on the design. For example, if you have a waist seam, you can move the dart to the waist seam.
In this tutorial we will show you how to move a side dart to the armscye, but you can use this exact same method to move a French dart to the upper side seam if this is your preference.
The most important thing to remember when moving bust darts
When you're making a change to the location of the bust dart the main thing to keep in mind is that the BUST APEX POINT must remain in the correct position. As long as this happens, the fit will remain exactly the same, and only the design will change due to the moving dart line. Clever, hey!
How to move bust darts - step by step
Step 1
The first thing we need to do is to move the end of the dart to the BUST APEX POINT. This is because darts sit back from the BUST APEX POINT in a finished pattern, but when moving them we need to rotate them around the BUST APEX POINT.
Mark the BUST APEX POINT onto the FRONT pattern piece. The location of this will depend on the pattern you are using and your specific measurements. If you have made a toile, we suggest marking the location of your specific BUST APEX POINT on the toile and then transfer this marking to the pattern piece.
Step 2
a Re-draw the dart, using the BUST APEX POINT as the new dart tip.
b Measure and record the distance between the original dart tip and the BUST APEX POINT. You will use this later on when you mark in the new dart.
Step 3
Draw a line to indicate where you would like your new dart to be positioned. Use the diagram at the beginning of the tutorial as a guide. The line needs to meet the BUST APEX POINT.
Step 4
Cut along the lower dart arm from the side seam towards the BUST APEX POINT. Do not cut all the way to the dart point - leave a small 1-2mm 'hinge' to keep the two pieces together.
Cut along your new dart position line towards the BUST APEX POINT. Again, stop cutting 1-2mm from the point.
Step 5
Close out the original dart by moving the upper dart arm down to meet the lower dart arm. You will see that by closing the side seam dart you have opened a new dart in the new position. If you only want to move part of the dart, you can do so. Use tape to close the original dart permanently.
As you can see in the example, the new dart is smaller than the original dart. This is because the seam that we moved the dart to (armhole) is closer to the BUST APEX POINT than the seam it was originally on (side seam).
You can think of darts as rotating around a circle (the centre of the circle being the BUST APEX POINT). The further the seam is from the BUST APEX POINT, the larger the dart width (or 'dart value') at the seam will be.
Step 6
Take a piece of paper and glue / tape underneath the dart opening. Draw a line from the top of one dart arm to the other on the CUT LINE. Mark the centre of this line. Draw a straight line from the centre point through to the BUST APEX POINT.
Mark the new dart point by looking at the distance recorded in Step 2. Mark this amount back from the BUST APEX POINT within your new dart.
Add dart shaping to the new dart. Mark drill hole 1.2cm (½in) back from the new dart tip.
Happy hacking,
Emily
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE
How to add dart shaping tutorial can be found here.
For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.
WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING
Hove jacket made by @sewing_kat
Peppermint wrap top made by @urbantrashau
