Fitting Tip - How To Move A Bust Dart

Hi Sewing Friends:

Are your bust darts pointing to the crown of your bust?  If not, move them for a better fit and more youthful look.  Most of us need to have lower bust darts than the sewing pattern design.  Move them where you need them.  It is easy to do.

Do you know where your bust point is?

• Put on your best fitting bra. 
• If you have one shoulder lower than the other, shorten the bra strap on the lower shoulder so that your bust is the same level on both right and left sides.
• Put on a blouse or dress with a shoulder seam that fits you well.
• Stand in front of a mirror.
• Place the end of a tape measure in the middle of the shoulder seam of the garment. 
• Let the tape fall down over the crown of your bust.
• Note the measurement where the tape begins to fall away from your bust.
• That is your bust point.  Write down that measurement from the shoulder to your bust point.

Find Your Bust Point On Your Sewing Pattern 

• On your sewing pattern, make any shoulder seam adjustments or alterations that you require. (sloping, forward, etc.)
• Then, measure from the shoulder stitching line on the sewing pattern straight down the number of inches you determined you needed to reach your bust point.
• Mark an “X” at that place on the sewing pattern.
• If the sewing pattern bust dart does not point to your “X”, you need to move your bust dart.

There are a few ways to move your bust dart.  Here is an easy one.

• Assuming the original bust dart is the correct size dart for your bust, you can make a “portable dart” that you can move where you need it.
• Trace the original bust dart and make a pattern of it so that you will have a “portable dart”.   You might use card stock or a manila folder to make your dart pattern.
• On the sewing pattern front, place the “portable dart” where it will point to your “X” bust point, but stop short of it.  Keep in mind that if you slightly angle a bust dart upward toward the bust point, that it will create a more youthful look.
• Draw your new bust dart using your bust dart template.

Note that the sewing pattern side seam edge may not be shaped right for the new dart.

• Tape some extra paper on the side seam edge of the sewing pattern.
• Fold your new bust dart bottom line up to the top line of your dart over the corner of a table.  You will be folding the dart as if it were stitched.  A bust dart is folded down on the wrong side of the garment.
• Now, while the dart is folded, draw a line from the waist line to the underarm.  Cut the side seam on that line while the dart is folded.  When you release the dart, it will be the right shape to stitch into your garment.

Now you have moved the dart to point to the apex of your bust or bust point and the garment will fit much better.

It just makes sense!

To Your Sewing Success,

Marian

PS:  Folding a dart with the point of the dart on the corner of a table allows you to work with the cupping of the pattern and helps to keep everything straight.

Fitting Tip - How To Move A Bust Dart

 

 

 

 

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 5th, 2007 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Fitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.